Old Soldiers

On June 22, this year, Russ Seelig, a member of my VFW Post, led a group of four on a trip through northern Vietnam and Laos. The highlights of that trip along with as many photographs as I could upload using my phone were posted to this blog in June and July.

Our group consisted of Russ, Justin (another member of our VFW Post), my son Glenn, and myself. Russ and I were the only ones who had served in Vietnam during the war. Russ has been back to Vietnam several times since the war but this was my first time to return.

The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you can read about, if you haven't already, by clicking on the archives for June and July.

In the two months that have gone by since we returned I've often thought about the welcome we received from the regular people of Vietnam and Lao. Those folks, who lived through or heard from older folks who had lived through the bombs and warfare, were unfailingly welcoming to the four visitors from another world whose leaders had been instrumental in causing those bombings and warfare.

Before we arrived I didn't know quite what to expect even though Russ had told us that we would be treated cordially. I was especially concerned about those Vietnamese of my generation who might harbor ill feelings since I'm not so sure that if the situation were reversed Americans who lived through such a war on their own territory would forgive and forget so quickly.

I also didn't know what to expect of myself when I returned to a country where the enemy was hidden among the people and the terrain and we never knew for sure where and when a sudden attack might come from what appeared to be ordinary people. That war may not have been the origin of guerrilla warfare but the concept was well used during that time.

As it turned out I was at ease from our arrival. Wing and our guide/drivers were professional and competent while being friendly and solicitous about our comfort and welfare. As I've said, the people were friendly with smiles everywhere.

When, after two weeks on the road, we arrived in Dien Bien Phu it was during a week of special remembrance for the battles in that area culminating with the defeat of the French in 1954. As we visited the various memorials and battle sites we saw many veterans dressed in uniforms from the old days accompanied by family and friends. Once I learned about the occasion I expected it to be rather serious but the people were in a festive mood and enjoying their visits to the old war memorials. Many of the younger people were posing with the old uniformed veterans as they celebrated victories of bygone days.

As we wandered around the memorial to the victory over the French forces in 1954 (pictured below) some old soldiers wearing dress uniforms from their days in the Vietnamese Army wanted to pose with us. It was a poignant moment when old soldiers who were adversaries many years ago shook hands and posed in the present isolated from decisions made by politicians those many years ago.

One of the many benefits of travel is exposure to new people, new customs and old, universal feelings. This meeting reinforced my long-held belief that old soldiers and ordinary people are not so different anywhere in the world.

Old soldiers meet at Dien Bien Phu on July 3, 2015