Vietnam - Battlefield return, Hue, Hoi A - photos of Vietnam on Worldisround

Vietnam - Battlefield return, Hue, Hoi A

I fought in Vietnam in 1966-67 and returned for the first time in 2005 with my son, David and my friend, Jeff. Jeff and I were in the Marine Corps infantry and fought at a place we called Dodge City ~15 miles from Danang near Hill 55 (where some of the below photos were taken), the DMZ, and a little bit down south. A story or two about these days is found in my personal page: http://chaskemp.googlepages.com/personal2

An account of this trip (Saigon, Hoi An, Hill 55 area, Hue) is at http://chaskemp.googlepages.com/asiatrip - Some ... (more)

Field behind hotel in Hoi An
View from patio Thanh Xuan Hotel

Rice
Near Hill 55 - the view we often had in 66-67

Padi near Hill 55
Everywhere you go in Vietnam people are working - a very good thing

"Best pho in Hoi An"
Jeff, David, and waitress in pho shop. Pho up north is kind of sweet...

Cua Dai Beach near Hoi An
Clean & friendly - a 5 K bike ride from town

Room at Thanh Xuan
Cost about $14 USD for triple, AC, bath in room. Mosquito nets mostly for...

Banana pancake - THE BEST IN SEA
Well, the best I had, anyway - about $.50 USD. Topped with honey....

Cua Dai Beach

I'm Rich! Millions!
A millionaire in dong and truly, deeply happy to be alive.

David in the South China Sea
Oh, what a wonderful thing to me to again be in the South China Sea -...

On the way to Hill 55
Jeff and moto drivers puzzling out way to Hill 55. In Vietnamese,...

River running by Hill 55
Next to where Jerry Georges was killed. He was a truly good guy.

Road from the hill to C Company position
Road was bigger in 1960s. Mines every day. Snipers every day.

C Company position
A lot nicer now. People very friendly. One-armed man brough chairs out...

I'm laying on a trail
... looking back toward Hill 55. I love to lie down in the rice. That white...

This was a very dangerous trail
People on both sides died here. Now its quiet and beautiful.

Hai Van Pass
Road from Hoi An to Hue. I was on this road in 1967, but higher up. Fierce...

Marble Mountain
Pretty, but so many shops and touts

Ahhh, Hue
This is a coffee shop at end of bridge across Perfume River. Could it be any...

Street food in Hue
Taken from hotel balcony - my stool is the empty one.

Washing plastic sacks in river
It is as if my wife is reincarnated in VN!

Perfume River

Everyday life on the riverbank
(tributary of Perfume River)

Old section of Hue

Street of magic
Walking along this street was a high point of the trip - just a quiet...

Over a bridge across moat in Hue

Market next to Perfume River

Street in Hue

It was not really as bad as it looks
This young woman was trying to help us and things kept being sooo...

Funeral in Hoi An
Directly across the street from our hotel. Someone asked me, what is...

Hai Van Pass
Headed back across the pass toward Hoi An, from whence we'll head back to...

From the train
GREEN! VIETNAM IS GREEN!

article published 09/14/2005

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God bless your father for his service and sacrafice. thank you for telling us about him. i went thru the pass often

michael mjcmto.gmail.com
— michael, November 2, 2007

chuck, you have a great site. michael mjcmto@gmail.com
— michael, November 2, 2007

john helm, would like to know about your trip back. i was with 3/9.
— michael, November 2, 2007

THANKS
Thanks Charles for a insight into ur trip. Im a young traveler now back in aus aged 19..had a year abroad in Europe living in ireland and travlling when i could, now back home eager to start a trip to asia ...a place i find sooo exciting...a place nothing like where i live in a society totally different. i think you understand a place like vietnam and its beutiful personality. Thanks again for your photos...im off with mates to vietnam in mid 2008 ...and plan to visit war sites like u have, for my uncle, because he cant... Cheers again, take care.
— Dazza, September 27, 2007

Going Back
I just returned from a trip to Viet Nam...been 40 years. I was stationed on Hill 55. On this trip I started in Ha Noi and took the train to Da Nang..then on to Hill 55. I kept a journal on the trip and will be happy to share with anyone interested. I was with 7th Marines in country 66-67. Very nice to see others that have gone back and the honesty in the article.
— John Helm, July 6, 2007

My father was kia on February 17, 1968 on Hai Van Pass with NMCB-62. His name was Frank Moore. Thanks! Stephen Moore
— Stephen Moore, March 21, 2006

Really enjoyed the honesty, objectivity and humanity of the way you appraise the areas you visit. Thanks for the insight over and above that of the typical S/E Asia tourist Blog.
— Craig Lees, March 13, 2006

Hi Chuck,
Thank you. Not that difficult a trip back to VN - full of grace, actually. Coincidentally I'm talking with a dermatologist named Posten setting up some ongoing Katrina health services. Thank you for writing, Chas
— Charles Kemp, September 16, 2005

Charles- I have been viewing this site a long time, but yours is the first time I read the personal article attached. Thanks for the pics and the articles. They were moving and I'm sure difficult to write.
— Chuck Posten, September 14, 2005

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