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| Not that war! |
Our primary reason for travelling to Vietnam was for the old salt to revisit his past; he had served with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment many years ago.
Vietnam has an interesting history of occupation and conflict well worth the reading. Choosing where to begin a brief description of the Vietnam War is difficult enough and for the record, I am no military historian, just an interested traveller. I just like to know how and where things fit in with broader histories.
So to set the scene, some background information:
In 1946, the Vietnamese fought a War of Resistance against French colonialists, a struggle for national independence. The outcome in 1954 was a divided Vietnam when a Geneva Accord divided the country at the 17th parallel pending elections in 1956. The north became the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under the Loa Dong Party (the Workers Party, under communist leader, Ho Chi Minh) and the south became an unsettled Republic of South Vietnam under Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem. North Vietnam continued the struggle for reunification through armed and revolutionary activities, so in effect a state of war existed between the two; the second Indochina War. The US began providing military assistance to the South in 1955, so the connection and relationship between the two countries was established.
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| Cu Chi Tunnels |
North Vietnam continued its struggle however. Group 559 were established in 1959 to infiltrate the South via the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos and Cambodia. Also, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF), better known as the VC or Viet Cong, grew from strength to strength. Their low technology, guerrilla warfare techniques were achieving results whilst politics in South Vietnam continued to cause upheaval. Bao Dai, the last Emperor of the Nguyen dynasty was deposed by Diem, who assumed the mantle of President.
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| Venerable Monks |
In June 1963, a 66 year old Buddhist Monk, Thich Quang Duc, immolated himself in Saigon in protest against repressive measures against Buddhists. That same year, Diem was murdered by his own officers and a series of cout d'etat followed adding to the general malaise.
The Vietnam War began in 1965 with the escalation of US involvement. The US began to bomb military targets in North Vietnam and the first US ground combat troops landed in Danang. By the end of 1967, allied troops, including Australians, had been sent to Vietnam. In 1968, the VC's Tet Offensive (Lunar New Year, Tet) saw a series of surprise attacks on Saigon and other cities, including a raid on the American Embassy in Saigon. Peace negotiations began in Paris that same year, however hostilities were not resolved until 1973 (Paris Peace Agreement) and the last of the US troops had gone. Despite the Agreement, the war continued. In 1975, North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon and the South Vietnamese government surrendered. The Communist Party in a long struggle had achieved not only its own political victory but national liberation and reunification.
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| Hai Van Pass |
We were lucky to have Guide Garry, who has a strong interest in and personal knowledge of the Australian contingent's activities, locations and operations.
This added enormously to the authenticity of our experience; that and of course two buses full of ex-servicemen and their families all sharing stories, beers and laughs in the true Aussie style.
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| Never a Dull Moment |
