Once Upon a Time in Vietnam

[Rangefinder]

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I was looking around in an old box labeled 'Vietnam' a while back and came upon a few of old aluminum Kodak film cans.  Some had unexposed Ektachorme rolls waiting patiently for the last 48 years!  Two of them, though, had processed Ektachrome rolls in them so I had a friend scan them for me.  While he was doing that, I went back to my journal to see if I could tell when these were taken.  My time with the 593rd River Division, US Navy began the first week of March, 1970.  On that photo mission, I carried a Bessler Topcon and the trusty Leica M2R.  I'm almost certain the Leica contained the positive film as that was personally acquired, not military issued.  There is some doubt, though, so, if the moderators deem these photos not eligible for posting, I certainly understand.

 

The 593rd River Division was headquarted at Nha Be, on the Saigon River downstream from Saigon.  The detachment I went out with had a small base at the Phu Cong Bridge.  It was built by the French and can be seen via Google Earth today.  This unit patrolled on board PBR boats that were rumored to the the most heavily armed vessels by weight in the Navy.  Here's what they looked like:

 

By the time I arrived at the Phu Cong Bridge, the US boats had sailed so I had to hitch a ride with South Vietnamese Navy.  I  recall being very nervous going with them as they weren't very professional.  I had to spend a night aboard their boat and it wasn't pleasant:

 

They moored the boat prior to sunset (a big no-no with the US Navy) and they were side-by-side.  The US guy moored after dark, stern to stern, for maximum firepower, if needed.  All night long, they talked and moved around on the boats so anybody on or near the river could hear us.  I was glad when we linked up the the US boats the next day.

 

The US boat were commanded by Lieutenant de Rocco and he ran a "tight" unit.  At night, everybody pulled duty, including photographer.  During the day, thought, we cruised the river and, after being out with infantry and armor units, this was seriously fun:

 

On the stern of the boat in the above photo is my friend Dennis, another photographer.  He stayed in the Army was was in Saigon just before it fell in April of '75.  He lives in Pensacola, FL.  We had cruise up river all the way to the Cambodian border and were heading back down, again, when the skipper spotted a tensioned rope break the surface ahead.  We stopped and did a 'recon-by-fire' on both banks.  We drew fire almost immediately from a bunker and hit it with a LAW rocket:

 

After the threat had been eliminated, we saw something floating in the river.  We fired on it and . . . .

 

Those guys had a command detonated mine that they were trying to pull into our path.  After the excitement subsided, we took a look at the bunker we'd hit with the anti-tank rocket:

 

Although it was made of mud, it was as hard as a rock.  They hole you see in the above photo was made by the rocket.  We found a couple of the Viet Cong but it was evident more had been there.  We moved downriver and saw an Air Force F-100 hit a target near the river.  I wasn't fast enough to get a photo of the aircraft:

 

 

That night, we set up in ambush positions along the river.  Before we did that, though, we set out sensors on a path we discovered near bunker we'd hit.  We saw no action that that night and listened to the sensors all night to detect any movement.  When we went back to pick up the sensors, it had been booby trapped with grenades.  This photo was of the guys retrieving the sensors:

 

They backed off and we destroyed the sensors and the attached booby traps with 40mm grenade fire from a belt-fed, hand-cranked Honeywell gun.  The gun on the right in this photo is the grenade launcher:

 

Hey, a little "artsy-craftsy" attemp.  Here another one:

 

Continued . . . .

Edited February 12, 2017 by Rangefinder

[Rangefinder]

 

I know, I know, it's a poor attempt.

 

It wasn't all bad with the 593rd River Division.  We'd moor up near a village and the kids would always come down to the back to greet us.  We gave them candy and C-rations.  Here are a couple of young girls that were more than ready to have their pictures taken:

 

There was a guy with them and, although he looked a bit 'iffy,' I took his photo, too:

 

That's it, for now.  Thank you, in advance for looking.

 

Mike

[Robert M Poole]

More great images Mike from a different world to one I've ever known. Thanks again for sharing. PS, you should shoot that film that's been waiting so patiently!

 

www.robertpoolephotography.com

[Rangefinder]

More great images Mike from a different world to one I've ever known. Thanks again for sharing. PS, you should shoot that film that's been waiting so patiently!

 

www.robertpoolephotography.com

Thank you, Robert!  Heck, I found some film for my old Rolleiflex that "died" in Vietnam.  As for the Ekatachorme, I still have the Nikon Ftn that went into Cambodia with me during the 1970 invasion.  As Yogi Berra once said, "It's deja vu all over again."

 

Oh, by the way, I'm very glad you never got to know that "different world."

 

Mike

[jdlaing]

Excellent.

 

I did a stint in River Division 592 at Go Dau Ha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I lived.

[Rangefinder]

Excellent.

 

I did a stint in River Division 592 at Go Dau Ha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I lived.

I'm glad you did!  By the way, searching through the Vietnam stuff in my basement, I came upon a Zippo lighter, still in its original box.  It has the 593rd unit crest and the Navy guys even had it engraved for me.  I had a great time with those guys and it was tough going back to infantry units after that.

 

Welcome home, Jdlaing.

 

Mike

[jdlaing]

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I'm glad you did!  By the way, searching through the Vietnam stuff in my basement, I came upon a Zippo lighter, still in its original box.  It has the 593rd unit crest and the Navy guys even had it engraved for me.  I had a great time with those guys and it was tough going back to infantry units after that.

 

Welcome home, Jdlaing.

 

Mike

I joined the Navy after getting my draft induction notice to avoid the Army.

I was an apprentice Carpenter.

As a reward for joining they made me a Seabee and shipped my butt to Vietnam Nam for three years eight months and eleven days.

 

:-)

[Rangefinder]

I joined the Navy after getting my draft induction notice to avoid the Army.

I was an apprentice Carpenter.

As a reward for joining they made me a Seabee and shipped my butt to Vietnam Nam for three years eight months and eleven days.

 

:-)

Well, I sure hope your luck changed!  By the way, we weren't too far from one another in RVN.  My base was in Lai Khe.

 

Hey, I see you're from the Republic.  I'm heading out to Big Bend on Feb. 28th on my motorcycle.  I think this is my 14th visit to the area but it's my first with a Leica.  Looking forward to it.

 

Mike

[jdlaing]

Well, I sure hope your luck changed!  By the way, we weren't too far from one another in RVN.  My base was in Lai Khe.

 

Hey, I see you're from the Republic.  I'm heading out to Big Bend on Feb. 28th on my motorcycle.  I think this is my 14th visit to the area but it's my first with a Leica.  Looking forward to it.

 

Mike

I used to get out there yearly. Make sure to stop at the little store next to the Starlight Theater in Terlingua about sunset and throw down a few Cool Aids.

[Rangefinder]

I used to get out there yearly. Make sure to stop at the little store next to the Starlight Theater in Terlingua about sunset and throw down a few Cool Aids.

I'm staying at the Holiday Hotel and check-in is in the store.  They seem to always have a Cool Aide handy in there!

 

Mike

[EoinC]

 

 

 

...That's it, for now.  Thank you, in advance for looking.

 

Mike

Thank you very much for this, Mike. Please keep sharing.

Edited February 13, 2017 by EoinC

[stray cat]

Mike, these pictures and the stories make such a valuable contribution to the history of the generation I grew up in, was aware of, but never really fully understood. These pictures to me bring to mind the film "Apocalypse Now" which has always been a favourite of mine. The difference being, these are real.

 

Thank you. Not least for being there.

Edited February 18, 2017 by stray cat

[Rangefinder]

Thank you, Phi, for the very kind words.  You're not alone in never fully understanding those times!  I sure didn't want to go to South Vietnam but, through a series of mistakes on my part, I ended up volunteering.  When I told my recruiter my hobby was photography, he said, "We'll send you to photo school . . . that should keep you out of Vietnam."  Yeah, right!

 

Frankly, it took eighteen years to talk about my more harrowing experiences over there.  I had always considered myself being above being affected by such things.  I was wrong!  After reconciling those experiences, I was able to concentrate on the good things that war taught me.  I even wrote an essay, of sorts, that I called, "Born in High Point, Grew Up in Vietnam . . . A Gift to My Daughters."  I told no war stories; only positive experiences were revealed.  I put everything in loose-leaf binders, complete with photographs (of course!) and they still have them some 15 years later.  Ah, the things you do . . . . .

 

Mike

[Nguyendjulie]

Hi Mike, I just wanted to say thank you for posting these photos. The picture with the two kids smiling largely laying on a person's leg I believe is my dad on the right. I was always trying to a find a picture that match his stories and depiction of what he looked like as a child and I'm happy to find a childhood photo of him. Thank you so much for posting once again.

[Rangefinder]

Hi Mike, I just wanted to say thank you for posting these photos. The picture with the two kids smiling largely laying on a person's leg I believe is my dad on the right. I was always trying to a find a picture that match his stories and depiction of what he looked like as a child and I'm happy to find a childhood photo of him. Thank you so much for posting once again.

Nguyen, this is astonishing!!!!!  I have more photos of the children at An Lac and will be happy to send them to you.  Currently, I'm on a somewhat extended trip and will not have access to the photos until the first week in August.  Please contact me so I can send them all to you.  You can do a personal message via this forum and I'll definitely respond.

 

Mike

[ropo54]

Fascinating thread and wonderful snippet of history, from many perspectives.

 

I hope others can contribute more photos and stories.

 

Thank you to all posters and commenters.

 

Rob 

[Rangefinder]

Some unique things are beginning to unfold with Nguyendjulie.  I'm currently on an extended trip to a remote area and have no access to my photo files.  I won't be at home until early August.  I believe there will be an interesting update to the thread and, since others are involved, permission must be secured.  Thank you, everyone, for your interest and I'll be back soon!

 

Mike

[GLOBETROTTER]

Lovely look of film it looks like a movie.

 

Having recently been in vietnam and seeing these images of the rural areas nothing has changed much in that country they continue to live in the same traditional way in contact with nature.

[Rangefinder]

It has been a while since I updated this and I apologize for the delay.  Julie was kind enough to send a photo of her dad on a very special day.  I studied it and compared it with the photo I'd taken almost a half-century ago.

 

 

 

 

 

Look at young boy on the right.  I saw immediately that time has been kind to Julie's dad since those long-ago days when he shared a laugh with a friend on the floor of Madam Ngai's  orphanage at An Lac.  In the photo Julie sent, I see a very happy man who has prospered.  I'm very grateful to Julie for having shared this and it reminds, oh so well, of the power of photography.

 

Mike

Edited April 8, 2018 by Rangefinder

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Hallo,

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[abrewer]

First time I've seen your photos, Mike, as you originally posted in late 2016 at a time I wasn't all that active on the Forum.

 

They are sensational. Leica or not they are a valuable addition to what we do here.

 

Thank you for sharing everything.