FLASHBACK: Saigon (1967 - 1968)

Ken volunteered to go to Viet Nam for a year to avoid another overseas posting of longer duration.  He landed in Saigon in 1967.  William Westmoreland ("Westy") was still in command of US forces.  Westy's infidelity with a local woman was one of many things that disillusioned Ken.

If Mary could buy me a pair of guinea pigs in his absence, he could grow a bushy mustache in hers.

Ken was assigned to the Military Assistance Command, Viet Nam (MACV) headquarters.

He lived close enough to walk to work.  IMHO, that's pretty high on the list of important fringe benefits.

And he drank beer on the terrace of the Continental Palace 50 years before I stayed there!

He took these photos before the Tet Offensive in 1968, when Saigon felt safe except for the occasional hand grenade tossed by a woman on a motorbike from a hand basket.

Independence Palace was brand new.

Saigon's motorbikes haven't changed as much the cars and buses.

Ken wandered the streets at lunchtime, complaining constantly of the humidity in his frequent letters home.  Saigon's entrepreneurs thrived on a black- market economy fueled by American dollars.  Only the sale of film dates this photo. 

Tet, an attack on Saigon during the Vietnamese New Year, changed everything.  It took two days for Ken to get word that he was safe.  Viet Cong shelling hadn't hit his billet.

In a humiliating blow to the US military, the Viet Cong even managed to shell the US Embassy. Although the surprise attack ultimately failed, it had a profound impact on the American psyche.

Sandbags replaced concertina wire around MACV headquarters.

A floating hospital docked on the Saigon River.

Ken flew into Tan Son Nhat Airport when he arrived.

Like other American and Australian soldiers, he also flew out of the same airport when he met Mary in Hawaii for seven days of "R&R" (rest & recreation), all expenses paid.

Ken took full advantage of his layover in Tokyo. He couldn't believe how much Japan had changed since World War II, 30 years earlier.

Note the attraction at the local Cinerama theater. The future then is long past now.

The Japanese invented the idea of shopping as entertainment.

Ken caught a live performance on a Ginza roof top.  Is that a monkey?

Upon arrival in Honolulu, Ken and Mary checked in to the Hilton Diamond Head Towers.

Their room overlooked Waikiki beach.

Mary took the sun.

Within a couple of months, Ken flew back to El Paso a changed man. He had nothing good to say about the Army or American policy and he probably would have helped me avoid the draft.