V.P. Spiro Agnew was scheduled to visit Saigon August 27th
Charlie Troop 1/9th was chosen to recon the outskirts of Saigon in preparation for an upcoming visit by V.P. Agnew. Just a bit of added security for the Vice President.
This mission was a nice break from the hot steamy jungle which we had grown accustomed to. We even set up a volley ball net in the center of the race track and got a little recreation in…
Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam, August 27, 1970: Vice President Spiro Agnew walks past a South Vietnamese military band during an awards ceremony.
(Jack Fuller, copyright Stars and Stripes)
Squad of Blues somewhere in Saigon
Downtown Saigon
Sports field in Saigon
The Phu Tho horse racing track in Saigon where we set up camp.
The Phu Tho Horse Racing Track, located in western Saigon between the heart of Cholon and Tan Son Nhut Airport to the north.
Photographer unknown
This is the only horse that I saw in Vietnam.
Saigon was a very conjested city.
Saigon River
Blue India, This is 25 over. Great lookin’ site. I will hope that my “Close-air-support” was not too close. Sammy Hinch tells the story of getting wacked up-side the head by one of my 17 pounders. He was on the controls at the time coming up out of a hover hole. When he finally got to the point where he could handover the controls to his copilot he was able to slide his hand up to see how much blood was there only to find a piece of bamboo. Then he cursed me out!
I was there and still have the map we were issued. At the time, I had gone through Cobra transition and was flying Front Seat. There’s a story there one day that I won’t repeat, but led to immediate assignment to Back Seat.
I remember the good food, and billets. Also lost the photos of everybody there. But really was a good break!