I figured that if my old stomping grounds were just a mere 100kms to the south that I really should take the opportunity to see what has changed in the 40 years since I'd left this place. I arranged with Kwang (still not sure how he spells his name) to have a car and a driver pick me up at the hotel at 7am. After mentioning that I might make the journey south, Jeff Cole asked if he could tag along. As I was not going for any form of catharsis, there was no good reason to do this on my own.
At dinner last nite I sat down with Kwang and drew out a map of the area as best as I could remember. As he had been to Chu Lai visiting his brother many times over the years, he was more than familiar with some of the landmarks I was trying to describe. Thru the driver, Kwang arranged for us to pick up his brother once we were on the Chu Lai air base. I think I mentioned before that his brother was an air traffic controller as was their father.
Jeff and I met in the lobby for the drive south as the driver arrived on schedule. Kwang showed him the map that we had concocted the night before and we were off an running straight into the morning rush hour. As we left the hotel and the green "Welcome Group Gary Brown" sign the traffic immediately picked up on Highway One as we joined the rush hour traffic to the south. The closer we got to Chu Lai the more familiar the towns name's begin to sound.......Tam Ky was a particular hot spot that needed our air support on a daily basis.
As we pulled into Chu Lai I was thankful for the driver as I would have had no idea when and where to turn off to get on the base. Currently the base serves both the military and as well as handling a few commercial flights from Saigon and Hanoi.
At the end of the runway standing just outside a cafe, we spotted Kwangs identical twin (easy to spot) pulled over for a cup of cafe and developed our strategy for looking at my former residence. The map once again gave us starting point for our assault on the base. We drove past commercial portion of the base and as we drove, I was amazed to see that virtually nothing was left of the U.S. presence....and I mean nothing, not a building, or even a shred of what had once been.
We headed to the beach front bearing to the left of what had once been the Americal Division Headquarters. The base was shared by the Navy, Marines, and the Army. To the North, was where the Seabees had their quarters that we frequented when we were in need of a good meal. We found the harbor which now serves the Vietnamese, and had a quick look around.
As we turned back to head up the beach to my actual stomping grounds we pulled up to a familiar looking bridge and palapa beer bar that hung out over the beach. The beach looked all to familiar, and after a brief chat with the owner, who spoke wonderful English, Jeff and I learned that in fact this was the sight of the former USO club. He had grown up right across the street...still lives there with his wife and owns the bar and restaurant that we had decided to stop at.
He has kids in CA, Washington DC, and family in New York. The Vietnamese government won't allow he or his wife to travel to the US..........for whatever reasons we couldn't fathom. The owner of the restaurant brought out pictures of his family but still couldn't place the actual residence. Just as we were leaving, he wrote down the number 714 and held his hand to ear simulating a phone.................ah 714 area code.............probably Santa Ana, or Orange, or Westminster. We had a good laugh, paid for our beers of which our driver had had a couple. Probably not wise on our part to climb back in the car, but what alternative did we have.
After chatting with the owner a final time, we were assured we were headed in the right direction according to the information, map and landmarks that I remembered. 2-3 miles down the road on some truly amazing beach front property, the landmarks became even more familiar and my orientation complete. My predictions of 40 years ago came true when I arrived at the site of the 14th Combat Aviation Battalion........now the site of "Chu Lai Resort" and future home to Paradise Time Shares a Joint venture between the Vietnamese and the US. My recollections were spot on with the exception that the wonderful river that was to the south of us was no longer running under the picturesque bridge. The blowing of the sand dunes and the vast amount of construction going on in the area had all but altered the flow of the river so that all that was left was just a mere trickle of water.
As Jeff will confirm, if you had to spend a year in Vietnam, this was certainly the place to do. More beautiful than China Beach, the miles and miles of white sand and blue seas are now interrupted by a growing number of resorts. Almost as disturbing and upsetting as the harassment by the VC some forty years ago, the new development going on, while good for the country, is equally as disturbing. While these beaches weren't exactly carefree all those forty years ago, today they represent a new kind of concern.................do we really need another resort?...................And who is going to fly half way around the world to buy one of these beachfront locales at prices starting in the mid $500,000. I'm passing on this investment opportunity, as its doubtful that I'll be vacationing back here any time soon.
But the rest of you can think about it...............the waters are warm, the people too..........might be just the retirement spot............quite a day looking back...............gb
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