An Interview for the War Archives at John Brown University, Arkansas

Hello Everyone!  Want to hear an unusual—but true—story?

I was recently interviewed by Preston Jones, for an archival interview project at John Brown University in Arkansas.  The project collects primarily veteran stories, but he thought my memories of Viet Nam would enrich the archive.

I told my unusual story of two trips to VN, Focusing on my time as a USAID Refugee Advisor from mid-1970 to mid-1972.  Mr. Jones, who has read a great many Vietnam War memoirs, called mine “unique.”  Listen, and I think you’ll agree.

 Here’s the YouTube link to “A USAID Advisor in South Vietnam”:  Check it out!

The Imperial City Pre-Tet: Eighth of Eight Photos

This is the eighth—and final—photo I took inside the Imperial City when I visited Hue in the summer of 1967, while working as a volunteer for the World Relief Commission. I hope you all have enjoyed seeing these memories of a history so marred by violence. All the photos are available on my Facebook page, as are the other photos I have posted over the last year or so. Please feel free to download any of them.

If you would like to learn more about my times in Viet Nam helping war victims—from Khe Sanh to Saigon—please visit Amazon to buy my book, "A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam; Memoir of an American Civilian in Country 1967, and 1970-72." I would greatly appreciate it!

The Imperial City Pre-Tet: Seventh of Eight Photos

This is the seventh of eight photos I took inside the Imperial City when I visited Hue in the summer of 1967, while working as a volunteer for the World Relief Commission. I don’t know what each photo shows, or what survived Tet of ’68, but I offer them in memory of a history that has suffered so much destruction. I will post one photo each day.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

The Imperial City Pre-Tet: Sixth of Eight Photos

This is the sixth of eight photos I took inside the Imperial City when I visited Hue in the summer of 1967.  I don’t know what each photo shows, or what survived Tet of ’68, but I offer them in memory of a history that has suffered so much destruction.  I will post one photo each day.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

The Imperial City Pre-Tet: Fifth of Eight Photos

This is the fifth of eight photos I took inside the Imperial City when I visited Hue in the summer of 1967.  I don’t know what each photo shows, or what survived Tet of ’68, but I offer them in memory of a history that has suffered so much destruction.  I will post one photo each day.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

The Imperial City Pre-Tet: Fourth of Eight Photos

This is the fourth of eight photos I took inside the Imperial City when I visited Hue in the summer of 1967.  I don’t know what each photo shows, or what survived Tet of ’68, but I offer them in memory of a history that has suffered so much destruction.  I will post one photo each day.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

The Imperial City Pre-Tet: Third of Eight Photos

This is the third of eight photos I took inside the Imperial City when I visited Hue in the summer of 1967.  I don’t know what each photo shows, or what survived Tet of ’68, but I offer them in memory of a history that has suffered so much destruction.  I will post one photo each day.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

The Imperial City Pre-Tet: Second of Eight Photos

This is the second of eight photos I took inside the Imperial City when I visited Hue in the summer of 1967.  I don’t know what each photo shows, or what survived Tet of ’68, but I offer them in memory of a history that has suffered so much destruction.  I will post one photo each day.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

The Imperial City pre-Tet: First of Eight Photos

This is the first of eight photos I took inside the Imperial City when I visited Hue in the summer of 1967.  I don’t know what each photo shows, or what survived Tet of ’68, but I offer them in memory of a history that has suffered so much destruction.  I will post one photo each day.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

PHOTOS OF THE IMPERIAL CITY AT HUE BEFORE TET OF ‘68

During my summer in Viet Nam in 1967 as a volunteer for a missionary organization, I visited Hue with my father.  One day we wandered through the Imperial City within the Citadel.  I shot eight photos of various parts of the Imperial City.  I cannot identify any of them specifically.

Less than a year later, the 1968 Tet Offensive laid waste to the Imperial City.  I have no idea whether the structures in my photos survived the battle or not. 

Beginning January 25, I will post my photos as a Tet gift to my Vietnamese Facebook friends.  I will post one photos on this page each day.  I will also post each photo on my personal Facebook page, and on my website, www.michaeltolle.com.  Please share this post with others you think might be interested.

If you would like to learn more about my experiences as an American civilian during the war, this, check out my book, “A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam; Memoir of an American Civilian in Country 1967, and 1970-7,” available on Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle formats.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

11/19/2019: Touring the Central Highlands, 1972

     The Central Highlands of Viet Nam are absolutely beautiful.  Photos do not do it justice.  When you exited its southernmost province—Lam Dong, back then—you descended rapidly down a twisty section of Rt. 20, called B’Sar Pass.  A great drive, even in an IH Scout!

     Late in my tour in 1972, I drove my wife on a day trip from Saigon to Lam Dong and back, to look at my old stomping grounds.  Along the way, we stopped at this waterfall for some photos (photo #1 by me, #2 by my wife).  I write about this and other inter-provincial drives in my book A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam: Memoir of an American Civilian in Country 1967, and 1970-72, published by McFarland & Co., and available on Amazon.

     Here is a link to the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Spear-Carrier-Viet-Nam-American-1970-1972/dp/147667597X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1575922865&sr=1-1

10/22/2019: Ravaged Beauty along the coast of Viet Nam, near Vung Tau.

As I relate in my memoir, “A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam…,” during my early 1972 TDY in Phouc Thuy Province for the move of refugees from I Corps, I often drove along the seaside road to Vung Tau, and saw several examples of what had once been beautiful mansions overlooking the ocean.  None were inhabited, and all had been shot up to one degree or another.  This photo (by me) is of one in about the best condition.  The view from these houses was spectacular.  The South China Sea is on the other side of the dune.

Want to learn more about the very strange story of a civilian in Viet Nam?  Here’s a link to my Amazon page:

https://www.amazon.com/Spear-Carrier-Viet-Nam-American-1970-1972/dp/147667597X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1575922865&sr=1-1

10/5/2019: AN AMAZING RELIGION MANAGES TO SURVIVE IN VIET NAM. I VISITED ITS EQUALLY AMAZING “HOLY SEE” IN TAY NINH IN 1972.

     The unfortunately overexposed photo (taken by me) conveys just a small part of this intricate building and a few Cao Dai adherents during a service.  I describe my visit there in A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam, but as I wrote, I lack the vocabulary to describe the building’s intricate decorations.  So I just call it “Asian Rococo.”  The building was a tourist attraction for Americans, even during the war.  It was an easy day trip from Saigon.

     The Cao Dai religion is a fantastic melding of world influences.  A basic tenet of the Cai Dai faith is “All Religions are One,” and among its pantheon of “saints” are Victor Hugo, Joan of Arc, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius and Louis Pasteur (there are more).

 Cao Dai was initially active in Vietnamese politics, unfriendly to the French, largely opposed to Diem, but also critical of the NLF.  It had to strike a delicate balance between the Saigon government and the NLF, who dominated much of the area, as Tay Ninh served as a path by which its armed forces could both enter and exit SVN via Cambodia.  Cao Dai was banned after 1975, but has been reinstated and at least allowed to exist.  I understand its “Holy See” is again a tourist attraction.

     To find out more, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Spear-Carrier-Viet-Nam-American-1970-1972/dp/147667597X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1570938421&sr=1-2

9/7/2019: FROM QUANG TRI TO PHUOC THUY: AMERICAN ADVISORS

     This is the fourth—and final—post with a photo of the large relocation of war victims from northern Quang Tri Province (near the DMZ) to Phuoc Thuy Province, in III Corps.  The photographer remains unknown.

     I am the bearded civilian in the bush suit, on TDY to Phuoc Thuy for the initial phase of the project.  The names of the two military men are unknown.

     The older American civilian deserves to be remembered, but of course I long ago forgot his name.  He was an unusual figure in CORDS, a civilian Provincial Senior Advisor (PSA), both advisor to the GVN Province Chief and in charge of the mostly military MACV Advisory Team #78.  His deputy (the DPSA) was a Lt. Colonel.  The overwhelming majority of PSAs were military, usually Colonels, because almost all of the ARVN/GVN Province Chiefs were military.

     He was also unusual in that he was a career Foreign Service Officer (FSO), one of a few who found their way to this unusual assignment.  He had to be at least an FSO-3 (I never asked), which made him equivalent to a full Colonel.  I, by contrast, was a FSR/L-7, equivalent to a First Lieutenant.  Rank was very important, both to us and to the Vietnamese.

     Want to learn more about this and other programs of “The Other War” in Viet Nam?  Check out my book, A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam; Memoir of an American Civilian in Viet Nam, 1967 and 1970-72, available in paperback and Kindle formats.  I’d appreciate it!

8/31/2019: FROM QUANG TRI TO PHUOC THUY: WHEN YOU’RE ONLY NUMBER TWO, YOU HAVE TO DO THIS KIND OF THING!

     There was always a ceremony to mark just about anything in “The Other War,” so something as significant as the Quang Tri to Phuoc Thuy resettlement project had to have high-ranking participants.  The two individuals handing out blankets to a few appropriately overwhelmed recipients were certainly that, but you can bet they were told to be there by their superiors.

     The General is Fred Weyand, at that point Abrams’ deputy, but soon to take over as COMUSMACV, when he had little left to command.  He would formally disband MACV in March, 1973.  The civilian is George Jacobsen, Colby’s deputy in charge of CORDS operations.  He would remain in VN until the absolute last minute, catching one of the last planes out.

     I was an observer at this ceremony, but not the photographer, who is unknown for this entire sequence.  I had serious misgivings about this project, but as probably the lowest-ranking American involved, nobody asked my opinion.  I was just a Spear Carrier.  Spear Carriers have a place on the stage, but no lines.

8/24/2019: FROM QUANG TRI TO PHUOC THUY: AIDING THE ELDERLY

     This is my second post and photo (photographer unknown) about the early 1972 move of war victims from refugee camps near the DMZ to Phuoc Thuy Province, and a village called “Suoi Nghe,”in MR III.  I was sent on TDY to assist in the project.

     The people being moved were—like most war victims—mostly the elderly or the very young.  The photo shows an elderly woman being assisted by an RD (Revolutionary Development) Cadre man.  The RD Cadre, in blatant imitation of the VC, were issued black pajamas as their standard clothing, and sent—ostensibly—into the villages to win support for the GVN.  Their effectiveness was controversial, but they could definitely help in such an extended move as this one.

8/17/2019: FROM QUANG TRI TO PHUOC THUY: THE FACES OF WAR

     In late 1971/early 1972 (before the Easter Offensive), the GVN at long last decided to deal with at least some of the war victims who had been driven from their homes near the DMZ, many more than once.  As return to their villages was clearly not going to happen, some were offered (ordered? I never learned how they were selected) a new home far away, in Phuoc Thuy Province, down in III Corps.  They were flown to Saigon, trucked to Ba Ria, the provincial capital, and then to their new home christened “Suoi Nghe.”  I was sent from CORDS Saigon to Ba Ria on TDY to advise on the project, as the provincial MACV team had no refugee officer. 

     I will be posting four photos, one a week about this unusual effort.  This first one shows a group of the refugees (plus one National Policeman), awaiting final transport.  Photographer unknown.  These are the innocent victims of war.

7/28/2019: A Visit to the Marine Base at Khe Sanh

     Easily the most memorable day of my “Summer of Love” in Viet Nam was the one I spent delivering not food or clothing, but twenty bags of cement, and then trying to get back to Da Nang.  Returning was always an open question after my Air America deliveries, but this one would prove more stressful.

     I was told that the cement was to be delivered to the cottage of an American couple living—together with their young children—in the Central Highlands, near the Laotian border.  They were working for Wycliffe Bible Translators, trying to render the Bible into Bru, the language of the local Montagnard tribe. Their local Protestant pastor was to build a small structure, probably a school.  It was remote, but fortunately, there was an airstrip not far away.  A Marine base named Khe Sanh.

     That day will live forever in my memory.  I shot the photo below to show the tank seemingly pointed at two of the hills that surrounded the base.  I was waiting for the squad of Marines that was necessary to escort the cement—and me—the short distance to the missionaries’ site.

     To read more about my visit to American missionaries living in what was becoming a major combat zone, read my book,  “A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam…,” available on Amazon, in both hardcover and Kindle formats.  Thank you.

7/8/2019: An Overdue Salute to a Wife

In December of last year, I shared a photo of a man named Peter Wiwcharuck. I identified him as the Canadian missionary volunteer for whom I worked during my 1967 “Summer of Love” spent living in DaNang and flying to sites in I and II Corps. I termed him an “unsung hero” of the war, and I meant it.
But Mr. Wiwcharuck was not there alone. His wife was with him, trying to keep a household in quite unusual circumstances, with little income. I have searched my photo collection, and the photo below is the only one in which she appears. I have also long ago forgotten her first name (she was just “Mrs. Wiwcharuck” to me).
Mrs. Wiwcharuck was very low key, and I didn’t take anywhere enough photos (or ask enough questions) while I was with them, so this photo of them behind some boxes about to be flown to DaLat—taken by me—is the best I can do. She deserves better.
To learn more my “Summer of Love” and my return to VN in 1970 to work with refugees, please check out my book, "A Spear Carrier in Viet Nam; Memoir of an American Civilian in Country 1967, and 1970-72", available on Amazon.

6/18/2019: A Protestant Church

THERE WERE A FEW PROTESTANTS ALSO! (And there should still be, I hope)
The Republic of Viet Nam was (briefly) a nation whose people were largely Buddhist, but was ruled by its Catholic minority. Almost lost within its people were a few Protestants, or “Tin Lanh.” My 1967 “Summer of Love” work in Viet Nam was largely delivering commodities to Protestant congregations in I and II Corps. I never saw a church grander than the one in the photo.
The photo is of what I believe to be the only Protestant church in Da Nang in 1967. As always, if anyone can correct me on that, please do. Photo by me.