NEIL HANNAN'S 2024 VIETNAM HUMANITARIAN PROGRAM

Just before 7:00 AM, Khanh, Dr. Trang (Khanh's wife), and I departed Hue with a destination of Hong Ha. This is the same village where we attended the Rotary Club latrine project closing ceremony on January 26. The route, actually the old Ho Chi Minh Trail, leads to a very mountainous region. Visible is Hamburger Hill, which was the site of a May 13-20 battle between US/South Vietnamese Forces and North Vietnamese Forces. The drive is rather slow, with continuous sharp turns. The mountain scenery, though, is beautiful. If time permitted, I would have liked to do some hiking there.     Eventually we made it to Hong Ha, where students and faculty were waiting at the school.    Road to Hong Ha With Khanh at Hong Ha School   Dr. Trien and his staff were already set up and ready to begin eyeglass distribution. Recall that it was just five days prior that we first contacted Dr. Trien about the possibility of screening 300  Hong Ha children, selecting the 100...

Well, I was up early, as always, and ready for pickup by the van (they call it a "limo") for transport back to Hue. The route follows Highway 1, a major artery now as it was during the war. The drive is about 2.5 hours, but it usually takes 3 due to having to pick up and drop off at various hotels in DaNang and Hue.  After checking in at my hotel, Oanh (Hearts for Hue) and I went via motorbike to a large supermarket to purchase toothbrushes and toothpaste. I decided to skip passing out candy in favor of oral care. I ended up buying 200 toothbrushes and 100 large tubes of toothpaste, which we would distribute the following morning, along with eyeglasses, at Hong Ha School. It was too much to transport with the motorbike, so I grabbed a taxi back to the hotel, which was in the process of setting up its Tet holiday meal for employees.   Orchid Hotel-Hue Tet Celebration Meal`   Speaking of Orchid Hotel, this massage business is right next door: Around 4 PM, I made the 30-minu...

At 7 AM our hired car arrived to transport Damn Guide and me for visits to Thua, Duong, and Phung, Lady The's son and Son's brother. The route took us down Highway 1 and past Que Son and the main gate of Landing Zone Baldy, where I served on the bunker line after leaving my field infantry company until departure for home. That base is now home to an armored unit. View from Highway 1   Que Son   Main Gate of Former LZ Baldy   After about 2 hours, we arrived at Duong's house. Thong's repeated attempts to call him in advance had been unsuccessful, so he wasn't expecting us. Duong served in my infantry unit (2nd Platoon Co A 3/21 196th Light Infantry), but that was subsequent to my tour of duty. Having lost both legs in combat, he has had a rough existence. However, through the years, we have done much to improve the quality of his life.    Duong's House-Before Duong Before House Renovation Duong's House-After         ...