Phil Tolvin 199th Light Infantry Brigade (Page 5)

Phil Tolvin
199th Light Infantry Brigade
Redcatcher
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A Vietnam Vet

Page 5 Vietnam Today, Dec., 1999
Thank You Linda Sutton

Page 1 Mostly Me , Page 2 Mostly You , Page 3 Mostly Them ,
Page 4 Mostly Stories , Page 5 Vietnam Today, Dec., 1999
Page 6 Mostly Your Photos, Your Stories

Please be sure to visit all 6 pages, this is Page 5.

Click on: Mostly Me for Page 1, Mostly You for Page 2, Mostly Them for Page 3,
Mostly Stories for Page 4, Mostly Your Photos, Your Stories for Page 6

The photographs on this page were loaned to me by my generous friend and working associate,
Linda Sutton. She and her husband Raymond just completed a tour of the Far East, which included
South Vietnam. Before she left, I encouraged her to take many photographs of her vacation and
especially of her tour in South Vietnam. The photos which follow are the product of that excursion
through our old stomping grounds, South Vietnam.

[Image]
The one item that is unmistakably the style of the Vietnamese is
that Cone Shaped Hat. It is worn by both men and woman and has
not changed in the 32 years since I've been there and has
probably not changed in a hundred years prior to that.
I guess it does the job, it keeps the sun out.

In looking through these recent photos, the Vietnam Veteran will undoubtably notice that almost nothing has changed in more than a quarter century. It's as if time has stood still for the people and the country.
Perhaps they are waiting for our return.....
As a matter of fact, I'm sure they are.

All the photographs on Page 5 Vietnam Today, Dec., 1999, belong to and are the property of Linda Sutton. All other material on this page and web site belong to Phil Tolvin. They may not copied electronically or otherwise, or used without the express permission of Phil Tolvin, All rights reserved. E-Mail me at: philt6135@aol.com

Kids are Kids are Kids, but they still don't wear shoes. None of them.
Not then and not now.

Remember these God Forsaken swamps they called Rice Paddies?
When we worked them, we were waist high in what seemed like giant a mud hole, trying to get from one side of the rice field to the other without stepping on any booby traps. What an incredible serious game that was. If you lost, you lost your life, or a limb to say the least. If you won, you gained the chance to try it again.

This series of photos was taken in what we knew as Saigon.
Today it's known as Ho Chi Min City.

The current regime has done nothing to improve the quality of life in this country. It's basically the same poverty stricken nation it was thirty years ago. They have changed the name of a few cities to reflect the exit of U.S. fighting forces, but their war still wages on. Now they war against their own shortfall and inability to prosper in a modern world economy. We may yet return to this place called Vietnam, as they request assistance in their struggle as a nation, to enter into the technological age of the 21st century.
This time we'll be wielding farm equipment, medicine and computers,
not M-16's and M-61 fragmentation grenades.

The fishing business is a family affair. It includes the husband, wife and their children.
After their catch, they take what they need for their family and sell the rest at the open market.

[Image]

Is this Paradise or Purgatory?
This land is truely a Treasure of natural beauty, landscape, and untapped natural resources. If not for the devastation brought upon it by the war. It would surely be considered the Shangri-la of the Far East.

A tour of Vietnam would not be complete without seeing the remnants of war,
a war which more than anything else put this country on the map
and in the history books of the world.

This U.S. tank was probably disabled by an Anti-tank rocket
supplied by the Soviet Union. There was no heavy armor, or aircraft in
South Vietnam that didn't belong to the U.S. or Allied Forces.

Charlie's favorite hiding place, as well as that of the North Vietnamese Army, was his underground
tunnel and bunker complex. It was almost impossible to locate, but if you did stumble upon it,
you wouldn't want to enter it, although we did, they were usually well booby trapped.

[Image]
Linda

Thanks, Linda, for your generosity in allowing me to share with the brothers who served in
South Vietnam, the photographs of your recent experience there. Most individuals will never understand
the meaning that your photos will have upon us in bringing back the memory of a place which,
so long ago, was permanently etched into our lives.