Tet, Vietnam's Lunar New Year.

Departure has been delayed for lack of a visa due in part to the Vietnamese consulate in San Francisco being closed for Tet. The Vietnamese lunar new year festivities, known as Tet, which is like all of the U.S. holidays wrapped into one big celebration, has once again made manifest its ability to change an American's plans . One is bound to recall Tet of 1968 whereby until that time the U.S. military was quite sanguine about success in the Viet Nam conflict. There was talk of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It turned out to be a freight train. The highly motivated North Vietnamese Army and their popular front of South Vietnam, pejoratively called the Viet Cong, had been planning an offensive throughout the South for months. It all broke loose during Tet. The American Embassy in Saigon was virtually overrun for awhile as well as other cities, especially Hue, which was under NVA control for over a month. Militarily it was a disaster for the North with huge losses, but it was a Pyrrhic victory for the Americans. The U.S. public realized their armed forces, although brave, were not in control. Even Walter Cronkite, the CBS News anchor considered America's conscience, turned against the war. Unfortunately, the conflict continued for seven more years.

Beaches

With a 1000 miles of coastline, Viet Nam has the potential for some natural beach fronts. Any traveler is not disappointed. In fact many beaches are spectacularly beautiful, such as Da Nang, Qui Nhon, Nha Trang, and Vung Tau. Some are isolated and and untrammeled. This writer remembers coming across a remote beach near Qui Nhon that was the site of a Catholic Leprosarium. There was an undeclared separate peace. We left it alone and Charlie did, too.

Contrasting Climates

Why would I want to leave here and travel to the tropics in February? Today had a low of minus 28 degrees Fahrenheit, that's 28 degrees below zero. Cedar Rapids has four definite seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter. When considering the entire year there is a temperature differential of 130 degrees in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That's from a low of 30 below to a high of 100 degrees.

Viet Nam has 2 seasons: rainy and dry. More specifically, it is subject to a classic monsoon climate, but is divided into north and south climatically. In the northern part, the rainy season is from September through February. In the southern half the rainly season is from March through August. The Central Highlands and northward can be quite cool in the rainy season. This writer remembers temperatures as low as 40 degrees F in the the wintertime, er.. in the middle of the rainy season from September to March. In the flat southern part of Viet Nam, of course, the temperature ranges from quite warm to hot and humid, especially in the wet season from March through August.

The southern tip of Viet Nam is at about 10 degrees north latitude. Way up north around Hanoi, it's at about 22 degrees north latitude. All tolled, the entire length of Viet Nam is about 14 degrees of latitude. If you figure 66.7 miles for every degree, the length of Viet Name is about 933 miles.

Ancient History

Viet Nam's early history is shrouded in mystery. Legends passed down from generation to generation in a land that the Chinese called "Nam Viet" (Viet neighbors to the south) tell of a history as long as China's and independent of them.

The Viets are a non-Chinese people of Mongolian descent. They migrated south in 500 BCE. Having intermarried with primitive Filipinos and Indonesians, the Viet nationality was established with almost mystical and sacred bonds.

Where does the term "Viet" come from? You won't find the answer in traditional library resources or even a google search. It was told to me by Mrs. Lam, a teacher across the hall from me who was born and raised in Viet Nam. She left her home country and eventually became a teacher in the United States. She was a wonderful source of information about Viet Nam and a very fine friend and colleague. "Viet" comes from an ancient migrating bird from the north with whom the early peoples of Viet Nam identified themselves.

Seeds of an Idea

BEFORE (1969)












AFTER (2009)











As I looked out on the bleak January winter in Iowa, it occurred to me that 40 years ago I was drafted and sent to Viet Nam in January 1969. I had spent 5 months at Fort Polk, Louisiana for basic training and advanced infantry training and then given a 30 day leave until having to report to the Oakland Army Base on January 9th for processing to the Nam.

I'm retired with no financial encumbrances, why not revisit Viet Nam and see what has changed in 40 years? With the wonders of the internet, arranging travel is easy as a few keystroke. I have a flight to Tokyo Japan and then Ho Chi Minh City on January 29th. For the next few weeks I will be making preparations for the trip. Today, for example, I purchased an electronic adapter with 4 different mini-adapters for any country in the world for recharging various batteries @ $29.

I will also review some of the history and causes of our involvement in a country whose very name has become fixed in our national psyche as a concept with a rucksack full of controversial associations. Perhaps with light being shed on a tumultuous time, emotionally wrought judgments may be replaced with more knowledge. I look forward to hiking around areas where I once patroled with an M-16 and had fire missions with an 81mm mortar.

Getting Started

Well, here we go. What do you do in Iowa in the middle of winter? Summer is a distant memory of the past and a dream of the future.