Neil Hannan's 2016 Vietnam Trip: April 14 2000 Vietnam Time Da Nang

We're now in Da Nang following a full day in my former AO (area of operations) yesterday. The flight to Saigon is soon. A trip to Marble Mountain via Thong's motorbikes occupied much of this afternoon....bought a marble Buddha statue. I will dissect the events of yesterday into two posts, one involving the ascent of LZ (landing zone) East and the other a visit to Duong. It was an action-packed 12 hours, that's for sure.

Thong and my hired car arrived at the Hoi An hotel at 0700, right on time. Getting an early start was essential, as midday heat climbing LZ East could spell disaster. My only other post-war ascent was in 2011. I was admittedly a bit apprehensive as to how hard the trek would be with five more years under my belt. We arrived at the mountain's base around 0830 and, after being joined by a "local", began the journey with light daypacks around 0830. The local man explained to Thong that he could arrange to take us 2/3 of the way up by motorbike for about $8 total. But, there is no way that I was going to agree to that. If we can't climb it "fair and square", then we don't go. So, off we went...

It was already very hot and the steepness of the initial 30 minutes or so was an indication of what to expect. There is some shade during the first stretch of the trip, but thereafter the sun just bakes you.
The local suggested a different route to the summit than taken in 2011...longer, but not as steep. So, we agreed. No shade and occasional stretches of flesh-slicing elephant grass accented the challenge. The final trudge to the top was very steep with no shade to seek shelter from the ever-rising heat. Periodic rest stops, maybe 30 seconds each, were required. My 196th comrades will recall the crashed chopper debris resting a short distance down from the summit. The local guide confirmed my discovery of the location, though the chopper's remains have been buried by excavation. A small tree and large boulders at the summit allowed a much-needed oasis at which to recover. Unlike 2011, the view of LZ Center and the old AO was hindered by haze. Still it was a good feeling to be once again standing up there. During my time in 'Nam in '68, East wasn't an active LZ/Fire Support Base. But, my infantry company sometimes ascended and set up on the mountain for a very short time. We did so, as I recall, not long after returning from the two-week battle on the DMZ/Nhi Ha. That must have been when Lt. Candler, who replaced Lt. Smith after his multiple wounds at Nhi Ha, arrived as my new platoon leader. If memory serves me correctly, his chopper was hit by small-arms fire in landing. To the men about to come under his leadership, it was no big deal....just another day. To the newly-arrived Lt. Candler, it must have felt a bit different. A month or so later, I was part of a four-man, four/five-day observation post on East. We began taking small arms fire, which forced us down from the summit. Hiding in the tall grass, we could see the NVA helmets bobbing around as they sought us out. Significantly outnumbered, we laid low instead of engaging the enemy. Anyway, like just about everywhere in our former AO, memories on East abound. Today I climbed with a small daypack. In '68, it was full combat gear.

I suppose the we spent about 45 minutes at the summit...taking photos, resting, and recharging our energy for the descent. There was a brief skirmish involving me, Damn Guide (Thong), and the local. See photo.

With the local guide selecting an alternate return route, off we went. I will mention that LZ East is changing form due to bulldozer activity intended to flatten areas for planting gum trees. Just a couple minutes after leaving the summit, we were on loose, steep dirt...unstable footing with frequent slides. And the heat. The fresh dirt seemed to convert the suns rays into an oven. I quickly made it down that steep, unstable section well ahead of the others. There I stood, baking, everyone else well up the slope. I could 't just stand there in that heat, not moving, much longer. Not drinking a single drop of water on the ascent, conditions forced me to down a couple swallows. My repeated yells for advice as to which direction to proceed met with what seemed to me to be confusion. The local guide was obscured in bushes for some time and I could not figure out why. Finally, he pointed a direction and off I went, the others following. Upon reaching a logical spot to stop, I learned why the guide was delayed. In his hands was about 10-12 pounds of honeycomb, which he had discovered quite by accident shortly after we had started down. His hands dripping with honey, we kept moving downward. Thong had fallen twice, hurting his knee, so he was lagging quite a bit. I finally, through motions, conveyed to the guide that I wanted a motorbike brought up to take him the rest of the way down the mountain. Dropping my pack, I then worked my way back up to where Thong was sitting to advice that he stay put and wait for the motorbike. Then it was back to my pack and down the mountain. The motorbike sped past en route to fetch Thong and, shortly thereafter, was on his way back down. He stopped to offer me a spot on the bike, which was refused. In the end, we all arrived back at the point of origin, sweat-soaked and weary, but in good shape. By gosh, maybe this won't be my last trip up East.

At airport and need to publish now!

Neil