When we first arrived in country, we stayed at the Metropole in Saigon during our few days of orientation. Having talked to other Vets, I know that we all had the same reaction when the door to the plane opened in Saigon .............. the heat and smell hit us with such force that the memory has never faded. We were loaded on buses that had wire covering the windows ............ so no one could throw a grenade in. I thought, "aren't the people in Saigon on our side?!" Everywhere, men carried weapons. A stark reality was thrust on me - I had, indeed, entered a war zone. As a civilian, I had spent 2 weeks in Washington, DC learning how to play games. I certainly knew in my logical brain that we were at war, but it was that day I landed in Saigon that I understood it in my heart. That is why I took a picture of this bunker just outside of the Metropole. It clearly reminds me of the innocence I had the day I arrived in Vietnam. |