Vietnam | War and Peace

After five days in Laos visiting CIA Secret War sites, we headed overland from Sam Nuea to Hanoi.

I have always been interested in the war in Vietnam. I had taken a an ROTC course on the Vietnam War while studying at the University of California and my father had spent three years there from 1965 to 1968. I did not know why he was there and what role he played as a US State Department official stationed first in the Delta town of Can Tho and then in the northern city of Danang. He was there when the Tet Offensive took place in January 1968. I was hoping to learn a little more about his life in Vietnam, and also see for myself why so many friends had talked so glowingly about it.

I was traveling with Al Willner who had visited Vietnam and the region on several occasions when he was stationed in the area during his US military career. Nabra, my daughter, was also with us and we would be joined by Army colleagues of Al's in a couple of days.

So, this border crossing has to be one of the more bizarre borders I have crossed - and I have crossed some unusual borders at unusual times during my career as an photojournalist. After having our passports stamped in Laos, we walked some 35o yards to the border station in Vietnam. Al was snapping pictures and at first I was a bit concerned that some official would detain us for taking photos - one of the things I've learned in my career (particularly in the Middle East) you do not take pictures anywhere near a border and definitely not in front of a border station in a Communist country. Since there appeared to be nobody about, I chanced a quick selfie of us.

Well, I had little to fear because basically there appeared to be nobody around. We went up to what we thought was the office and it was empty, so we wandered around the building trying to find someone to let us into Vietnam. Some guard indicated we should go back to the first office and wait. After some time, an officer appeared. He did not appear in a very good mood and after scrutinizing our paper visas and Nabra's electronic visa and looking back and forth from the computer to the passports he eventually stamped the papers and motioned us to proceed to customs. Those officers were lounging around and smiling and we soon were walking to the last checkpoint and to our waiting transport.

Day One | Scenes on the road to Hanoi

The drive was slow going. The Hyundai Sante Fe's air conditioning hardly worked and poor Al and Nabra had no vents in the back seat. As we would learn driving in Vietnam takes time. We would end up spending lots of time in our hired vehicle when we toured the southern portion of the country.

After a very long day, we arrived at sunset in Hanoi. After checking into our Old Quarter hotel where there were tons of tourist - a striking contrast to Laos where maybe we saw a dozen foreigners, we headed out for dinner.

Hanoi |

Day Two | A cultural day in Hanoi

Today Nabra and I were going to do a culturally focused day in Hanoi, as Al caught up on writing. First up was the Temple of Literature, a university founded in 1070 - Vietnam's first - dedicated to the study of Confucius thought and writings.

Temple of Literature |

Then off to the railroad street for a bit to eat. We were thinking Grab - the Vietnamese Uber - but instead took a human powered bicycle rickshaw.

We ended up having some dim sum at a place called Sixty Six. The young restaurant attendant, Ben, spoke great English and joking around a bit, I said to him that "He looked like a young Kobe Byrant". He was super complimented as Kobe is a hero of his.

Scenes from Railroad Alley |

After a quickish bit it was time to make our way to the Water Puppet Theatre. It is a very popular show and we had bought the last tickets for today's performances last night.

Hanoi street scenes |

We just made in time and the performance which depicted Vietnamese life and customs was very entertaining - I would have liked to see the puppeteers in action.

A fun day with Nabra.

Day Three | Hanoi Life and The American War

Al's Army buddies, Mike Bayles and Bill Adams, had arrived this morning and were going to rest up before meeting up to visit the Vietnam Military History Museum later in the morning.

We were headed out to check out the early morning scene at Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown Hanoi. Al recommended the visit after his early morning run around the lake park yesterday.

Scenes from around Hoan Kiem Lake |

Definitely a lot of action going down at 7am in Hanoi | More scenes

Back at the hotel we joined Mike and Bill for a late breakfast and then headed to the Vietnam Military History Museum. It is a brand new immense building with only the first floor open for exhibits. There were lots of school groups and Vietnam (aka American) War veterans there and they were very keen on having their pictures taken with us.

Vietnam Military History Museum | scenes and selfies

more scenes and displays from the Military History Museum |

Some final photos and US military aircraft |

After a way too rushed visit to the Military History Museum, Nabra and I had to leave early to attend an afternoon theatre performance. We had gone by the theatre yesterday and they were very keen on us coming back for the performance and promised a backstage tour before the show.

Back stage | Nha Hat Cai Luong Theatre

My notes | "Not a big audience, but the play presentation was quite entertaining though a bit grim. A girl whose father is arrested sells her soul to get him released only to be tricked by a man posing as a scholar who is really a human trafficker. She ends up in a brothel where she is abused and at the end of the play she screams out." It is suppose to be taken from a famous Vietnamese poem.

Scenes from the play |

Outside and inside the theatre |

We came across Al, Mike and Bill chillin' at an outdoor brew house |

We decided to get something to eat at Railroad Alley. Arrived just in time to catch the train |

Railroad Alley |

Some more Old Quarter scenes | Hanoi

Another great day and to top it off, over drinks back at the hotel, Nabra learned she has just received a grant to do an innovative play with a playwright professor friend at museums across the United States |

Day Four | All things Ho Chi Minh and the Hanoi Hilton

We had an early breakfast and we're on our way to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum by 7am. Al had visited the mausoleum years earlier and the line had been quite long, so we hoped by getting there when it opened the line would not be too long.

After proceeding through security. We had to leave our bags. No photography, no noise and no stopping. There were some groups but otherwise there was no wait to get in. As we started up the stairs, Mike started to talk and one of the guards loudly said " SSSSSHHHHHH". We walked up into the very well air-conditioned shrine and then came out onto an elevated walkway and there was Ho Chi Minh.

At the four corners were four guards and after seeing so many statues and posters of Uncle Ho, it really did look like him. It was very strange to see this historic figure lying there. The lighting inside the glass casket made it look like he was glowing. It was very eerie and one of the strangest things I have every seen. We circled the three sides. Other than shuffling feet there was silence and after 20 seconds we were on our way out. Truly bizarre.

I checked on-line to see if there had been any photos taken inside the mausoleum and this is one of the only ones I came across. There is no caption and I assume it is from Ho Chi Minh's funeral.

The mausoleum is located in large park which also houses a museum, his home and the Presidential Palace. We decided to get the whole Ho experience and first visited his home which is a small one bedroom stilt house next to a large pond with koi fish and turtles. He refused to live in the Presidential Palace which had been the former French colonial governor's mansion.

Ho Chi Minh's home |

Ho Chi Minh was born in 1890 with the name Nguyen Sinh Cung in central Vietnam. He would use many names during his life as a revolutionary. Before creating and heading the Viet Minh resistance against the Japanese occupiers during World War II and the French colonizers in 1946, he traveled widely and lived outside of Vietnam for 30 years. He was French-educated, was a founding member of the French Communist Party, worked in England, the United States and Italy. He lived in the Soviet Union, China, Thailand and Hong Kong and was heavily involved with Communism - founding the Communist Party of Vietnam as well as the Indochinese Communist Party.

He returned to Vietnam and with support of the United States Organization of Special Services (OSS) among others, fought against the Japanese Army and French Vichy government occupying Vietnam during World War II.

He became leader of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and declared its independence on 2 September 1945. 24 years later after leading Vietnam in wars against the Japanese, French and Americans he would died on the same date.

We proceeded to the Ho Chi Minh Museum where once again we became an attraction. This time not only children but also just regular citizens wanted to have pictures with us. The museum was strange in that there were innovative displays with esoteric concepts and messages about art, periods of time, moments in time (such as the Guernica bombing and subsequent painting by Picasso) that were to illustrate events that influenced Ho Chi Minh's thinking and life.

Ho Chi Minh Museum |

As well as visiting the Ho Chi Minh sites we almost spent an equal amount of time in the gifts shops. There were just too many choice Ho memorabilia. My favorite was the Ho Chi Minh Zippo lighter make in American |

All things Ho Chi Minh |

After a cafe break of ice coffee and mousse cakes we headed to the French built Maison Centrale prison - better known as the Hanoi Hilton.

It was quite crowded and we opted for the 1 1/2 hour audio tour which was quite good and relatively straight forward and objective until it came to the American prisoner period from 1965 to 1973. Then it was very propagandist. For example showing a film with prisoner Douglas Peterson (who later became the first US Ambassador to a unified Vietnam) with the following caption ".... and deeply appreciated the humane treatment of the Government of Viet Nam."

Hoa Lo Prison - Hanoi Hilton |

The night before I left California for Southeast Asia I decided to quickly print out some famous Vietnam War photos and if I had the opportunity to rephotograph them at the location at which they were taken.

After a very intense visit to the Hanoi Hilton, we headed back to our hotel and ate at a tofu speciality restaurant across the street from out hotel. No menu just something written down in Vietnamese which our translation apps were having a hard time deciphering. Fortunately, next to us was a young Vietnamese man, Tiap, who happened to speak English - a rarity in Northern Vietnam. Other than tofu and noodles the only other item on the menu was stuffed intestines which we passed on. Excellent lunch and with beers and drinks it came to 12 dollars for all of us.

With Nabra needing to leave that evening - she had an important conference to attend in Minneapolis - we decided to visit the mosque, do some last minute gift shopping and have dinner in an adjacent neighborhood where she had read their were art galleries.

Quiet neighbor north of the Old Quarter |

We ended up visiting the Manzi Art Space and had a roof-top halal meal at a Pakistani restaurant |

I had been involved with Nabra's play "Memory Lane is a Desert Road" - she put me down as a co-writer and I had also participated in some of the development and rewrites of the play. I had even suggested that an ending could involve us going on another memory lane trip, but this time involving my dad and Vietnam. Though that ending was not used, her participation in the Laos and Vietnam trips came sort of last minute. Her play closed on Sunday after seven sold out performances and we left the next day to Laos.

Nabra is such a great spirit to travel with. So adventurous and curious and so fun and witty. I wasn't sure how she would like all our war-oriented tourism and she had qualms about climbing up a 6,000 foot mountain to visit an old battlefield. But she did great and even decided to interview Al and I about why we are so fascinated about war.

We said our farewells, hugged each other and as she got into the Grab (Vietnam Uber) she handed me a postcard. I read it and back at the bar with the guys I read it to them and Bill (as well as me for the second time) got really choked up. Al just smiled and knew the feeling.

Day Five | Good bye North Vietnam | Hello South Vietnam

We had an afternoon flight to Hue, so we decided to take it easy and visit one site in the morning. We thought of visiting the Air Force Museum because there was a display about Lima Site 85, but it was further out of town. The B52 Museum had wreckage from a shot-down B52 and that looked interesting.

The US military carried out two major aerial bombing campaigns against North Vietnam - Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-68) and Operation Linebacker II (1972).

Operation Rolling Thunder objectives were to interdict the flow of supplies and personnel from North Vietnam into the South. Initially the bombing were concentrated around the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Vietnam. It expanded to include targets throughout North Vietnam and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia. US Air Force Captain John McCain was shot down on 26 October 1967 while on his 23rd bombing mission. During the campaign 1,054 US servicemen werekilled, wounded or captured and 922 aircraft were shot down. The North Vietnamese casualties were 20,000 soldiers and between 30,000–65,000 civilians killed. 85 to 120 aircraft destroyed. 14 North Korean pilots were killed and approximately 20,000 Chinese military support personnel were casualties. It is estimated that the Chinese sent 320,000 non-combat soldiers to support the North Vietnamese - freeing up hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight against the United States and South Vietnam.

Operation Linebacker II or the "Christmas Bombings" were launched by President Richard Nixon to pressure the North Vietnamese to resume peace negotiations after they had stalled in Paris. The operation only lasted 12 days ending on 29 December 1972, but had resulted in the loss of 15 B52s, 12 tactical aircraft, 42 killed in action and 49 crew members captured. The North Vietnamese agreed to return to the negotiations and the Paris Peace Accords were signed on 27 January 1973.

B52 Museum |

As with the other museums there were many school groups visiting and the kids are so adorable it was impossible to resist taking their photos.

After lunch at one of our regular eatery we left for the airport. There was a misspelling of one of our names and while we waited to get it corrected we struck up a conversation with a passenger who patiently waited behind us. He was from Danang and we asked him if he was going to commemorate teh 50th anniversary of the end of the war and the reunification of Vietnam and he shook his head and said, "I'm going fishing." A taste of things to come

We arrived at 1901 French colonial style Saigon Morin Hotel in Hue late in the evening. Al and I had a late night snack and Huda beers in the garden courtyard.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day visiting sites along the DMZ

Day Six | The Demilitarized Zone

After a delicious breakfast by the fountain in the hotel's garden, we were on the road by 7:30am.

We would be traveling the length of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). The demilitarized zone that separated North and South Vietnam ran for 76 kilometers along the 17th parallel from the South China Sea (or East Vietnamese Sea) to the Laotian border. In reality the Ben Hai River separated the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from the Republic of Vietnam.

We would be visiting the following sites in what was once South Vietnam - the Highway of Horrors, American bases at Khe Sanh and Lang Vei, and the French prison at Lao Bao on the border with Laos.

In North Vietnam we would cross over the Ben Hai Bridge at the 17th parallel and visit the extensive tunnel network of the underground town of Vinh Moc.

The Long Hung Catholic Church ruins | Highway of Horrors

With the US policy of "Vietnamization" of the war where the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) would take over responsibility for fighting the People's Army of Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces, US forces in Vietnam had gone from a high of 540,000 soldiers in 1969 to 70,000 in March 1972.

On March 30th, 1972 the North Vietnamese Army launched the Easter Offensive and crossed the DMZ. They lay seige to the city of Quang Tri and bombarded the city as citizens tried to escape south. The stretch of Highway 1 south of the city was called the "Highway of Horrors" as more than 2,000 civilians were killed by the artillery bombardment of the road.

With support from the US Navy and Air Force, the South Vietnamese Army was eventually able to recapture Quang Tri on 16 September 1972. The 138 day battle of Quang Tri which destroyed the entire city is considered the longest and most fierce battle of the Vietnam War.

As we drove to our next destination, Mr. Troung told us a little about himself and his family. He is from the area of Hue and was a South Vietnamese soldier as was his father. His grandfather was a soldier in the French Colonial Army. At the end of the war he was imprisoned for 2 and 1/2 years. He made salt on the beach and was eventually released with the influence of his uncle who was with the North Vietnamese Army. Until 1985 he was forced to work as farmer. He learned English and started to offer his services as a guide at hotels in 1995.

The Lang Vei Special Forces camp was overrun during the Tet Offensive on 7 February 1968, resulting in a horrible defeat and the loss of seven American special forces killed and three captured. The South Vietnamese montagnards and Civilian Irregular Defense Group and Royal Lao Army loss more than 250 killed or missing and over 220 captured. 90 North Vietnamese soldiers were killed.

It was very hot and humid with very loud cicadas as an anticipated storm was approaching from Laos.

Lao Boa French Prison | 1901-1954

On the border with Laos - which was part of French Indochina during the French colonial period - the French had built one of their five large notorious prisons. We had visited the Hanoi Hilton (Hoa Lo Prison), but this prison ruin which was heavily bombed during the American portion of the war, gave a much better perspective on the terrible conditions that inmates were kept.

The winds started to kick up and distance thunder added to the ominous atmosphere where so much pain and suffering had taken place.

Here at Loa Boa, as well as near the Da Krong Bridge, were important parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The trail which brought soldiers, weapons, supplies into South Vietnam from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia as well as along the western portion of the Annamite Mountain Range in Vietnam was a crucial target during the American and South Vietnamese war effort.

Ho Chi Minh Trail |

We retraced our route and visited the historic Khe Sanh Combat Base. Initially set up by US Special Forces in 1962 as an outpost with Vietnamese irregulars to watch for infiltration by North Vietnamese soldiers it was turned over to the Marines who built a large combat base along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Manned by over 6,000 Marines it was set up not only to interdict the supply route, but also as an enticement to draw out the North Vietnamese Army for a direct attack where US air and artillery power could inflict severe losses.

The Battle of Khe Sanh and the eventually seige started nine days before the Tet Offensive on 21 January 1968. It would last until 8 April when an US Army relief column broke through and lifted the seige. The North Vietnamese had hoped to score a decisive victory similar to what they had done to the French Army at the Seige of Dien Bien Phu which had ended the French occupation of Vietnam in 1954.

The North Vietnamese threw tens of thousands of soldiers in attack waves and tons of artillery and rocket fire into the heavily fortified base which was honeycombed with trenches and bunkers. 274 Marines were killed and over 2,500 wounded.

The Americans carried out an immense bombing and resupply campaign as well as a US Army overland relief column to reach the besieged base. It was one of the most important stories of the Vietnam War with US President Lyndon Johnson saying "I don't want no damn Dien Bien Phu." US commander of US Forces in Vietnam, General William Westmoreland considered the use of tactical nuclear weapons or chemical weapons in late January when the situation looked very dire for the combat base.

Eventually the seige was lifted with the North Vietnamese suffering significant losses. The exact figure is unknown but it is believed that North Vietnamese losses were 5,550 killed in action.

Withdrawal from the base started on 19 June and was completely abandoned by July 5th.

The Seige of Khe Sahn |

While we were touring the Khe Sanh, a guy with a metal detector came up to us with some rusty medals and US servicemen dog tags. I ended up buying a North Vietnamese military medal. Mike Bayles who was interested in what happened to a US serviceman got a dog tag. When Bill Adams visited the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC for a service commemorating his father's death during the Vietnam War he looked up the name on the dog tag and it turned out that it belonged to US Army Medical Specialist Steven Ernest Arnold whose helicopter crashed in Quang Tri province near Camp Carroll on November 1969. How the dog tag ended up in Khe Sanh is not known, but I imagine the metal detector guy visits military sites and collects what he finds and then because Khe Sanh is a place tourist visits he hangs out there. I asked to take his picture but he said 'no".

After a simple but delicious lunch at an outdoor restaurant near the battle site we headed back across Vietnam to visit the Vinh Moc tunnel town.

Before reaching the tunnel town we stopped at the former border between North and South Vietnam and crossed the old bridge over the Ben Hai River. There were remnants of a tower where propaganda loudspeakers were set up and a huge downed flag pole. On the bridge groups of women with matching ao dai dresses.

On the northern side men in military fatigues were practicing for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the end of the war and the reunification of Vietnam. There was also a small museum telling the story of the aerial bombardment by the Americans and the North Vietnamese counter measures of u underground tunnels and air defenses.

Line of Demarcation | Ben Hai River

The Vinh Moc tunnel town is located just north of the DMZ and was built to shelter families from intense US air bombardments. The Americans believed the inhabitants were supplying the North Vietnamese Army on Con Co Island which was impeding US bombing runs on Hanoi. The idea was to force the villagers to leave but instead -starting in 1966 - they begin to build a network of tunnels. Initially only one level 10 meters deep it was expanded to three levels with the deepest being 30 meters as American bombs were improved to burrow deeper than 10 meters. The tunnel system was so successful that the North Vietnamese claim no villager was killed during the bombing campaign that lasted until 1972.

Though Mr Troung was very knowledgeable about the tunnels system, he turned us over to Phoung, a woman guide, that gave us a personalized tour of the underground town.

The Vinh Moc Tunnels | Vinh Moc

Sunset was approaching and we took the coastal road back for the 100 kilometer drive to Hue. We took a four lane highway which was practically deserted where tombs in the white sand shrub marsh land went on for miles.

We would be heading towards Danang tomorrow where my father was stationed so I took the opportunity to do some internet sleuthing and learned that my father was the ADFC (Assistant Deputy for CORDS - Civilian Operations and Revolutionary Development Support) for I Corps in northern South Vietnam. I came upon "an after action" report he wrot3 after the Tet Offensive dated 2 March 1968 which mentioned guerrilla activity in the Son My region south of Danang. The My Lai Massacre which was in Son My area took place on 16 March 1968.

We had hoped to arrive back in Hue a little earlier to take a swim but unfortunately we arrived in the evening after a quick shower decided to check out the DMZ bar and Hue's night life.

Night life | Hue

We had a long and fascinating day visiting historic sites along the DMZ. Mr Troung was so informative and such an interesting and personable person we were disappointed that he would not be able to accompany us on our journey south. He is 79 years old and recently had open heart surgery and did not feel he was up for a three day journey to Pleiku. We bid him farewell and took a photo of us together.

Day Seven | Hue and south to Hoi An

With our new guide, Hung, we would visit not only Vietnam War sites but also some historic and cultural places of interest. We would then head south passing through Danang and then overnight in Hoi An.

We had thoroughly read up on the Vietnam War and had researched points of interest we wanted to visit. After many inquiries with car services and guides, we finally settled on the Cambodia-based Tiger Tours. Transportation outside the standard tourist sites which are manly just day trips was challenging. Road travel is slow as we experienced on our trip from Laos to Hanoi. And getting a Vietnam War knowledgeable guide was almost non-existant. We were very lucky to have had Mr Troung who not only knew about the war but had actually experienced it. For the next four days, we pretty much had to figured things out ourselves. Hung was enthusiastic and energetic and was able to find some great places to have lunch. We had pre-booked our hotels and flights but would need Hung's English to find places off the beaten path. We would be heading inland towards the Central Highlands where we hoped to visit some US and French battle sites and also try to locate the helicopter crash site that killed Bill's father, a US Army engineering officer based in Pleiku.

The Tet Offensive |

The Tet Offensive was a massive surprise attack by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong that took place on the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday which both sides had agreed to observe a seize fire.

With coordinated assaults throughout the South Vietnam including provincial capitals including Saigon, Danang and Hue, the offensive eventually proved to be a military defeat for the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong who lost tens of thousand of soldiers. The combined casualties for the US and South Vietnamese military was over 9,000 soldiers killed and 1,530 missing.

However, despite the military set back for North Vietnam, the Tet Offensive had a profound strategic impact for the Americans. It shattered the US President Lyndon Johnson and the US military's claim that it was winning the war. It fueled the anti-war protests in the United States and led to a change in strategy to the "Vietnamization" of the war and to negotiations to end the war.

Battle for Hue | photos

Tay Loc Airport | Tet Offensive

In the opening hours of the Tet Offensive - 31 January 1968 - the joint US-South Vietnam Air field at Tay Loc just outside the Hue Citadel was overrun and all aircraft destroyed.

The Battle of Hue which lasted over a month was one of the most intense battles of the Vietnam War and one of the few battles in an urban environment. In street to street fighting primarily by the US Marines, the ancient and former capital of Vietnam was retaken but was almost completely destroyed in the one-month battle.

Hue | The Citadel

Historic images | Hue

Near the end of the Japanese occupation of Vietnam, on 11 March 1945 the Empire of Vietnam was created with Emperor Bao Dai as its leader. However, with the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, a power struggle ensued and the communist Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh succeeded. Emperor Bao Dai abdicated on 25 August. Viet Minh leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed independence and created the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on 2 September 1945.

During the North Vietnamese occupation of Hue during the Tet Offensive, some 400 men and boys who sought refuge in the Phu Cam Catholic Cathedral where rounded up by NVA soliders and eventually executed and dumped in a river near the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc.

According to the Vietnam Center of Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, 2,910 victims - mostly civilians - were found in mass graves from soon after the Tet Offensive to November 1969. 1,946 Vietnamese citizens from Hue are still unaccounted for.

Phu Cam Catholic Cathedral | Hue

We stopped to buy incense sticks that Bill planned to light at the site where his father was killed when his helicopter was shot down during the war.

Nearby was the mausoleum complex of Emperor Tu Duc. Though there was a tomb, it is said that the actually burial site of the famous emperor who ruled for 36 years (1847-1883) and had 103 wives and concubines but no children is not known.

Emperor Tu Duc Mausoleum and complex |

We next headed to Danang where my father, Clifford Nelson, has served as the Assistance Deputy for CORDS.

Lunch Stop | Bien Ngoc Restaurant | Phu Loc

But first a quick stop at the French colonial era military outpost at Hai Van Pass just north of Danang. It had been a point of contention since French colonial times and during the Tet Offensive the US military position there had been overrun by Viet Cong forces.

French colonial army outpost | Hai Van Pass

One of the reasons I wanted to visit Vietnam was to see where my dad had spent three years from 1965 to 1968. The family was living in the Philippines at the time and my father would visit us every six months or so. I had asked my older brothers if they knew anything about dad's work in Vietnam and the oldest one, Lee, said he was with USAID in The Delta area and then was posted to Danang in northern South Vietnam.

I had made contact with a former USAID field representative who had known my dad and I would be meeting up with him in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) later on.

With the limited research I had done, I learned that he probably had been sent up to Danang when as the Deputy Assistant for CORDS when it had been formed in May 1967. CORDS stands for Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support.

According to Wikipedia CORDS was a pacification program of the governments of South Vietnam and the United States during the Vietnam War. The program included military and civilian components of both governments. The objective of CORDS was to gain support for the government of South Vietnam from its rural population which was largely under influence or controlled by the insurgent communist forces of theViet Cong (VC) and the North Vietnamese People's Army (PAVN).

US President Lyndon Johnson appointed  CIA official and National Security Counsel  member Robert W. Kromer to head up CORDS. Komer was one of three deputy commanders to General William Westmoreland with the title of ambassador and the equivalent rank of a three-star general. This was the first time in U.S. history that an ambassador had served under a military command and been given authority over military personnel and resources.

"Komer chose a military officer as his deputy and repeated the pattern of having either a civilian in charge of every component of CORDS with a military deputy or, alternatively, a military commander with a civilian deputy. He consolidated all the diverse pacification and civil affairs programs in Vietnam—military and civilian—under the authority of CORDS." Wikipedia

So from the one weekly report I was able to find which was written by my father to Ambassador Komer shortly after the Tet Offensive, it seems like he was the civilian deputy assistant to Komer for I Corps -the northern most of the four tactical zones the US military set up in South Vietnam.

My dad | Clifford Roy Nelson | South Vietnam

After my mother died in 2020, my brother, Jeff, and I went through the hundreds of photos my father had taken from his time with the OSS (Office of Strategic Studies) during WW2, family photos and trips and we came across a few of him in Vietnam. I have no idea where or when they were taken.

There is not much left from the Vietnam War in Danang, so we made a quick stop at Red Beach II where first US combat troops - the US Marines - arrived in 1965.

We drove along the coast the the bustling - third largest city in Vietnam. There was lots of traffic and activity along China Beach which was a popular R&R spot for GIs during the war. Many highrise buildings and hotels and casinos which are popular with Chinese tourists.

Red Beach | Danang

After a long drive and some missed road directions we arrived at Hoi An. We checked into the hotel, had sunset drinks and a swim on the rooftop pool and then headed into town for dinner. We decided on street food and after trying to be swindled for a boat ride, we bought tickets and joined the lantern boats on inlet of the Thu Bon River.

Though super crowded with both Vietnamese and foreign visitors and with pulsating music from the night clubs, it was a fun evening of wondering along the picturesque little town known for its lighted boats and tailors.

Night on the town | Hoi An

Another fascinating and long day. Tomorrow My Lai and then onto Pleiku

Day Eight | My Lai and into the Central Highlands

After a long three hour drive we arrived at My Lai Massacre site. It was very quiet and hot and inside the museum with a school group visiting. They wanted to take a photo of me with them and so I posed with them as they made the peace sign. It was very strange and a bit unsettling. We had just seen a very moving and graphic Al Jazeera documentary account of the massacre and I was feeling very depressed and sad.

I checked out the museum, but the horrible images and stories made me feel emotionally sick. I rushed through the exhibit and took photos of some of the displays and photos.

My Lai Massacre |

In an operation soon after the Tet Offensive, US military intelligence had indicated that a Viet Cong unit was operating in the Son My area - mistakingly identified as My Lai. On the morning of 16 March 1968, US soldiers were dropped in rice paddies outside the villages with instructions from Colonel Oran K Henderson, the 11th Brigade commander, that urged his officers to "go in there aggressively, close with the enemy and wipe them out for good".

Up to 504 civilians - all of the women, children and old men were killed. In notes from that day, I wrote "It's just unfathomable to me that people could just kill women and children - rape them and mutilate them. Unfortunately it still happens much too often with the latest horrible killings being perpetuated by the Israelis. And they are getting away with mass murder and genocide. Appalling."

The My Lai Massacre was eventually uncovered after American soldiers wrote letters to Congress and to the commander of American forces in Vietnam. The New York Times broke the story in November 1969 and former US Army photographer Ronald Haeberle who had taken color photos (which he kept) with his personal camera released the images of the massacre victims.

In one of the most impactful and tragic photo I have ever seen, mothers are seen trying to protect their young daughters from being rape, just before all of them were killed.

Here the photographer recounts the story behind the photograph for the Cleveland Plain Dealer |

"The GIs found a group of people—mothers, children, and their daughters. This GI grabbed one of the girls...and started stripping her, playing around. They said they wanted to see what she was made of and stuff like that.

I remember they were keeping the mother away from protecting her daughter—she must have been around 13—by kicking the mother in the rear and slapping her around.

.... They were pleading for their lives. The looks on their faces, the mothers were crying, they were trembling.

I turned my back because I couldn't look. They opened up with two M16's. On automatic fire...35, 40 shots.

I couldn't take a picture of it, it was too much. One minute you see people alive and the next minute they're dead."

I left the museum and with the driver and decided to try and find the famous "and the babies" massacre site. We drove down some narrow roads through rice paddies where material was laid out as villagers raked the rice. It was quiet and there was a slight breeze on this hot and humid day - probably very similar weather and atmosphere on the day of the massacre. Hard to imagine that the area I was in was the site of hundreds of people getting killed.

As a photographer, it was interesting to learn that Ronald Haeberle had a personal camera in which he shot color film while with the two Army issued cameras he shot black and white which he submitted to the military but kept the color roll for himself. He recounts that though he witnessed at least 100 civilians being killed including by company commander Lt William Calley Jr, he did not take any pictures of the actual killings as he feared that the soldiers might turn on him in their killing frenzy.

I had wondered how an entire company (between 100 to 250 soldiers) could all take go on a killing spree. However, what I learned was that only a small portion of the company's soldiers actually did the killings and it was the observation and intervention of a helicopter pilot, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jr ,that helped stop the killings and ferry out survivors he rescued. He even instructed his crew to fire on the US soldiers if they continued killing innocent people.

I learned that such killings by US soldiers were relatively widespread though not on the scale of My Lai. And of course, we had learned first hand that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong had carried out similar atrocities.

It had been a very emotional and oppressive visit and I felt down and sort of lost. However, I was uplifted when I came across some residents who live among the massacre sites and their resilence and positive mood, uplifted my spirits and reminded me that even in the most tragic of places, life goes on.

I left My Lai with a heavy heart.

On our way to Pleiku before turning inland we stopped a restaurant along a waterway next to the beach. Another excellent meal and with some roadside restaurants that we stopped at there were hammocks for the diners.

After six hours on the road into the Central Highlands and over numerous dramatic mountain passes and as the night closed in we arrived at the Mang Yang Pass battle site - the last defeat of the French colonial army by the Viet Minh.

Groupement Mobile No. 100, a regimental task force unit of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps, fearing being surrounded and cut off by Viet Minh forces prepared a hasty evacuation of their base at An Khe. Officers and their families had already been flown out and though led by experienced and battle harden commanders, the 3,500 man force was ambushed as it made its way to Pleiku.

The convoy that became spread out and in their rush to get ahead of the Viet Minh did not send out patrols. Soldiers fled into the brush and over a six day period (24-29 June 1954)remnants of the doomed convoy were hunted down. A relief column found the wounded commander who had been passed over as dead and France's 100 year presence in Indochina came to an end.

500 soldier were killed, 600 wounded and 800 captured

Battle of Mang Yang Pass |

There was no one there when we arrived and the little museum's door was unlocked. We checked it out but everything was in Vietnamese. A man in a sleeveless t-shirt shown up and he showed us around. Our guide translated and it turned out he was a former ARVN soldier who had fought in the war. He pointed out that the Americans had had a base 10 kilometers away. Unfortunately, it was getting late and we did not have time to try and locate it.

After the sun set it became very dark. It was the first time that we had been out in the countryside at night and Al commented about how it would have been for American soldiers on multiple day night patrols during the war. Hard to imagine setting up an ambush and defensive position and waiting silently in heavy jungle vegetation for the enemy to appear.

After checking into our brand new hotel, we went in search of a restaurant and ended up at a hot pot street restaurant. Really good and spicy. A passerby that we thought was a restaurant employee helped us with the menu when our translation apps failed to make sense of it.

Pleiku | night

It had been a long and emotional day.

Tomorrow we would search for the helicopter crash site of Bill's father and visit the Ia Drang battle site next to the Cambodian border.

Day Nine | Pleiku and the personal cost of war