Our first morning in Vietnam, we gathered with our tour guide and introduced ourselves. Two of our Georgia Tech travelers, it turned out, were Vietnam War veterans. George Moss, Text 57, had been a career military officer and saw action in the early years of the conflict. He returned to the country only at his wife’s urging. John Smith, CE 68, had been drafted and served in the later years of the conflict.
Over the following days, as we explored the beautiful country and stunning cities, the two veterans recalled places they’d seen decades earlier. The Vietnamese people were friendly and gracious. Everyone we encountered smiled and welcomed us, even in the Museum of War Atrocities in Ho Chi Minh City.
The group had the opportunity to visit the home of a former Viet Cong soldier outside of Hoi An. Smith in particular connected with a man he once had called an enemy.
“He showed me his hammock made from U.S. parachute flares and a camera he took off a dead journalist. I didn’t inquire as to who killed him,” Smith said. “A few days later we visited the Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong staged many attacks in the south. These tunnels were 13 miles from my base camp in Pho Loi. But, 41 years later, we toasted peace and good luck to Vietnam and the U.S.A.”
We were all surprised at how beautiful Vietnam is. The scenery in Ha Long Bay was breathtakingly unique. The striking vistas continued in Da Nang on China Beach, in the French colonial city of Hoi An, and in Hue, an ancient imperial city. From there we flew to Saigon and bussed to the Mekong Delta.
Another nice surprise was the food. We traveled along the eastern coast, so we enjoyed seafood, including lobster, shrimp, swordfish and mussels. I never grew tired of it and never wished for a hamburger.
We had one more interesting reunion. In Saigon, we met with Marc Pare, ME 10, and Tech student Danny Thai, who are working in the country on a startup called Mekong Green Tech. The company, which is helping to decrease pollution in Vietnam’s rural brickmaking industry, won first place in the 2012 Ideas to Serve Competition in the Tech College of Business.
It was great to meet up with these Ramblin’ Wrecks, and it served as a reminder of the impact that Georgia Tech’s innovators have around the world.
Want to travel with fellow Ramblin’ Wrecks? More information is available at gtalumni.org/travel, or call Martin Ludwig, director of Alumni Travel, at (404) 894-0758.
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