After ten days in Laos, Danang and Hue, it is good to be back in Hanoi. Taking eight Vietnamese witnesses across the border to investigate four cases in very different locations took a bit out of me, but I am happy to report I survived.
The witnesses were pretty cool. It was a good mix of infantry and artillery guys who operated in Laos during the war... I know, I know, they weren't supposed to be there any more than we weren't supposed to be bombing them over there. One of the world's worst kept secrets I suppose.
In the process of the investigation, I got the opportunity to visit this plateau that precious few people have ever been on. You can view it just west of Houn by clicking on the hyperlink Plateau. Four of my witnesses pulled security on the plateau for nearly two months to prevent against an aerial helicopter assault that would have given a distinct advantage to those forces in the bombardment of trail runners in the eastern valley below.
Other highlights included playing around with the local Lao kids. One of the witnesses later wanted me to agree with him how miserable they were, but I just couldn't agree in good conscience. The fact is, they seemed totally oblivious to their poverty and looked quite healthy to me. Some of the kids took hundreds of photos of me with their cell phones, making me feel as much like a rock star as I ever have.
We also flew on Mi-17 and AS350 helicopters throughout the investigations. I love flying on the squirrel (AS350) because it feels just a little more complicated than driving a car. Since we had Vietnamese witnesses onboard, I took the opportunity to ask the pilot if the helicopter had a horn. I was a little surprised when he responded that it did. In fact, the horn is a warning indicator for when the rotor speed drops too much to provide lift to the chopper. It can be activated manually to test it, however, and that was what I was hoping for. Knowing that Vietnamese blow their horns on the streets incessantly, I told them the helicopter had a horn. They were skeptical, wondering out loud what in the world a horn would be used for in the skies. When I had the pilot blow the horn (sounding much like a motorbike horn), the witnesses were delighted and speculated it was used to make the much bigger, lumbering Mi-17 get out of the way.
Not unlike me, the witnesses grew home sick quickly and were anxious to leave Xepon where we were staying at a guest house after the first two days. The youngest of these guys was 65 and the oldest 76. They moved with varying degrees of deftness, but they all did well on the trails and in the heat. Only one of the witnesses smoked and they all drank in moderation. This is no doubt a testament to their longevity... I can only imagine a group of U.S. veterans in a similar situation, and in my mind's eye, they don't fair nearly as well. The success that we enjoyed in the investigations also varied greatly, but I still am grateful to these gentlemen for giving time in their waning years to do this mission for us.
I took a lot of pictures during the trip, and my better ones I posted on my panoramio site, I geomapped as many as I could to give a better idea of the terrain and remoteness of these sites.
We were back at the hotel at 1500hrs on the last day of the trilateral investigation. I had a meeting with the Americans immediately upon return, but the Vietnamese witnesses and officials were able to shower before we were on the road to Danang. We stopped an hour at the Lao Bao Border for a little duty free shopping and then ate dinner in Hue City. We finally made it back to Danang at 2300hrs that night. I was given the honor of riding in the fold down jump seat in the 12-pax van for the five plus hours on the road and found myself nursing a chaffed ass for the next few days. It didn't help that just a day later I was off to Hue with the Det Commander on a site visit.
Diep got to Danang just an hour or two after I got back from Hue on the 19th. The 20th was her birthday so we got a little time to ourselves in the Furama Beach Resort since Megan opted out a week earlier. We did a little swimming in the South China Sea and she did some shopping while I was helping to get the main body into Vietnam for the 103rd Joint Field Activity.
We all got back to Hanoi on Saturday, and here I am back at work on Monday. Nevertheless, it is good to be home.
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