"Vietnam Honeymoon."

There was a "third act" of the "Donna/Olds Movie" timeframe.

Shortly after I got back up here from Phoenix, before I ever met Donna, I got a long distance call from Miguel "Pop" Salinas down in Texas. "Pop" & I had served together in Vietnam and were on Hill 861 during the fight for Khe Sanh during the TET Siege.

He said he was planning to go BACK there for a couple of weeks, and that since Vietnam opened up for visitors, two OTHER guys from our outfit had gone back over there for a visit. We talked at length about it, over the next couple of phone calls. Our trip would not only entail going back to Vietnam, but BACK to Khe Sanh, and back UP to Hill 861!

I had to "wrestle" with this a bit, but finally called him back and said "Ok, let's do it." Within the next month, there were SIX of us going, but as time went on, the other four dropped off one by one, as they weren't ready to deal with it again.

"Pop" said he was going no matter what, and asked if I was "committed".......and I said that "I probably SHOULD be", but I was going. The trip would be in early July, which gave us plenty of time to get our Passports, Visas, shots, plane tickets, accomodations, reservations and such.

When Donna & I decided to get married a few months later, I told HER to pick the date, and whatever it was, would be fine with me. She chose the 30th of June..........

"Pop" & I were scheduled to fly OUT of San Francisco FIVE DAYS LATER on July 5th, and it would be a 2-week trip. Her BIRTHDAY is on the 13th of July and I'd STILL be in 'Nam for THAT as well!

Donna & I had just taken a trip to the coast, and any OTHER trip would have to wait until after I got back. She's a real trooper though, and when I decided to CANCEL my part of the trip, she stepped-in and said "NO WAY........this is something you and Pop need to do....I'll be fine.....just be careful and get back here safely."

"What about your birthday?"

"Believe it or not, I'll have ANOTHER one NEXT YEAR too!.......You need to GO!"

She was right. We got married outside of City Hall on a beautiful day, and my old friend and then-Mayor Joe McNeal performed the ceremony. All of a sudden, I didn't want to leave, but way down inside, I knew she was right.

Pop & I flew into San Francisco on the 3rd, where fellow Khe Sanh buddy Randy Mapel flew up from San Diego to meet us. We three would spend the next day driving around San Francisco in a rental car, then Randy would fly back to San Diego..........Pop & I would head for Hong Kong----then on to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).

With a rental car, I drove us into San Francisco, and showed 'em around a little. I drove up to Potrero Hill, then out to Galileo High to show Pop & Randy where I grew up with my "hooligan friends." We had lunch out on Fisherman's Wharf, and got as caught-up on old times as we could. It was a nice visit. (we still call each other every now and then.......and meet up at the Khe Sanh re-unions from time to time).

On the 5th, Pop & I flew to Hong Kong. We had about a 6-hour layover, before the connecting flight into Saigon (I've always refused to call it "Ho Chi Minh City").

We passed through customs and caught a taxi to our Hotel for a much needed SLEEP. We were able to make reservations for transportation to Hue City in a few days----then up to Dong Ha, Quang Tri and finally Khe Sanh itself.

I videotaped the entire trip, along with my still-camera shots, and spent the first couple of days shooting film around Saigon.

I also called Donna nearly every night (from Saigon anyway, where we had good telephone access), and I wrote to her in a special "travel diary", everyday Pop & I were over there, no matter WHERE we were (even from the top of 861).

Soon it was time to head north. We flew from Saigon to Hue City, spent the night, contacted our "tour driver and guide" and headed further north through Dong Ha, Quang Tri, and finally into Khe Sanh, which had now grown into a town----where it was only a "village" the FIRST time we were there. It was the 11th of July. The next morning (12th) we hooked up with our "Hill Guide."

Actually, Neither Pop or I NEEDED a guide from this point.....even through 40 years of jungle RE-GROWTH, you could still see 861........but guides were required for ALL "foreign" visitors, due to the unexploded ordinance still lying around on battlefields, and Vietnam was now getting American trade and did not want any "incidents or accidents." Guides were fairly cheap though, and Pop & I had prepared for that.

We visited the little "museum" they had there, and planned for the long hike up to the hill the next day.

Then it started raining...............it rained long and it rained hard. This was potentially disasterous. We HAD to climb 861 the next day on the 13th, because we had to be in DaNang for the flight back to Saigon on the 14th. In good weather, it was very "do-able." But if it was still coming down the next morning, it might be too muddy & slick to make the climb, and that IS what we had come back over to do.

It was an uneasy night, but we managed to sleep. The next morning, it was cool, a bit foggy but it had at least stopped raining. With guides in-tow, we had a quick bite, threw bottled water in our packs drove as far as we could, to the base of the hill-range, then got OUT and started up.

Forty years earlier, when we were young and in-shape, we hiked-up there in Company formation, loaded down like mules, but still made it in an hour or so. In 2005, we were a pair of old geezers and the climb seemed like a trek up Mount Everest---------particular in the HUMIDITY over there. But, inside of THREE hours, we finally made it. I carefully filmed it, INCLUDING the UNSPENT ordinance we had to be constantly watching for. The guides and us had a nice rest, had a little lunch, and we checked out some of the trenchline that nature hadn't yet reclaimed. I filled an old water container with dirt from the top to take back, a couple of pieces of protective panels from someone's old flakvest..........and our Hill Guide found a SPENT slug from an AK-47. THIS came home with me too.

It was really strange being up there again, after four decades. In 1968, it looked like "Craters of the Moon" from all the artillery and mortar barrages, burned-out areas from napalm and Agent Orange. In 2005, it had all pretty much grown over with thick elephant grass, and there were even FLOWERS growing in various places in the valley. Except for the occasional mortar rounds still laying around, you wouldn't have guessed a WAR had once raged up there.

It was the 13th......Donna's birthday......after we got to the top, we wished her a happy birthday on the cam-corder tape. In a way, this was really INSANE..........I meet the gal of my LIFE, and just FIVE days after we're married----I LEAVE the country! On her BIRTHDAY, (the 1st one we would spend together), I'm standing on top of this God-forsaken, leech-infested hill about 9,000 miles away!

Pop and I took some time wandering along what was left of the trenchline, just sort of remembering, and collecting our thoughts. Finally, it was time to head back DOWN the hill. We were wringing wet with sweat from the climb UP, but it felt pretty good going back down.

Several hours later, were we in a hotel in DaNang.....and then back in the air heading back to Saigon in the morning.

Our last couple of days found us touring around Saigon, filming the traffic (that you'd NEVER BELIEVE), and we wound it up with a trip to the "Chu-Chi Tunnels". I'm glad I video'd it all.

When we went through customs before the plane trip back to Hong Kong, I wasn't sure if I'd be allowed to take SOIL out of the country (I'd filled that water jug with dirt from 861), but I didn't declare it and nobody asked, so we got on the plane--------back to Hong Kong-------short layover, then the long trip back to San Francisco.

I'd managed a pretty good nap on the plane, and got a commuter plane from San Francisco to Boise. I called Donna from SFO and she was there to pick me up in Boise. WHAT A WELCOME sight! Long trip........emotional trip...........and a NEW chapter in my life to start when I got home. I'm so glad I got this trip on videotape.

THAT CAMERA, was a story in itself.........and a SHORT one, that I'll share on my next post.