Good job describing the intel subculture and how it works in this particular setting. Like everything else, that culture and their status quo is getting quite a shakeup from recent events.
When things become unsettled like that, the reaction is often to hold even more tightly to tradition; known rules and people become commodities, even if they’re ostensibly enemies. The status-challengers can find themselves facing literally everyone else if they aren’t careful.
He was a part of records/payroll there (which means records/payroll for the US Army for damn near all of Vietnam), and back then Vung Tau was the big R&R center for South Vietnam. He described it to me as the ‘French Riviera of Vietnam’.
And it wasn’t just the R&R center for the US. Everybody came through there at one time or another for the same purpose, you had the Aussies, Korean Tiger Squads the NVA and Viet Cong)
Everybody was very careful to keep any trouble from happening inside Vung Tau. Hell, my Father had a group of Vietnamese come out of the jungle at one of the beaches he was at armed with AK’s, and they just walked right on through ignoring everybody, including the US soldiers there on the sand.
Outside though, all kinds of crazy things would happen. And there was a lot of Op work going on. Hell, my Dad told me about one time about 20 miles outside of town one of the local platoons finding dead Caucasians (not US, either) in fatigues with Russian manufactured AK’s. The smart money was on them being Soviet military advisors.
Heh, my Dad got to Vung Tau just in time to experience the very first mortar attack they ever had there. The month he left, was the 2nd mortar attack they ever had there 😉
My wife and I go to to Sai Gon to visit her family every March and every time, we pile the whole family in a bus and head for Vung Tau for a day at the beach. The tourist industry is big time now and the place is starting to look a bit like Ft. Lauderdale in the 1960’s
Good job describing the intel subculture and how it works in this particular setting. Like everything else, that culture and their status quo is getting quite a shakeup from recent events.
When things become unsettled like that, the reaction is often to hold even more tightly to tradition; known rules and people become commodities, even if they’re ostensibly enemies. The status-challengers can find themselves facing literally everyone else if they aren’t careful.
A lot of how this area of the world is setup comes from my Fathers commentary on Vung Tau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C5%A9ng_T%C3%A0u where he was stationed at back in 65-66
He was a part of records/payroll there (which means records/payroll for the US Army for damn near all of Vietnam), and back then Vung Tau was the big R&R center for South Vietnam. He described it to me as the ‘French Riviera of Vietnam’.
And it wasn’t just the R&R center for the US. Everybody came through there at one time or another for the same purpose, you had the Aussies, Korean Tiger Squads the NVA and Viet Cong)
Everybody was very careful to keep any trouble from happening inside Vung Tau. Hell, my Father had a group of Vietnamese come out of the jungle at one of the beaches he was at armed with AK’s, and they just walked right on through ignoring everybody, including the US soldiers there on the sand.
Outside though, all kinds of crazy things would happen. And there was a lot of Op work going on. Hell, my Dad told me about one time about 20 miles outside of town one of the local platoons finding dead Caucasians (not US, either) in fatigues with Russian manufactured AK’s. The smart money was on them being Soviet military advisors.
That sounds familiar.
Heh, my Dad got to Vung Tau just in time to experience the very first mortar attack they ever had there. The month he left, was the 2nd mortar attack they ever had there 😉
Now the place is crawling with balding Russian tourists.
Really? I know the base is pretty much gone now…last I heard it serves as a small airport to service a number of off shore oil rigs.
My wife and I go to to Sai Gon to visit her family every March and every time, we pile the whole family in a bus and head for Vung Tau for a day at the beach. The tourist industry is big time now and the place is starting to look a bit like Ft. Lauderdale in the 1960’s