Overview

In 2016, my wife and I embarked on a poignant trip to Vietnam, revisiting a country that had haunted my memories since my service there as a clerk typist in the Graves Registration Unit during the war (1966-67). Landing in Ho Chi Minh City (once Saigon), the vibrant, modern metropolis struck me as a stark contrast to the war-torn streets I remembered. Yet amid the bustling motorbikes and gleaming skyscrapers, flashes of the past resurfaced: the weight of my duty to document fallen soldiers, the humidity of the air unchanged, and the echoes of a younger self navigating fear and loss. Traveling beyond the city, iconic places that hold visceral memories-perhaps the former site of a military base, a quiet village once scarred by conflict, or the solemnity of a cemetery. The journey became a dialogue between past and present: the warmth of the Vietnamese people today juxtaposed with wartime tensions, the lush landscapes now at peace, and the unresolved emotions I carried for decades. My role in the Graves Registration Unit, though administrative, tied me intimately to the war's human cost. Returning as a civilian, I reflected on the futility of war, the resilience of Vietnam, and the quiet heroism of those who ensured the fallen were not forgotten. By trip's end, the voyage offered not closure, but a measure of understanding-a chance to see Vietnam not as a battleground, but as a home to people moving forward, just as I had.

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