D. J. Poulton 2020 | Ormeau | Queensland | Australia|
Contact Dave
DAVO’S HOME PAGE FOR
VIETNAM VETERANS
1st Return Visit to Vietnam
DEALING WITH THE PAST . . .
The return to the old battle grounds was for me a chance
to confront old memories that had become a daily
torment. Could I reconcile my past? I thought so.
1st Visit 25th October, 1995 to 1st
November, 1995
Let
me
take
you
on
our
journey
from
my
daily
diary
(abridged)
as
it
happened,
sharing
some of the thoughts and feelings that became intense for me.
Wednesday, 25th October, 1995
25th
October
1995,
at
6.30am
(Eastern
DST)
I
set
off
with
five
others
from
Canberra
Airport
for
Ho
Chi
Minh
City
(HCMC)
(formerly
Saigon),
Vietnam.
I
was
traveling
with
a
group
from
a
local
church
in
Canberra.
We
arrived
in
HCMC
at
4.30pm
local
time
(they
are
3
hours
behind
Australia).
I
was
anxious
as
to
how
customs
and
immigration
would
treat
us.
Four
of
the
team
had
not
been
to
Asia
before,
but
two
of
us
were
Vietnam
veterans.
Getting
through
immigration
and
customs
was
quite
an
event.
We
all
managed
to
get
through
without
any
incident.
The
trip
from
the
airport
to
the
hotel
was
shared
with
thousands
of
push
bikes
and
motor
bikes
amidst,
cars,
buses
and
every
other
form
of
transport
imaginable
(nothing
much
had
changed
in
that
department).
The
only
way
to
describe
it
was
a
river
of
human
flesh,
that
moves
constantly
24
hours
of
the
day.
I
imagine
that
there
are
road
rules,
although
none
were
readily
obvious.
It
was
hard
to
imagine
that
some
28
years
earlier
I
had
driven
these
same
roads
without
giving
a
thought
to
local
traffic
other
than
trying
to
force
them
off
at
every
opportunity.
Generally
you
aim
your
vehicle
where
you
want
to
go
and
trust
that
the thousands who share the road will all miss you.
…more…