March 2024
M T W T F S S
« Aug    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Archives

Categories

Deja Vu: Vietnam Part 2 (MACV)


We continue with Part 2 of the 16 part series Deja Vu: Vietnam. The series of videos is made using Google Earth to focus in on various parts of Saigon and surrounding areas of Vietnam. Then overlaid with video footage filmed in 2008 with ‘fade backs’ of videos and photos going back to various time points in prior years. Some all the way back to 1882 Saigon.

The series began landing at Tan Son Nhut Airport (Part 1). Now in Part 2 we’ll travel to the area across from Tan Son Nhut Airport main terminal to the MACV area, Dodge City, public swimming pool, memories of Nancy (a missionaries daughter), Tan Son Nhut’s rear gate area, old military golf course, Joint General Staff compound gate, and the old Tan Son Nhut civilian airport main gate area. Then with each of the following parts of the series we’ll move toward and into the central city area of Saigon and Cholon. Then travel to areas outside of Saigon and back to Tan Son Nhut Airport for departure from Vietnam.

Each of us lived in Saigon at different times during the years from the mid-1950’s to 1975. Because of the span of time we lived in Saigon, different parts of the series will mean more to each of us … but, they will all trigger memories and experiences of your time in Saigon.

Pass the pop corn this way please … 🙂

Enjoy …



Ahhh … the memories 🙂

Please leave your Comments below about what memories and experiences this reminded you of, about your time in Saigon.

Stay tuned for Part 3 in a few days.

Bob

A Born To Wander Production

14 comments to Deja Vu: Vietnam Part 2 (MACV)

  • Sally

    I don’t see any video. I have “clicked” on the title and the smiley face and Nada! Please help.

  • mimi

    Very nicely crafted little pieces. Is it the work of Rick Buchanan or Bob ? And whose voice is it?

    in any case, it is very professional!
    Thanks. Mimi

  • Admin

    Sally … you should see a ‘Video Screen’ between the sentence “Enjoy …” and “Ahh … the memories”

    Click on the ‘Arrow’ in the center of the the Video Screen to start the movie.

    If you don’t see the Video Screen try refreshing your browser. If you still don’t see the Video Screen then it is a problem with your computer system. It could be any number of things. Do you have Flash installed on your computer? If not you need to install it. If you do, you may need to Update it. If you have the current and up to date version of Flash installed on your computer, are you able to view videos other places on the Internet? If not, then it could have something to do with your “Security” and/or “Firewall” and/or “anti-virus” and/or “anti-spyware” program settings. My guess is its a problem with your Adobe Flash Player or you have a ‘PopUp Blocker’ interferring with it, or you have another Media Player set as your default Player. Go here for info on fixing the problem:
    http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=56115&src=top5&lev=

    Hope this helps.

    Bob

  • Admin

    Mimi … Rick’s name appears above this Post, because his Post was the previous Post on the Blog, to this Post … lol … geezzz that’s confusing … said another way … Rick made the previous post to this post .. LOL

    Why, is the voice too sexy for you???!!! ha ha ha ((GRIN))

    In later parts of the series you’ll get a glimpse of the man behind the videos and “the voice” … *wink 🙂

    Bob

  • mimi

    So it’s you then…if it is not Rick bcz the post before the post after the other post…lol

    well..you did a really fine job…you should offer your services to CBS or CNN, they would love your special effects…and voice(no, I won’t comment..lol)
    mimi

  • Ken

    I’m homesick for some Chai Os and soup Chin Hoa. Bob, these videos are super and your workmanship is really professional. Congratulations on a job well done. Looking forward to the remaining films. Ken

  • frank

    Bob, I’ll get back with you. This is all a little
    “heavy” and got me thinking a lot. I’ll write up something later. Happy fourth, oh and sorry, missed Canada’s on the 1st, but happy to you up there also..

    Hope everyone is planning on Roy’s 2009 Reunion. Come-on…once in your life! What’s a little money and a little time? Charge it!
    Don’t worry about your looks, everybody else got a little older too (and a little wider and a little shorter, and…!!!) Thank God! Oh and Thanks to you also Bob, Frank

  • mimi

    Thanks Frank for July 1st…as I am afraid I am the only “canadian” around…:)
    Hope you, and everyone on the blog had nice celebrations on the 4th.
    To Ken: it is “chia gio”, and “soupe chinoise” (chineese soup) also called Pho. No vietnamese restos where you are??? Ooooh, poor you! In Montreal, we now have hundreds, and they are close enough to the real thing.

    Mimi

    • H. Clark

      Bonjour Mimi and Ken,

      Another very tardy note but I think I’m going to be forever catching up, I apologize. I just came across your notes and am compelled to add my two cents.

      Cha gio is the correct name for fried spring rolls. I can really make 100 of these on one day. My husband and daughter loves them.

      We eat them with nuoc mam and lots and lots of fresh herbs, cucumber, and lettuce to overcome the fried food after taste. As you know, Vietnamese food is not oily. At first my husband would eat the rolls only. It took him some twenty years later before he tries to eat them with nuoc mam, and now he likes it.

      Soupe chinoise really is from China (cooked with egg noodle and/or wider type rice noodles) whereas Pho is actually from North Vietnam, cooked with either thinner or wide rice noodles (never with egg noodles).

      You eat soupe chinoise as served whereas Pho is eaten with fresh herbs (cilandro and basil), bean sprouts, lettuce, a squeeze of lime, fish sauce, and hoisin sauce (to taste, of course). Very laborious, hein! But it’s worth it.

      My Mom just dropped by for a brief visit and brought me some sticky rice food wrapped inside banana leaves. I grave for these also once in a while. Thirty years ago, you could not find them anywhere, but now they are plentiful, almost everywhere in the U.S. 🙂

      Amicalement… Chao…

      Huong

  • Ken

    To Mimi – I knew I misspelled the “chia gio,” also called Nims and the “Soupe Chinoise.” I’m just a bit dumb and lazy Yes, we have Vietnamese restaurants in Germany although not many. In fact, that’s something I will do this weekend….Of course, they are not soo good as in Saigon, but…..

  • Ken

    Re the Sing Sing…as I recall it, it was a small garage restaurant down the street from the PX. I have no idea what the name of the noodle restaurant was across the street from the PX (I assume the reference was to the PX on Phan Dinh Phung where the PX and commissary were both located and the Smith and Yeager families lived, right?)
    The Sing Sing was famous for its very inexpensive steak and french fries….does that ring a bell with anyone else?

  • thu-lan

    Came across the MACV pool while looking for pictures of USARV & MACV – DAO to show to my husband; I worked as Assistant to Chief of Activities Section/DAO from 72-75; our office was between the gym and the basketball court (tiny compared to the enormous gym/bowling center et al); the pool and tennis court just outside. We hired a young lady from local high school as lifeguard for this Olympic-size pool.

    Bring back bitter sweet memories. Claude “Sandy” Sandlin, Chief of Activities passed a few years ago, not long after his wife’s passing; no contact with hs deputy Mark Engel.

    Thanks for the wonderful works; look forward to reading more…

    Best Regards,

    tlan

  • thu-lan

    Anyone knows if the bowling center still up and running?
    I first tried bowling there when Brunswick installed auto scorekeeper!

  • ALLAN FAN

    Just ordered this video.

    My dad was in Vietnam 1953-1954 and again 1959-1964. Because of the school situation in Saigon, we were sent back to the states to finish our education living with our grandparents near Fort Ord, CA. We visited our parents during school breaks (Winter-Christmas, Spring-Easter, Summer) by getting on Space-A flights out of Hamilton, Travis, Beale or McCellan AFB. Being school dependants on permissive student travel orders, we usually got on a flight.

    I was drafted into the USMC in 1965 (that’s what happens where you’re booted out of UCB) and stayed for a total of six years. Spent most of my time up north in I Corps (two tours).

    Got commissioned in the Army after OCS in 1972 and finally made it back to Saigon but posted up to Danang for a few months. Unfortunately, I was declared excess in Vietnam (Peace Treaty) and headed north to ROK. But was allowed to stay in Saigon for two weeks before leaving.

    Was back briefly in 1975 and then headed out to Guam to help set up the temporary camp on Guam for the Vietnamese.

    Plan to be back in Vietnam next March with some Marine vets. I’ll be in Saigon for five days on my own and then go to Danang to meet up with the Marines.

    Looking forward to seeing the DVD to help reorient me to Saigon.

    AF

Leave a Reply

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

  

  

  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.