Our last day in Saigon was pretty much a day of leisure and preparation for the long trip home across the Pacific. Some of our group elected to go with our guide Phai on a last shopping excursion to the Cholon section of Saigon. Cholon has traditionally been the section of Saigon that was largely inhabited by a large Chinese mini community. During the Tet Offensive in 1968, Cholon was the last area of Saigon to be retaken from a significant VC and NVA force that had taken sanctuary there. Many of us, who had done enough shopping, decided to stay around the hotel and begin packing. I had a later than usual Breakfast at the Rex Hotel Dining Room on the 5th Floor. Then took a few minutes to address and mail a few postcards to some of the men I served with in Vietnam and maintain contact with. I then took my camera and did some exploring in the area surrounding our hotel. This is a very affluent area that displays a distinct Western influence. If you didn't know you were in Saigon, you could easily imagine that you were in any number of large modern cities in other places in the world. The Hotel provided a final Farewell Lunch for us, in the Private Dining Room, at 1:00 PM. An attempt was made to give us something more akin to American food. We were served a Club Sandwich with French Fries and the usual assorted fresh fruit for dessert. We had all dressed in the personalized shirts provided to us by the VFW. We posed for a group picture on the steps of the Hotel, then returned to our rooms for final packing and to collect our luggage. After checking out, we departed for Tan San Nhut Airport and the first leg of our long trip home. Our flight to Hong Kong was a little late in departing, but in plenty of time to make our connection from Hong Kong to LA. Both of these legs, as when we traveled to and from the US, was on Cathay Pacific. My first time on this airline. I found it to be an excellent carrier. On the leg between Hong Kong and LA in both directions, the VFW made sure we got Economy Deluxe seating. This gave us larger seats and even more accommodating service. We were served both a full Dinner and Breakfast, and there were snacks provided on request. The trip back across the Pacific was shorter than when we went over. Going over, this leg was about 15 1/2 hours. It was at least 2 hours shorter on the return trip. Upon arrival in LA, at about 9:45 PM local time, we cleared the maze of Immigration, Customs, the TSA, and finally Baggage Claim. We then took an Airport Shuttle to the Sheraton Four Points for the night. Most of us had early flights home, so we pretty much scattered from that point. I had an 8:40 AM flight back to Boston, so I departed about 6:00 AM for LAX. Quickly cleared TSA and had Breakfast at the Airport. Arrived back in Boston, just after 4:30 PM local time, to be greeted by my Wife, Daughter, and two Grandsons.
   A few final reflections on the trip, now that I have had time to decompress back here in the good old USA. First of all, many thanks to the VFW for this once in a lifetime opportunity to return once again to Vietnam. The trip was strictly first class in all that was provided. Hard to believe that we could have had a better Guide than Nguyen Phai. His knowledge of the geography, history, and traditions of the Country was superior. At each stop, we had first class accomodations and the people there could not have been more accommodating. Roger Frye, the current Chief of Staff for the VFW National Commander, was chosen to accompany us on the tour. Roger is a US Marine Veteran of the Vietnam War. He did an excellent job of providing our link between the VFW and the tour operator, Global Spectrum. I found that I was more at ease when we moved South and got away from Hanoi. The people in Hanoi were very nice to us, but I couldn't help but still see them as the enemy. Unlike some, I do not choose to view them as an honorable former adversary, worthy of mutual respect. I believe they broke every agreement and truce that they made during the war. Culminating in their absolute disregard for the 1973 Paris Peace Accord negotiated by Henry Kissinger and the Nixon Administration. It is obvious that they never intended to live up to the agreement and planned to again invade the South at their first opportunity. Eventually, the North again invaded the South, utilizing about 11 fully equipped Divisions who had been trained and supported by China and the USSR. Bt this time the South was defended by only 3 Divisions. The Paris Peace Accord had called for the withdrawal of all US Troops from Vietnam. It did however have provisions for the US to provide air support and material resupply to the South, if the North broke the terms of the Accords. This commitment was honored by the US the first time the North broke the Accords and the  ARVN forces more than held their own in resisting this invasion. The North persisted, and in late 1974 and early 1975, with significant material and logistic support from China and the USSR, again invaded the South in force. Unfortunately, by this time a new Congress had taken control in Washington. They essentially pulled the plug on the funding that would have been required to support the South in defending against this further violation of the Paris Peace Accords. The result was that the North overran the South in April 1975 and forcefully "reunified" Vietnam as a Communist State. I consider the actions of this US Congress to be among the most disgraceful acts ever perpetrated by the Congress of the US. It is all history now. It appears to me that the South has done very well in adapting to coming under the heal of the North. It is apparent to this day that the national government certainly discriminates against the native born Southerners. Most foreign investors far prefer the South. The government forces these Countries to first invest in the North before allowing them to do what they want in the South. The government essentially owns all the land and is deeply involved in the everyday lives of all citizens. No private citizens are allowed to have guns - only the Police and Military. You get the feeling that all people are a little cautious about what they say when talking with foreigners. People are encouraged to inform on their friends, neighbors, and family for deviating from the "party line". The Southerners seem much more resistant to all the government control. The North decided that Hanoi would be the capital of the Country and insisted that all foreign governments locate their embassies in Hanoi. They punitively decided to rename Saigon as Ho Chi Minh City. This is essentially ignored in the South. Everyone in the South still calls it Saigon and appears to find it humorous that the North would believe they could change the centuries old name of a city at the stroke of a pen. The form of Communism being practiced in Vietnam is a noticeable hybrid version. It is obvious that capitalism is in full force. Religion, predominantly Buddhism and Catholicism, are tolerated by the Government, but not supported in any way. It is very dangerous to talk about any disagreements between the two dominating religions. This tells me it is still very much in evidence, as it was during the war. Support of religion comes from outside the Country. The government is ever present in all business and commercial transactions. There is a 10% "Value Added Tax imposed by the Government on all transactions and sales. Housing is also tightly controlled by the Government, as is ownership of land. They decide, based on Family size and circumstances, on where people can live and how big a home they can have. This is especially true in the cities that are growing exponentially. A private citizen, that accumulates enough money, can in fact purchase land from the government to build a home of their choosing. The government charges exorbitantly for this privilege. They have determined that the money people put into building a home is good for the overall economy. Since the war ended, many people have essentially voted with their feet and moved South. Very few chose to migrate in the other direction. The Government realized this and has provided many incentives for people to either stay in the North or migrate there from the South. Some Southerners seem to believe that they will be treated better if they move to the North. As I said Northerners generally get the best jobs and accomodations in the South. It is amazing to see how well most of the South has adapted and prospered, despite the favoritism displayed toward Northerners by the Government. I chose to spend as much time as I could talking with people. The people, especially in the South, seemed more open and candid than those in the Hanoi area. I can't help but wonder how much better things would be in the entire Country, if the reunification took place peacefully and the people where allowed to choose their own leaders and form of government. I would guess that this is exactly what the North did not want, because they knew that a government elected by the entire Country, would never have been a communist one. This in my opinion is why the North, supported by their Chinese and Soviet Union allies, decided to force the reunification by an invasion.
  My biggest disappointment on the trip was to see how most evidence of American presence in Vietnam has been wiped out. Some of this has occurred naturally by allowing nature to just reclaim some of these areas, but it appears that much of it was intentional by the Government. Some of the larger and more advanced American and ARVN bases have been refitted for use by the "People's Army", as they call it. Other base areas and battle sites have been preserved and in many cases rebuilt to the way they were when American forces fought there. However, this is generally done to memorialize what the Government calls their "heroic victories". Examples of this are the US Marine Combat Base at Khe Sanh and the infamous Hamburger Hill. Anyone who knows the battle history of these sites, knows without doubt that these were certainly not victories for the NVA and VC. The Government takes every opportunity to denigrate what Americans and the Southern Forces did during the war. They are especially harsh in their propaganda on the alleged "atrocities" propagated against their Country by the "American Devils". You would think that with this constant bombardment over the years since the war, that the Vietnamese people would not be very welcoming or supportive of American visitors. My experience there was just the opposite. The people generally couldn't have been more friendly or accommodating towards us! It seemed that many older people would go to great lengths to get pictures with us and their Children and Grandchildren. This tells me that the people are not as gullible or supportive of Government policies as the Government hopes and believes that they are. I personally am glad to see that the Vietnamese people have recovered so well from the nightmarish war years. I would strongly advise any Vietnam Veterans or other interested Americans to visit Vietnam if they can. My only advice would be to engage the services of an experienced guide that can get you around and help to filter fact from Government Propaganda. I may choose to make some additions over the coming weeks to this Blog. They will probably be in the way of adding additional pictures that those of us on the tour took on our own. Please do not hesitate to email any questions you might have. You can reach me at www.stevebird2@comcast.net . Hope you enjoyed my Blog!

Five Star plaque on the Rex Hotel. Our Saigon residence.

View of the park across the street from the Rex Hotel entrance.

View from the park. Note the ever present statue of Ho Chi Minh. Certainly not put there by the people in the South!

Another city vista from the park.

View from the far end of the park of a bus terminal.

A typical high rise building under construction near the Rex Hotel.

A commercial office building just down the street from the Rex Hotel.

The Rex Hotel Health Club connected to the Hotel. We were given full access there during our stay and also to the 5th Floor Executive Spa and Exercise Gym.

View of the Vertical Garden in the middle of the Rex Hotel, taken from the 5th Floor Bar and Pool area.

The Roof Top Pool at the Rex Hotel.

Vista of downtown Saigon from the pool at the Rex.

One of my fellow travelers, Ron D'Andre, enjoying a final drink at the Rex poolside bar. Ron was also a Combat Medic in Vietnam and served 3 tours there. His first was with the 1/7 Cavalry, at the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, immortalized in the movie We Were Soldiers.