This will appear a bit jumbled and "scatter shot."  I just recorded things

periodically, and have "cut and pasted" them into this message, with no real

attempt to put them into any kind of chronological order, or even an order

according to topics.  Please forgive the structure, and ignore the shifts in

tense and other writing abominations.  Also, please forgive the "one size

fits all" approach, since I know that some of it won't appeal to some of

you, since you will have no association with certain places I mention.  With

all those caveats, here goes.............................................

My overall impression of Vietnam today is one of ----- wonderment.  I spent

three days in Hanoi with my son and his family, then two days in the "old

TAOR," with several trips up and down the road from Danang to Hoi An, and a

day trip to Hue (and farther north), then three more days in Hanoi.  Several

things seem fairly obvious.  First and foremost, it is a helluva lot more

crowded which results, I suspect, from two things: an exploding population,

and more people moving from the countryside into the "urban environment."

The population today is more than 80 million, while the population of South

Vietnam in the 60's was about 20 million (don't know the population of North

Vietnam at the time).

Much is new (buildings, roads, internet cafes, more TV's, etc, etc).  Much

is still old, and relatively unchanged since we were there -- streets lined

with small "mom and pop" shops; people sitting around eating, drinking,

smoking, playing cards; in essence, "hanging out" as I suspect they have

always done, and always will do (think that's a cultural thing).  Without

question, the people are happier and appear very enthusiastic --- perhaps

more about their future than their present.  Perhaps incorrectly, I compare

their current attitude to that of the people of the U.S. in (say) the 50's

and 60's.  As an example, I was a "depression baby."  As a youth, I was

frequently cautioned to put into play the lessons learned from the

depression, and to be ever thankful that I did not live in that era.  My

guess is that the current population of younger people have been thoroughly

indoctrinated into the horrors of living during the wars, and that they are

thankful that life today is ever so much better than it was then.  As was

the case with us, the depression lessons were lost to the generation which

followed mine, and I think the war lessons will be lost to the generation

which follows this one in Vietnam.  I suspect there may be increasing unrest

resulting from increasing expectations, if for no other reasons.  For what

it's worth, the book entitled Vietnam, Now by David Lamb is a very good,

short read and encompasses just about all of my impressions, and much more.

It was written by a guy who was a war correspondent during the war, and

recently lived four years in Vietnam as the Hanoi Bureau Chief for the LA

Times.  The comparative experiences form the basis of his book, but it

includes some history, political developments, etc.  Well worth the read, if

you would like to compare then with now, and some explanations as to how we

got from then to now.

I arrived on a Sunday night at about midnight (by the time I cleared

immigration, which was a REAL Charlie Foxtrot).  Approaching the landing, I

kept looking for the "bright lights of the city" ---- I'm still looking.

Noi Bai airport is maybe 20 miles from Hanoi, and in the boondocks.  It is

clean; fairly modern, but drab (in colors and attitude); long immigration

lines; and after three experiences with their airport lines, I have to

conclude that they have real problems processing people, either coming or

going.  From the airport into town there is little buildup, few lights from

airport to town, but my son's house is on the airport side of the city, and

we were traveling after midnight; guess they "roll up the sidewalks at dark"

(except there were no sidewalks).

The next morning the city was TEEMING with activity; mixture of old and new

(mostly old); swarms of small motorcycles, with some cars; disaster waiting

to happen, as median wealth increases and more cars are added to the system

(much like Okinawa in say 1972 -- only the very rich have cars; "upper

middle class" ride motorcyles; lower middle class bicycles; the really poor

still walk); no traffic rules, just a weaving, melding flood of vehicles,

all driven or ridden by individuals with an exquisite sense of timing and

the ability to judge distances to the centimeter.  Crossing a street

requires picking a time, then walking at a steady pace across the street and

let the vehicles avoid you.  Lots of goods available in small shops,

sidewalk bazaars; street markets – large market area with fresh fruits,

veggies, fresh meat, fish swimming in tanks, live chickens. Overall

impression, LOTS of people not working around the city.

My son and his family live in what is known as the "West Lake" area,

obviously a very upscale part of town (probably THE upscale part of town),

with several diplomats (mostly American and French) occupying huge homes.

Up early on Monday, I went outside to enjoy the sunrise -- and was greeted

by roosters crowing, and what sounded like the bellowing of a water buffalo.

My daughter-in-law later confirmed that there are, indeed, water buffalo in

the area.  Incongruities are many: my son's landlord lives next door, in a

home that is quite grand and impressive.  Obviously of some means, yet his

family apparently STILL does the laundry by hand in a large basin, and hangs

it on a line in the courtyard to dry.  Interestingly enough, on the third

day, no crowing rooster and no bellowing.  I was wondering if the rooster

had become dinner --- and worried  about the fate of the water buffalo --- 

but Saturday morning both were back in fine form to greet the new day.

On Monday, my first day, after dropping my grandson off at school, my

daugher-in-law had to attend a meeting of the International Wives Club, in

which she is very active.  The meeting was held in the "Hanoi Towers," a

giant, new high-rise building that accommodates both apartments and business

offices.  The Towers was built on what used to be a large part of the "Hanoi

Hilton," the entrance to which was right around the corner.  I never got

around to  visiting what's left of the prison, but was struck by the

incongruity of the situation -- a place of such known beastiality replaced

by a meeting place for the IWC -- and amongst a whole host of other

businesses, a restaurant where I had lunch with my son on my second day.

The day was spent just moving about the city, trying to get a "feel" for

where I was, and what was going on.

On the second day, I visited the Army Museum and the Ho Chi Minh Museum,

among other places.  The former was a rather drab place, dusty and not very

well kept, put together in a rather ramshackle fashion.  I suppose my two

biggest impressions included the fact that victory over the French perhaps

got equal billing with the eventual victory over us, the fall of Saigon,

etc.  Much attention was given to the "great victory" that was Tet '68.

Apparently the curators have not read the memoirs of General Giap.  The

artifact that made the biggest impact on me was the III MAF plaque in one of

the display cases.

As one might expect, the Ho Chi Minh Museum was much more impressive,

perhaps close to the Lincoln Memorial in overall stature (and a tiny bit

similar in architecture, except Ho Chi Minh is standing; Lincoln is

sitting).  I didn't exactly "breeze through," but I didn't dawdle either.

In a nutshell, my impression was that Uncle Ho had initially embraced the

French "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," then along the way, got hijacked by

Marxism and Leninism.  Lots of photographs, quotes, etc from figures of

history blathering about "freedom for the people" --- but not ONE single

picture or quote of OUR (and the world's) fathers of democracy; no Thomas

Jefferson; no Benjamin Franklin; etc, though Ho was known to have quoted

parts of our Declaration of Independence almost verbatim.  Most incongruous:

going through the place, at one point some curtains were pulled back,

revealing an area of the museum that was not part of the tour.  Sitting in

the back of this area was the front end of a FORD EDSAL; I couldn't hazard a

guess as to what its eventual role will be in the museum .  Perhaps it will

be dragged out to counter-balance the "success" of Marx and Lenin (and Ho

Chi Minh).  Much to my disappointment, Uncle Ho's mausoleum is not open at

this time of the year, so I was not able to view the great man "in the

flesh" (or what's left of him).

General comment: There is not an abundance of flags.  I suppose that every

gov't building has a flag, but I did not see many flags flying from places

of business, homes, etc, as we see in the U.S.  Then, I was expecting a

large dose of French.  It ain't there.  French architecture in the "old

quarter," and smatterings elsewhere, but the only French language I saw was

in the restaurant where my son and I had lunch my first day, and on the

multi-lingual placards in a couple of the museums.  ENGLISH is everywhere

(the same as in Incheon airport, outside of Seoul), and is the very obvious

second language to Vietnamese.  We may be "hated" in every European country

(according to our media); we sure as hell aren't hated here.

Wednesday -- my third day.  Today is the Birthday of our Corps.  Last night,

my son invited over several people for dinner, in an early celebration.  All

were former or current Marines.  A really good group, as you might imagine,

and a most enjoyable evening.  Right now, I am waiting to go to the Embassy

for a noon ceremony marking the Birthday.  Guess there will be a cake

cutting; the reading of CMC's Birthday Message; etc.  Don't know if I will

have a role, though I did tell the Gunny that I was ready to help today, and

at the Ball on Saturday, in any way that I could.  ("I may be old, but I'm

not useless.")  He said he appreciated the "backup," but that I needed to

prepare just for my STARRING role as "oldest Marine" at the Ball.  I never

expected to achieve this status, but now that I have, I intend to play it to

the hilt at every occasion possible.  While waiting, I have been walking

around the local neighborhood.  Some very obvious wealth (or status) here;

huge homes, several occupied by diplomats, e.g. an American next door; a

Frechman across the street (alley, actually), a Dutchman around the corner,

etc, etc.  My grandson attends the UN International School -- grades Pre-K

through high school -- with a complete mixture of kids from all over,

several Asian and European countries represented, but saw no children who

would obviously be from African or Middle Eastern countries.  It is tough

for me to "measure progress" since my tour here, since I have been only in

Hanoi thus far this trip, and was hardly ever in a city during my previous

visit 38 years ago.  However, at that time, I did spend about four days in

Saigon.  I'm not sure there is a helluva lot of difference between Saigon

then and Hanoi now --- except for the differences attributable to technology

advances.  As examples, one sees "internet cafes," advances of that type --- 

just as one saw "TV bars" in Saigon.  The powerful breeze around Hanoi in a

smattering of Mercedes, "mid-sized" cars (e.g. Toyota Camry), and SUV's.

Not at all different from Saigon then; there were late-model cars there

also.  The main modes of individual transportation are small motorcycles,

bicyles and buses; same as Saigon earlier.  Watching the "flow of traffic"

is amazing; vehicles flowing, weaving, melding --- all with apparently very

few rules.  People from all walks of life riding those motorbikes; still

most interesting are good-looking, stylishly dressed young women, wearing 4"

high heels, pant suits, etc, weaving and melding with the best of them.  One

gets the impression that NO ONE works.  I think they have a plan where

everyone who lives on the eastern side of town gets up in the morning and

rides west (and back); same procedure for each of the other three quadrants.

MANY people sitting around in front of the little shops, sipping tea,

playing cards, shooting the bull, etc, etc, etc.  Bottom line: not very much

different from my very limited observations in Saigon almost 40 years ago.

I am anxious to get out into the countryside to see progress there.  That's

where I spent all but about 10 days during my earlier "period of residency",

but I don't really expect to have the time to visit many hamlets during this

trip.  Next time, perhaps a longer visit, with no demands here in Hanoi, and

some leave time for my son so we can travel around.  OK, it is later; nice

small celebration with the Marines at the Embassy.  Wednesday night we

attended a concert at the Opera House, which is a replica (though a bit

miniaturized) of the grand opera house in Paris.  Quite impressive, and much

better maintained than many other "public places" that I saw.

Early on Thursday, we flew to Danang.  From the airport south, Danang is

"modernized" to a considerable extent, most noticeable in the streets and

roads, many of which are now four-lane, at least in the city and closein to

the city, with bustling businesses along both sides.  Traveling  south, and

looking through the trees, I could catch glimpses of what I'm sure were the

remnants of Marble Mountain Air Facility --- example: the rounded shelters

for aircraft (many of those are also still remaining on Danang Air Base as

well, with a few sheltering jet fighter aircraft).  Nui Kim Son is, in

essence, no more, though the half dozen or so huts closest to the bridge

still look the same as they did in 1966.  The marble carving industry is

going full blast, with a zillion shops (large and small) along the main

road, and several side streets as well.  They feature everything from lions

and eagles six feet tall (or larger) down to four inch carvings of

elephants, lions and water buffalo.  Given the extent of the industy, it is

a wonder that the mountains even exist.  I asked a few people about "Nui Kim

Son" and they didn't even recognize the name.  I visited several shops and

was beset by the same type of hawkers and panhandling, wheedling, whiney

"pushy sales people" that have always been there.  I fnally bought a few

small items from a shop which was run by a reasonably attractive young lady

who was 7 1/2 months pregnant, and spoke very good English.  She did not

recognize the name Nui Kim Son, until I showed her my old map, at which

point she at least pretended to recognize it.  On the other hand, she very

definitely recognized Tra Khe 2, and pointed out her mother-in-law who was

hovering around in the shop.  The mother-in-law was a scrawny little woman,

with teeth stained black from beetle nut juice.  She was 67 years old, and

had lived her entire life in Tra Khe 2 (perhaps we had met before, but I

didn't pursue that possibility).  That sealed the deal as far as purchasing

was concerned.  Seemed only appropriate for me to help this pregnant woman

from the new Vietnam, whose child would be the grandchild of a woman from

the old Vietnam that many of us knew far too well.

I THINK I did find "Hill 10" (about two klicks east by south from the bridge

at Nui Kim Son).  At least the land form looked the same as shown on my old

map; the view of the mountains was the same as I remember; the difference

was that there was a concrete pillbox on top of the hill (and another about

150 meters around the contour).  I don't remember those being there when we

occupied the area; perhaps they were, or perhaps they were built by ARVN

forces after we departed the area.  The entire area from the mountains to

the sea is now fully developed, with some very nice homes and at least one

very impressive beach resort.  I didn't travel along the beach, but know

there are other beach resorts, one of the finest being located at what we

knew as "China Beach."  Looking from Hill 10 west towards Tra Khe 2, the

land looks to be in the early stages of extensive development --- much

digging and earth movement has recently been done.  At the Marine Ball, I

met the owner of a construction and development company who confirmed the

development of the area, and implied a road would be built along the beach

from the Marble Mountains to Hoi An, thus opening the entire 30 or so

kilometers to beach resort development.  If you still have a copy of your

map of the area, you will remember that the map shows a road running along

close to the beach, but that road had long since been abandoned even when we

were there.  Looks like it is going to be rebuilt.

Finding Tra Khe 2 was no problem at all.  Finding what was Lima's part of

the cordon during Operation Teton was also easy, since our lines were along

the paddy.  There is now a one-lane, surfaced road running from the old MSR,

along the edge of the ville next to the paddy for a distance of maybe three

kilometers.  It then bends west, and loops back up through the middle of the

ville, to the starting point at the MSR.  Very little has changed, except

for the road, and obvious newer homes which have replaced the older; the

middle of the ville is still as wide open as before --- and I may even have

seen a couple of booby traps still in there, with a sniper or two following

my progress.

What was the MSR for us is now a decent two-lane road all the way to Hoi An.

Beach resort development at Hoi An is a wonder to behold.  We stayed at a

five-star resort, the Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort ---- fantastic place,

with at least 90% of the customers being foreigners; French and Australians

in the majority, I think.  Check the place out at

http://www.victoriahotels-asia.com/txt/hotels/hoian.php.  If you click on

"Virtual Tour" then click on "Vietnamese Deluxe Room Beach Front" I think

that is a picture of the room I stayed in.  Quite different from the muddy

foxholes, etc, that I knew before; the food was also better!!  There was a

large French tour group in residence, and I was delighted to observe that

every member of the hotel staff (Vietnamese, of couse) spoke at least a

smattering of English, but they had to trot out a specialist when French was

needed.  That has to be galling to those pompous pricks.  On the subject of

languages, English is very prominent in every place I've been (even in

Hanoi) and is obviously the "second language," while I have seen VERY little

French (even in Hanoi).  Perhaps there is a lessen in there for Jacques

Chirac.

Friday was our "day trip" to Hue and beyond.  The road from Danang was in

pretty good shape, with some notable repair projects along the way.  Not

much in the way of road repair equipment; much was still being done the

old-fashioned way --- by hand, even a guy spreading oil (in preparation for

paving) with what looked like your standard can for watering plants in your

garden.  The ride over the Hai Van pass was spectacular, much better by road

than by helicopter (which was the only way I had made the trip in the past).

Really breathtaking scenery.  No evidence whatsoever of the huge base we had

at Phu Bai, but views of any distance are obstructed by the growth (both

buildings and foliage) along the roads.  A bypass has been constructed

around Hue, and that bypass rejoins highway 1 at precisely the place where

my ARVN regimental HQ had been located --- at PK 17, for those of you who

might remember that.  I was able to pick out a couple of areas (and one

hamlet) where my ARVN outfit had had some significant engagements, and was

able to find the old MACV Compound in Hue.  From the outside it looked

pretty much the same, but I didn't attempt to go inside, since it is now a

"military billeting area and restaurant" (according to my son's rough

interpretation of the sign at the entrance).

On Saturday, the Marine Corps Birthday Ball was very impressive from just

about every perspective.  It was held at the Sheraton hotel (definitely a

five-star place, and there are several of them around Hanoi).  Beautifully

decorated ball room; well attended by a mixture of diplomatic personnel;

military attaches from several countries; some business people; and four or

five Vietnamese military officers.  I chatted briefly with a couple of

Vietnamese Colonels, compared a few "where were you, when" notes, and posed

for a few pictures with them.  I would have very much liked to spend some

time with them in meaningful discussions, but the Ball was obviously not the

place to do that --- perhaps during my next visit.  The Embassy Detachment

did a great job pulling off the Ball, even though they had to "import" one

Marine from Manila to flesh out the Color Guard, and to augment the watch

standers.  Of course, Ambassador MARINE (yes, that is his REAL name) was the

Guest of Honor, and gave a very nice speech, based in large measure on his

own experiences as a Marine in the late 60's/early 70's, and the many Balls

he has since attended.  I did not ask if he had served in Vietnam during his

four-year stint.  The main speaker was a BG who had come from Okinawa for

the occasion.  He is the CG, FSSG there; didn't spend a lot of time talking

with him.  Playing my role as "oldest Marine present" turned out to be more

strenuous than I had anticipated.  Having followed the cake into the

ballroom, I had to stand at parade rest through the entire ceremony,

including the speech by the BG.  During the rehearsal earlier in the

afternoon, the Gunny's parting advice to the four cake attendants (and me,

by extension) was, "Remember, don't lock your knees while standing at parade

rest."  Well, I didn't heed his advice, and got a bit "shakey-legged" while

waiting.  Then, since I had to move from behind the cake to a position in

front of the cake to receive my due, I wondered if I was going to fall on my

ass when I tried to move.  I didn't, and all worked out well.  In the end

result, I met many really interesting people, and highly recommend any Ball

hosted by an Embassy detachment.

As you might expect, Sunday and Monday were rather anticlimactic; primarily

loafing on Sunday and some final sight-seeing on Monday.  All in all, it was

a fantastic experience, and I am already looking forward to my next visit,

and ranging farther into the country.  I strongly recommend Vietnam as a

"vacation destination."  The extra you might spend on air fare will be more

than offset by what you save on accommodations, food, etc.  Most

importantly, I will confidently GUARANTEE that there is no other country

where you will be more warmly received, or treated with more courtesy and

respect.  Talk about irony of ironies.  As a final note, I will be happy to

respond to any questions you might have.

SOUND CONTROL

TRIP REPORT VIETNAM

By Paul Ruh

Paul Ruh is holding a piece of paper that says"Lt. Jim Cannon slept here" This is what is left of the concrete steps that went into my command bunker.

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