“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” - Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018) 

Vietnam. Just the word sums up a cacophony of emotions within me. 1964: I returned to the classroom early from recess because I had fallen and skinned my knee. I found Mrs. Geehan sitting behind the desk in tears. Such confusion, an adult, my teacher, crying! What’s wrong? I didn’t understand her words but I felt the fear. Husband. Deployed. Vietnam. 1968: My Lai massacre. The Jeannette Rankin Brigade when 5000 women marched against the Vietnam War. Khe Sanh. Tet Offensive. 1969: I was on the debate team in high school. Our topic: Should the United States Congress prohibit unilateral intervention in foreign countries?  1970: Some of us went to college, some of us went to war. My hometown was a military base - some friends lost their fathers. I lost some friends. Anti-war protests. Kent State. Secret Cambodia bombing. Congress repeals the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. 1971: Pentagon papers. 1973: President Nixon signs the Paris Peace Accords. 1974: Burst of Joy, by photographer Sal Veder wins the Pulitzer Prize in photography. The image depicts a joyous family greeting for Lt. Col Robert L. Stirm, a returning American POW. 1975: The Fall of Saigon. 

In the 2000s, I put visiting Vietnam on my bucket list. I wanted to see the country that had thrummed a drum beat throughout my life. In 2024, I finally got there. I flew into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), traveled up the coast of the South China Sea and left via Hanoi. 

Urban Park, Ho Chi Minh City

River Park, Ho Chi Minh City

I saw motorbikes with entire families on them - sometimes 4 or 5 people. The children (and the dogs) never wore helmets but the adults did.

Light trails after dark, Ho Chi Minh City

A beautiful young woman and her sister posed for me, asking for an opportunity to be able to speak English. They both hoped to visit the United States.

Lantern maker,  Hui

Empty cyclos, Da Nang City

Fishing, Hoi An

Engagement photo shoot, Hoi An

Disgruntled vendor, Da Nang City

Red Dao people, Ta Phin Village

Banh Mi bread maker, Sapa

Smoking, Red Dao tribe

Creative blur, incense factory

Traffic trails, Hanoi

 

To those of my generation who fought, those who protested, those who left to avoid the draft - you were on my mind throughout my visit to Vietnam. When the power of love overcomes the love of power, we will know peace.