On this page are a few pictures I had not used, but I found interesting.
Lowboys (here), jeeps, trucks, tow trucks,
front-end loaders. All U.S. with original paint in most cases. They
were "captured" actually surrendered probably by the ARVN and are in
great shape. There were not thousands, but they were everywhere and
readily recognizable. GMC did a really good job, after all, building
there.
Food presentation is everything
at a restaurant. Note the cucumber character snagged the sea bass.
We ate the fish..and the cucumber.
My rice, and my
brother ate the decorative butterfly.
Here's an innocent looking melon.
Open it up and you have shrimp
soup.
Our
guide took us to this site where he said a V.C. attacking force took out 123
ARVN troops and 3 U.S. advisors in 1963. This is the battle site.
The bomb marks the spot a U.S. plan dropped one. Close by is a memorial to
the "victors". This battle had other implications. The
U.S. advisors requested, pleaded with the local colonel to send reinforcement
and that request went up to Saigon and ARVN headquarters. Help was
denied. This ARVN loss was the turning point for the U.S. as the Defense
Department and the American Public decided to "Americanize" the
war. it would remain that way until January, 1968 and the Tet offensive in
which we had a decisive victory country end, but the massive VC attack signaled
the beginning of the end.
I should print all of my "Flat
Coleman" pictures. Coleman, my grandson, the night before I left
wanted me to take his hand drawn version of "Flat Stanley" to
Vietnam. Margaret, our daughter, e mailed it to me. Starting at the
Atlanta airport, and in Korea and Vietnam I had people sign it. People
from Switzerland, Singapore, China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Hong Cong,
Korea, Australia, the USA, and points all over Vietnam signed on and I got
pictures of most. Coleman made me famous and I was grateful. I met a
lot of really good looking women who thought I was a really neat grandfather...awh,
yes, but to have been 40 years younger....