Vietnam - 1967 unedited scans from deteriorating slides.

[The_Traveler]

I found this bunch of slides degenerating in a cardboard box I had forgotten about years ago.
Here is one.
The rest of the images, unedited and unsorted but fairly interesting at Lew Lorton Photography | Vietnam - 1967 - unedited from scans of deteriorating slides

 

[tirediron]

Great set Lew - what were you doing there at that time?

 

[cynicaster]

Wow... kinda surreal seeing stuff like this.

 

[The_Traveler]

Wow... kinda surreal seeing stuff like this.

I've been back 3 times since - and had great adventures each time

Great set Lew - what were you doing there at that time?

I had been in private practice as a general dentist for only a few months when I was drafted in the only doctor draft ever. The first few months in VN, I was stationed with a large dental clinic at Long Binh post where the only real interesting activity were the MedCap missions. Then I transferred to be the dentist for the 145 Combat Aviation Battalion that was based at Bien Hoa Airport, although I lived at Honour Smith Compound, about 3 km. away, in a villa with the officers of the 118th Assault Helicopter Company.

 

[The_Traveler]

There is an interesting - and even funny - story associated with this picture. The man on the extreme right was my boss at Long Binh - and he always made fun of the precautions we took when going out on these MedCap missions, although he himself never ventured outside the Long Binh Base. So I finally got him to go with me when I was to meet quickly with some US advisers to plan some further MedCap in their sector.

The structure in the back is a typical market, populated every few days when farmers and merchants set up shop and the locals buy. He kept his flak jacket and helmet on the entire trip. We were just standing around talking when a platoon of helicopter gunships began strafing the woods that can be just seen over to the left. The advisers radioed back to their base and got info that the gunships had been coming back from a mission and were diverted to fire on a group of people with guns moving up to the village.

Needless to say we left soon after and drove back to Bien Hoa. He never gave me crap again about insisting on a good jeep with good tires, a full complement of tools, etc.

 

[The_Traveler]

The reason for my caution about the jeep was an incident that had happened earlier in my tour. Myself and a tech were driving back on a fairly quiet road when we blew a tire.
We knew we had a spare (it's not tucked away on a jeep0, but when I opened the tools compartment, no jack or tire iron.

It was getting dark and we were pretty nervous. Finally an ARVN truck came by, doing their last sweep of the road before they buttoned up for the night.
They didn't have a jack that worked for the jeep but did have a tire iron that fit so we rolled loosed the lug nuts on the flat, rolled the jeep near a culvert under the road so that the flat tire was hanging in mid-air.

We changed the flat and, with many thanks to the ARVN, drive away.

It turns out the Motor Pool NCO had removed the tools so they wouldn't get stolen, relocked the compartment and hadn't mentioned anything.

 

[Trever1t]

Awesome images from history. Some of these scenes can still be seen up country. I can't wait to visit again.

 

[The_Traveler]

Awesome images from history. Some of these scenes can still be seen up country. I can't wait to visit again.

There is an adventure-type book by Nelson DeMille entitled 'Up Country' and I really enjoyed it, perhaps because of how much of the country it reminded me of.

There is a very negative review with these lines:

I honestly don't understand why this book has gotten so many good reviews. It is a long, meandering, travel monologue pretending to be a novel in order for Nelson DeMille to sell it. I can understand that he would want to write a book about his experiences in Vietnam both during and after the war. But then he should be honest and sell it as what it is...a travel monologue / memoir.

I loved the travelogue part of it.
My first time back was in 98, then 3 years later with my oldest son and daughter and then 3 years after that with my son only. Both of my children really liked it and my son has been back since. In 2007 he rented a motorbike in HCM city and went up the spine of the country as close to Laos as possible for ten days, then flew home from Hanoi.

I hope to spend some extended period of time in SEA.

L

 

[The_Traveler]

I have been mulling over the idea of making an ebook with pictures, stories and pictures from my travels these past few years. The stories would be in the mode of these in my blog.
Any comment on that?

 

[vintagesnaps]

Why not look into getting these published? Or at least some from your collection, these don't look like they've deteriorated much if at all. Seems like you don't always see not just wartime photos but pictures of the way people actually lived at the time.

It almost seems like a waste to do an ebook if you could seriously get these published, at least I'd probably try for that first and then maybe consider self publishing.

(You know, it's not that many years away from 50 years since these were taken, maybe you'd find an opportunity or interest in these.)

edit - Found this, seems like there will be commemorations, events, etc., maybe your photos would tie into this in some way. http://www.vietnamwar50th.com/about/

 

[bc_steve]

He never gave me crap again about insisting on a good jeep with good tires, a full complement of tools, etc.

Even when not in a warzone I would insist on having a spare tire, jack, tire-iron, etc. Got stuck on a rarely traveled road this winter because I forgot that I had a lent my tire iron to someone and didn't get it back. I even had 2 spare tires and couldn't do anything about it. I even had a can of that tire foam that exploded out the top when I tried to inject it into the tire. We gave up and started the long walk back to the main highway. Ended up being one of those lucky days when a few minutes later a guy came along on his quad. He had a compressor with him, that was enough to get me down to his house where he had a spare tire iron that I could borrow!

I enjoyed looking at your photos. I visited Vietnam in 2008 and couldn't help but think how interesting it would have been to have seen the country decades earlier ...

 

[The_Traveler]

He never gave me crap again about insisting on a good jeep with good tires, a full complement of tools, etc.

Even when not in a warzone I would insist on having a spare tire, jack, tire-iron, etc................I ............ couldn't help but think how interesting it would have been to have seen the country decades earlier ...

It was my fault for not inspecting the tool compartment and just assuming it was in order.
I'm not certain that 'interesting' was how I conceived of it in 1968
But my perspective has changed a great deal.

Why not look into getting these published? Or at least some from your collection, these don't look like they've deteriorated much if at all. Seems like you don't always see not just wartime photos but pictures of the way people actually lived at the time.

It almost seems like a waste to do an ebook if you could seriously get these published, at least I'd probably try for that first and then maybe consider self publishing.

(You know, it's not that many years away from 50 years since these were taken, maybe you'd find an opportunity or interest in these.)

edit - Found this, seems like there will be commemorations, events, etc., maybe your photos would tie into this in some way. About the Program | About the Program | Vietnam War Commemoration

First, they aren't great or illuminating shots. So publishing them wouldn't be successful. And I wasn't a warrior, just a REMF.
Plus, what one hopes for in publishing is to make money, and I really don't need money, I have what I need.
What I would like is the ego stroke of having people see my pictures and read my little stories.
Look at my work and I'm your friend forever.

 

[mike52t]

You may enjoy the book "Sparring with Charlie" by Christopher Hunt. Very interesting story and perspective.

 

[imagemaker46]

Great images that should all be preserved for the future.

Scott

 

[Devinhullphoto]

I'd love to see more. I'm always fascinated by photos from times gone by and before my years. Given I was born on New Years of 1990 I missed a lot of great stuff.