Steve's Vietnam Trip

Today was another long but very interesting day. After an early breakfast here at our Hotel in Hue, our tour bus picked us up at 7:00 AM. We spent the day on a wide sweeping tour of a significant portion of what was known as I Corps during the war. South Vietnam was divided into four Tactical Zones, known as Corps I - IV. I Corps is the farthest North of these areas. I spent the first half of my 1 year Vietnam Tour in this area. We proceeded from Hue up along Highway 1 North. When I was here in 1968-69, Highway 1 was not much more than a narrow, mostly unpaved road. It is now fully paved and varies from four lanes to six lanes of divided highway in some spots. Even has tolls in spots! We first stopped along the highway to visit a memorial to the "Soldiers of the Revolution". There are many of these throughout the Country. Notably, these memorials are dedicated to the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Vietcong (VC) Soldiers. Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) are completely ignored. We continued up Highway 1 to Quang Tri, passing close to the former locations of LZ Sharon and the An Lo Bridge. Like most former American outposts and bases, there is no evidence that LZ Sharon ever existed. It is now some areas of housing, Acacia trees, and undergrowth. Made a short stop at the Citadel in Quang Tri and actually met the Mayor of the city, who happened to be visiting while we were there. We continued north, until we reached the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The DMZ was established in 1954 as a buffer between North and South Vietnam, at the conclusion of the Indochina War with France. It was at the 17th Parallel. There is a river at that point, and the DMZ extends for 5 kilometers, north and south of that point. During the war, it was a bomb cratered and defoliated no man's land. Very different now. It is now a very active agricultural area of vast rice fields and has been completely re foliated. We stopped at the Southern end of the bridge and viewed the memorial that has been placed there. We then retraced our steps for a short distance back down Highway 1 and turned west on Highway 9. Again, little more than a primitive dirt road when I was there, but now significant parts of it are paved with 2 - 4 lanes. We started into the more mountainous areas of I Corps, where I spent significant time in combat with the 1st Cavalry Division. We drove through the area known as 'Leatherneck Square". This was the area of operations (AO) of the Marine Corps. It is delineated by four cities, two of which we passed through - Dong Ha and Con Tien. Dong Ha has grown so much that it has now replaced Quang Tri City as the provincial capital of Quang Tri Province. As we had previously seen, there is no remaining evidence of the several major US Marine bases that were so active during the war. They are generally now populated by some residential areas and the ever present Acacia trees. These trees have become a major International cash crop for the Country. They are harvested and ground into wood chips and sold all over the world, primarily to be made into Plywood. We passed right by the former site of Camp Carrol and stopped briefly on Highway 9 to take pictures of the famous "Rockpile". Continuing west, we finally came to Khe Sanh. The Marine Base that was subjected to a 77 day siege by the NVA in early 1968. That siege was only broken when the 1st Cavalry Division simultaneously air assaulted three Battalions astride of Highway 9 and advanced through NVA positions until they reached the base. Eventually, the US Marines abandoned the Base, before the US withdrew its forces. The NVA reclaimed the area, but long after the Marines had left. Strangely, the Vietnamese Government has somehow claimed it as one of their biggest and most heroic victories. Unlike how they have largely allowed most other American Bases to essentially disappear, they have chosen to actually reconstruct and preserve this former base. They have reconstructed Marine positions as they were before being destroyed by the Marines before they abandoned the base and left the dirt runway intact. They have constructed a Museum to their side there and have placed all types of US equipment and Aircraft around the site. It is obvious that all these things were captured after the US had left Vietnam. It seems to be an obvious propaganda stunt that is thinly veiled to anyone who knows any facts about the Battle and Siege of the Marine Base that was there! The Base is on a plateau about two miles above the City of Khe Sanh. After our visit, we came back down to the city and had Lunch there. We then got back on the road and essentially retraced our steps back along Highway 9 and 1, until returning to our Hotel in Hue. On the trip back, we made a small side trip to the former site of Camp Evans. This was the I Corps Base of the 1st Cavalry Division from March to October of 1968. A rough, newly constructed road leads west off of Highway 1, for a short trip to where the base once stood. The remnants of the original access road built by 1st Cavalry Combat Engineers can still be seen running parallel to the newer road. The site now has some housing, but is mostly covered by Acacia trees and a large Concrete Plant. I sensed that this would be very disappointing to the thousands of 1st Cavalry Troopers who operated out of and worked at this base. I don't believe I ever was on the base in my time in that area. Dinner was at our Hotel in Hue City, on the Perfume River. Our trip today was about 10 hours and covered 219 miles.