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Return
to Vietnam
HUE-Phu
Bai Thirty years Later
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Photos taken on southern approach to Phu Bai from Air
Vietnam flight. October, 1996 during typhoon
Betsy, and with an early monsoon flooding the country.
Thua Thien and Quang Tri provinces are still very rural. The most
noticeable change is that most Vietnamese no longer dwell
in thatch huts.
The conical structures in the upper photo are tightly
packed haystacks, often capped with an M1 helmet
to deflect the rain. The Vietnamese homes to the
left of the stacks are concrete block walled with gray and red clay
fired tile roofs. Photos and
Text Ron Zaczek |
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The cemetery on the flight path into
Phu Bai. Photos and Text Ron Zaczek |
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This is the how the photo above appeared in 1966. Photo Courtesy: Mike Kujawa [mikekujawa@hotmail.com] |
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Oakgate and Scarface crews should recognize this
Catholic church on the east side of Hwy 1 just
north of Hue City. An ARVN unit was annihilated here during
Tet 1968; the blast marks of RPG pepper the walls and are black with
mold. The ruin is unique in that very few recognizable
sites of battle remain in what was South Vietnam.
The Communists removed most vestiges of American
presence during the '70s and '80s and either leveled or repaired most
damage. Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek |
In May, 1967, VMO-3 loaded its hooches and shops onto
flatbed trucks and moved to the eastern side of
the runway, shown here in a greatly foreshortened
photo taken from Hue tower. The fuel pits were just beyond the
black band of the runway, then the aircraft parking area, then the line
of shops and finally the squadron living area. Nothing
remains to indicate the squadron's
presence. Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek |
CAMP
CARROLL
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Camp J. J. Carroll, in 1996, is typical of nearly all
former Marine bases in Vietnam. The Vietnamese
kept the "mega bases" with extensive runways such as
Da Nang and Chu Lai intact. Virtually all other mid-size and smaller
bases have returned to nature or are growing cash crops.
The green fields that now carpet Camp Carroll are
pepper plants and the former artillery base is
indistinguishable to those who remember it only as an elevated field of
red clay.
The clue to locating former American positions lies in
the placement of communist monuments built after
the way, most of which are unmaintained and deteriorating
in the harsh climate. We were told that as much as 65% of the population
of the country is under the age of 30, and has no memory of the war
and little interest in the past. Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek |
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Vietnamese patriotic monuments are often oddly shaped
such as this one across the road from Camp
Carroll. Many have elaborate relief's depicting Americans
surrendering in abject fear and aircraft being shot down by Vietnamese
popular forces. Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek |
Camp J.J. Carroll, looking into what was the artillery plateau.
Nothing green would have been in evidence during
the war but Marines crowding this area. Today,
Camp Carroll is a pepper plantation. Nearby, Cam Lo grows rubber.
Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek
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On Hwy 1 in downtown Dong Ha just south of the intersection of Hwy 9
to Camp Carroll, Rockpile, etc. Quang Tri Province
is said to be one of the poorest in Vietnam. The
town has spread out haphazardly over the old base and we could
locate no vestiges of it. Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek |
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Elderly jarheads raise Lt. Carl Anderson's flag at Con
Thien. That's Carl, an I Corps grunt, on the
right, and crew chief Ron Zaczek showing a lot of leg.
At dinner that night, someone remarked how great it looked when
"Carl and Ron charged up Con Thien with the
Marine flag." I answered, "if barely managing
to avoid slipping in that red mud, and not falling down even once
constitutes a 'charge,' then I guess you can call it a
'charge.'" Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek
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ALONG
THE DMZ/CON THIEN
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The DMZ then... Courtesy of Mike
Kujawa |
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The DMZ now...
The Demilitarized Zone seen from the summit of Con
Thien in 1996. Of all the places we visited on our
return to Vietnam, this was the eeriest. It's graveyard-quiet
up there, with only the sound of wind rushing through the reeds.
It seemed like you could see into North Vietnam forever. It was easy
to imagine the sight of gunships on patrol, and '34s landing on this
hilltop to extract wounded between shellings. Mostly, it
came home to you how naked the jarheads were up
there. Several in our group had friends killed in
this spot. Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek |
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Like all of northern I Corps, Con Thien is green, today. We
approached the hill from the south and were warned
to stay on the dirt path due to unexploded
ordnance in the fields to right and left. The hilltop is dotted with
the remains of Marine fighting holes and decaying sandbags; the old
French bunker remains as well, but now a water buffalo
pen and pepper plants keep it company. Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek |
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Thirty years ago, we wouldn't have been standing here
serenely snapping shots. This is the Ben Hai River
Bridge, taken from "North" Vietnam. Today,
traffic moves heavily on Hwy. 1. Photos
and Text Ron Zaczek
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