Background … Towney spent a lot of time in Vietnam in 1969-1970 in not too great situation. There was a war going on. He was flying helicopters, Hueys, in the Central Highlands of what was then South Vietnam, close to the town of Pleiku, a rural settlement with no more than 30,000 residents. The area was surrounded by ride paddies, hills and almost mountains, and a lot of the population around was Montegnard villagers, hill tribes with their own culture, language and way of life. The area is not far from the borders of Laos and Cambodia.
At a reunion of the 189th Assault Helicopter Company near Washington DC last fall, we met a man named George who was not only a member of the 189th, but a travel organizer. He had a dream to go back to Vietnam. We signed on right away. The price was right, and it was an opportunity that happens only once in a blue moon.
So, with passports, traveler’s checks and a travel diary in hand, we left Burlington on February 4 for a flight to Los Angeles via Chicago. We spent the night at the Hacienda Hotel, close to the airport. Not much to sightsee around there, but we were there for Superbowl Sunday, and the local watering hole was fine for that.
We flew Cathay Pacific across the big pond (aka Pacific Ocean). The flight was just after midnight, but the check in was very confusing and time consuming, but we did make it onto the plane, a 747, and settled into our seats at the back of coach (window seats, but just the two of us, and the Bunnies!), watched the movie, ate amazingly good airplane food (two meals!), drank their wine … and landed in Hong Kong. This is the new airport north of the city. Kai Tak is gone, and the landing is much less exciting than before. There are mountains close by, and water, but it is far from the city. We were there for a couple of hours, so did some shopping and relaxing before getting the next flight to Ho Chi Minh City (but still called Saigon by everyone but those who are official … so that’s what I will call it from now on!)
We arrived in Saigon just before noon. We made it through immigration (lots of returning Vietnamese), got our luggage, then through customs … finally the group managed to get together and we got onto a very big bus and headed into the city.
First impressions? Lots of people waiting outside the terminal meeting travelers,
quonset huts by the runways, some with old Hueys without rotors, lots and lots
of motorbikes, and the sounds and smells of an Asian city.
That’s not a bad thing! Hot,
of course. The airport is very 60s
Russian style, but the new one that is being built … wow!
It will be the kind of airport that we see in Bangkok, Seoul, Singapore,
Hong Kong. What kind of future is
this country anticipating?
Driving through the city, more and more motorbikes, shophouses, power lines, people,
people, people 
We were staying at the Asian Hotel, a tourist hotel, but not at all fancy. Good location, though. We had our welcoming dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. This could have been the first and last time that the entire group would be together. There was one subgroup that was going up to Danang to give a donation to the landmine group (this group, from Long Island, was centered around a man who had lost both of his legs there). The food was good! We had gone there after sitting at the rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel for some libations.
GEORGE DESERRES, GERRY SANDLIN
and
TOWNEY SAUSVILLE
The Rex was where a lot of the foreign news correspondents had spent time during the war.
We also had done some preliminary shopping. There is lots to buy, and the prices are amazingly cheap. Our first scores were some laquerware and postcards.
We tried very hard to adapt to the local time, going to bed at bedtime. And then, waking up at wake up time! Then breakfast for a kind of western breakfast … One thing that we noticed, and this was confirmed throughout the entire trip everywhere … the French left one great legacy – the bread! They call it panne, and they are awesome little French loaves! The butter is canned, mostly from Europe.
The next day (Wednesday) the group split up. One part went on a trip to the Delta (some of the vets on the tour had been stationed there, and others were curious). The other, including us, decided to stay in the city and see the sights there. We started at the market at Cholan, the Chinese section of Saigon. I had known a lot of people from that part of the city in Edmonton (including Wendy Chau!), so I was interested in seeing it. And yes, it was very much a very Chinese section, and the market, which is a wholesale market, had just about everything that you would every want, and more!
PHILL CUMMINGS (179TH)
TOWNEY SAUSVILLE, WENDY UNCLES,
GEORGE DESERRES AND GERRY SANDLIN (189TH)
From there we visited three religious sites, a Chinese temple (with the joss sticks and other offerings, lots of incense), a Buddhist temple, and then a Daoist temple.
The latter was the busiest by a long shot.
And, one of the most interesting things was the turtles.
I gather that people bring offerings of turtles (other places have birds,
for example). There are lots of
turtles in the ponds by the entrance. 
Lunch was our first introduction to Pho, the Vietnamese national dish, I think, and certainly their signature breakfast! It is basically a very nice beef noodle soup with herbs and vegetables. Yum!
Our final tour stop was the Presidential Palace, now the war museum. The public rooms are all open, both to the air and to the public, all the way up to the roof (4th floor, with a nice view of the city and a Huey) and down to the basement where the war was choreographed. Very 60s! No computers at all!
Then we did some more shopping and ended up at the Rex again, and had dinner there.
The next day we flew on Vietnam Air to Pleiku (after a breakfast of Pho!).
This was a homecoming of sorts for the rest of the tour (I am the only woman the other one went off with her husband on their one tour to Danang and Hue). We checked into the Pleiku Hotel, a remnant of when the Russians came in after the Americans left in 1973. One thing, the satellite dish on the roof – we were told that it covered the whole town – meant that we could get some English language TV, like CNN Europe and HBO!
After a very elaborate lunch, we went for a little walk around the town. Definitely not as urban as Saigon. Lots and lots of motorbikes, but not nearly the big vehicle traffic. Crossing the street was must easier. No English spoken. The people were mostly friendly, waving and smiling and “Hello”.
We got onto our great big coach for the afternoon sightseeing tour. It took us to places from the past. Camp Enari was the first stop. We stopped for a photo op at what was the guard gate. Then we went to see where the landing strip was. They think they found it – right now it is flat and smooth and they are drying coffee on it.
JOE,
SOTTILE (189TH/57TH AHC & TOWNEY
SAUSVILLE 189TH AHC
Entrance to Camp Enarie
CAMP
ENARI AIRFIELD
Camp Holloway is gone. Drove by where it was, but now it is occupied by the Vietnamese military. We couldn’t even stop to take pictures.
Camp Holloway 2006
but we got a few. (now don't tell).
Looking out over Pleiku and the new traffic circle.
The next day (Friday?) after a great Pho breakfast (and buffet with all of the other stuff) we went out to see one of the local Montegnard villages. Our local guide came from one of the villages, but he managed to get to University of Michigan for a couple of years. The place where we were was called the Plei Phun Village (plei means “village”, I was told).
This was in an area that Towney and the guys knew well. We walked in, looked at some of the structures, visited the chief’s house (traditional, but with the tv antenna on the roof), and then walked to the burial ground. There were gorgeous views of a valley with ride paddies, a river, mountains – spectacular. Towney recognized a place where he had landed his helicopter when supplying the troops with Thanksgiving dinner in 1969. That was moving.
Camp Holloway
1969 Camp Holloway 2006 Looking south to
Dragon Mountain. Later we went to another village for a show of
local dancing. The ceremonies included drinking some of the local rice
brew. 
