Then we boarded our buses and headed for Hue City, traveling through the Hai Van Pass–a very beautiful ride. The trip into Hue was an emotional event for some of us. One of our fellow travelers had fought in Hue, and had a hard time describing his part in the battle as we rode into the city. He had been shot in the head and spent a lengthy recovery period in the hospital, and this was the first time he had spoken of the battle to anyone. It seemed to be a healing experience for him.

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After checking into another fabulous hotel, complete with a swimming pool, we took a tour of Hue. My wife and I had planned on reaffirming our wedding vows in Hue, so we purchased a traditional Vietnamese ao dai for the occasion–very reasonably priced and tailor-made in one day. That evening we ran into another American who had also fought in the battle of Dai Do but was not traveling with us, and we talked to him about his experiences during the battle.

One of the men in our group, Roger Pittman, who had served as a corpsman during the same battle, told us the story of Sergeant O’Bannon, who was killed in 1968. Pittman had worked hard to see that O’Bannon was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery 29 years later. The award would be presented to his widow on June 5, 1997, at Camp Pendleton.

Day four was spent touring Hue. Earl told us his story about the battle of Dai Do as we set in a church in downtown Hue. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place as he told the story. We were all affected by his firsthand account of how hard that fight had been.

We toured the Citadel–one of the most beautiful places I saw in all of Vietnam–and were surprised at how large it actually is. I realized the job our Marines must have had trying to clear the North Vietnamese out of here during the Tet Offensive in ‘68. I was thankful that I had not been there to help.

After the tour I took a cyclo ride to the market to look for souvenirs. What a wild place it was–with thousands of items on sale from silks to fish. This place had it all. During dinner at the hotel that evening we were joined by a couple of government representatives from the mayor’s office, who sang a song in honor of my wife and I getting married again. After we said our vows a wedding cake appeared. It was the biggest shock of the whole trip to see that wedding cake.

On day five we headed out early for Khe Sanh. We took Route 1 out of Hue to Dong Ha and then Route 9 to what had been the DMZ. I could not help but notice how many more herds of water buffalo we saw on the drive north. I just loved seeing them.

Our first stop of the day was at the site where Camp Carroll had been located, and believe it or not we were ambushed on the way into camp. While we were riding through one village, a rock struck the rear window with a loud crack. It completely shattered the window and scared my wife, who was sitting under the spot where it hit. No one was injured, but we were plenty scared. The province chief for Quang Tri was riding on our bus at the time, and he spent about two hours with the village elders after that incident. He issued some kind of punishment for the village before we left.

I went out on my own to film some farmers as they plowed their fields with their water buffalo. When one farmer said I could try my hand with his bull, I showed him how to work my video camera and away I went with the bull and wooden plow. I am sure that I made their day–the farmers all laughed pretty hard over my efforts.

Back in the village where we had been ambushed, I was invited into the hut of an elderly Vietnamese man and offered a cup of tea. His hut was very plain, with a dirt floor and thatch walls and roof. I was honored to be invited in to share a few minutes with this gentleman. It was one of the reasons I had made the trip back to Vietnam, so that I could meet the people of the country. I also walked back to a Bru village and shared cigarettes with the tribesmen–they were such good fighters during the war. It really made me appreciate the things I had at home when I saw how some of the people we visited had to struggle just to survive.

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