The Journey to Vietnam - 1998

Bob and I only spent two days in the north (Hanoi and Halong Bay), but believe me, it was enough! The people from the north are TOTALLY different from people in the south. By contrast, they are unfriendly, dull, rude, stupid, uninteresting and not very open to foreigners. We DEFINITELY felt like we were in a communist country in the north. Even the landscape, food and buildings there are unpleasant.

Oh, I climbed inside of a real Huey and shot an AK-47 while at the Cu Chi tunnels. I took lots of pictures of this Huey, which I'll send later. The Huey was on display for all the tourists to climb on and photograph. Truk told us it was probably originally flown by Americans, then given to ARVN troops.

It was so eerie: there weren't many tourists around that day, so it was pretty quiet there. I know that there are several models of Huey ships, but I think I might have actually sat in the same type Dad flew in. (He was in a "gunship", right?!). I remember being surprised at how SMALL it was. I don't know why I expected it to be much larger. There didn't seem to be room for more than two or three people, aside from the pilot and co-pilot.

I also expected it to feel "safer". Instead, I felt very vulnerable, like I was sitting in a tin can!! I remember being surprised at how the slightest breeze made the ship sway while I was sitting in the driver's seat. I was also surprised to see glass at the pilot and co-pilot's feet - this made me feel even more uneasy, like I would have been even more of a target than I imagined.

I squatted for a while in the door of the helicopter, where (I guess) the gunner (and crewchief?) would have been. The doorway was so tiny!! It was difficult for me to balance there, even with the helicopter dead still, and me without a heavy gun and lots of stuff going on around me!! I just remember thinking, wow, this is probably the same sort of ship Dad was on. My life was in no danger whatsoever, there was no war going on and I had nothing to worry about. But I always felt odd, like I was intruding on something I had no right to experience. I walked away from there feeling happy that I saw this, surprised that I got to climb in a real Huey, and at the same time, very, VERY depressed. Don't ask me why. Maybe I'll feel differently when I return there two or three more times.

Now that I've been to Vietnam (and seen the Huey) I'm going to read Dominic's book AGAIN. Especially the parts that describe the helicopter, and what each person on the crew did. I read the book twice already, but I need to read it again to understand what each person on the crew did, and where they sat.

Wow, I have so much more to tell you about the trip!!! I'll start again tomorrow, and I'll send some pictures by e-mail.

--Denisha