May, 2000.
I am flying into Saigon from Thailand.
Looking out the window as we land I see the old American revetments for their
war planes. I wonder if it is a mistake to return here. I am ready for my bags
to be searched and a hard time by Vietnamese Customs. But customs is easy. No
smiles but no trouble.
Our tour guide and a full size bus waits for
us. As the bags are loaded we see the red flags and the yellow star. To us in
our teenage years it was the flag of the enemy. I just seemed so strange.
As our bus leaves our guide tells us about Saigon, how many people and so on. He
is a very smart young man. As the trip go's on we will like him a lot. He
explains about Vietnam traffic. 'In England they drive on the left, in America
the right. In Vietnam we drive in the middle of the road." In America we call it
chicken. Two cars go straight at each other. The first car to veer off is
chicken.
Going into Saigon there are many motorbikes,
trucks and bikes. Cars are rare. The most people on a motorbike that I saw on
this trip was a family of eight! The people here are on the move. Motorbikes
have given the Vietnamese a new found freedom to travel. At night family and
teenagers ride the streets just for fun. I'd like to advise their government to
put shows on TV that people don't want to miss. It's the only way to keep them
home.
Everywhere we go people see the big bus
going by and give us a big hello and a smile. Pool tables are everywhere, even
on boats. The children are the most important part of the trip. During the war I
saw them work but not play. I saw the sores on their bodies, the flies in their
eyes, their large bellies because of malnutrition. Looking out the window I see
children playing, dressed well, feed well and very happy. Kids that have never
seen war and hunger. They really touch my heart and give me joy.
My tour guide talks on about Vietnamese
history but I look out the window at all the shades of green. Vietnam is more
beautiful than ever. Every plant known to man seems to be growing here. Just so
much food! I want to remember each moment.
Our bus stops on a side road in Quang Tri.
Standing alone by the bus I see two Vietnamese Army trucks, loaded with troops
lumbering down route 1. I am not happy to see them in their pith helmets and
green uniforms. They are the enemy and I, I am eighteen again and it is 1967.
The Army trucks turn onto the road where I'm
standing. As the second truck passes me a soldier waves and smiles at me. What
can I do? I smile and wave back. With that every soldier stands up and waves and
smiles and they keep doing it until I can't see them anymore. The war is
over....
Out the window I see the Vietnamese Army
working on the roads in many places. Something to be proud of when they are old.
When you look out the window at Vietnam
today there is just so much hope for a country that had so little in the past.
It is a trip worth every penny.
Copyright 2002 - Jim
Murtaugh
