"Tân Ba 1964/65 . . ." Bien Hoa by Nemorino

Bien Hoa Travel Guide: 34 reviews and 58 photos

Tan Ba from the helicopter, 1964

. . . and a re-visit thirty years later

From October 1964 to March 1965 I was the lowest ranking member of a five-man American "advisory team" stationed in a small Vietnamese village called Tân Ba on the bank of the Dong Nai River.

Since Tân Ba is not included in the VirtualTourist database, I am posting this page under the name of Biên Hòa, which is a city several miles downstream on the other side of the river. At night we could see the lights of Biên Hòa air base across the river to the east, which seemed strange because we didn't have any electricity in our village.

The composition of our "advisory team" varied from week to week, but basically it consisted of a major, a captain, two sergeants and me. It didn't really seem like being in the army, since I was not in a platoon or company or anything like that. The five of us took turns standing guard at night, so I would wake up the major when it was his turn. Most nights were quiet, except once or twice a month on dark nights with no moon, when small groups of Viet Cong would sneak in and try to blow us up.

Except for those few dark nights I really loved Tân Ba. The people were friendly and we lived right there in the village with them, not fenced off in a compound. It was sort of like being in the Peace Corps except that we weren't at peace.

Theoretically I was supposed to be the radio operator, but it soon turned out that I had a different function entirely, as I will explain in some of my General Tips.

Children in the schoolyard, 1964

Thirty years later, in 1995, my son Nick and I hired a car and a driver in Biên Hòa and set off to find the village of Tân Ba. I had a general idea of how to get there, but didn't know where to turn off the main road, so our driver kept stopping and showing my old photos to the local people.

They gave us directions, and after a while we found the village... and the small pagoda... and the school..., all intact and all looking very similar to the way I remembered them.

The big difference was that our old helicopter pad no longer existed and the roads were narrower because it was no longer necessary to clear away the vegetation on both sides.

We arrived in the middle of the morning, shortly before recess at the village school. At recess the teachers invited us in for tea and passed my old photos around, including this one of children in the schoolyard in 1965. I felt a bit anxious about this at first, because I thought the children might have been killed or injured in the war, or might have been traumatized or demoralized by all the awful things that had happened.

But I needn't have worried. The children on the photos were grown up now. They had families and jobs, some had moved away and some hadn't.

The school was now full of a new generation of lively children, and the whole village seemed just as friendly and beautiful as I remembered it from thirty years before.

The house in Ta Ba, thirty years later

After a while a large group of people took us up the road the house where I had lived in 1964/65. Of course the old man and woman I had known were no longer alive, but three or four generations of their descendants were still living in the house.

None of them had inherited the old man's passion for gardening, however, so the front yard was a bit overgrown. Also the house hadn't been painted recently, but otherwise it looked much the same as I remembered it -- except that they had electricity now.

The girl in jeans in the photo was learning English at school, and even had a blackboard set up on an easel in the living room with some English vocabulary on it. Her parents wanted her to speak English with us, but she was too shy so they didn't insist.

Instead they took me around to the back and proudly showed me the new addition that they had built onto the back of the house, because there were so many more people living there now than before.

They also took us down to the river to show me how the public landing had been improved, and finally to the large pagoda to have a talk with the monk -- more about that in the General Tips on this page.

Thanks to my older son Nick for taking the pictures during our travels through Vietnam in 1995 and for scanning my old photos from 1964/65.

Last visit to Bien Hoa: Jul 1995
Intro Updated Jan 28, 2012
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (33)

1. Talking with the monk, 1995 - Bien Hoa

Meeting the monk at the large pagoda Favorites (33)

-- Photos: 1. Talking with the monk, 1995 2. The banquet hall of the large pagoda, 1995 In the banquet hall of the... more travel advice

Statue at the large pagoda (photo 1995) - Bien Hoa

Re-visiting the large pagoda in Tan Ba Favorites (33)

-- They also took us to the large pagoda, which I remembered as being the center of religious and social life in the... more travel advice

Washing dishes in the river, 1995 - Bien Hoa

Washing dishes in the river, 1995 Favorites (33)

-- This may not look like a very luxurious way to wash dishes, but it was a big improvement to have the stone steps... more travel advice

1. Showing me the new public landing, 1995 - Bien Hoa

Access to the river, 1995 Favorites (33)

-- The people who lived in the house in 1995 were all descendents of the old couple I had known thirty years before.... more travel advice

Comments (46)

breughel May 1, 2012 at 11:18 AM Report Abuse

Dear Don,
Last night I had a nightmare in which the army called me back for service. I protested and said I'm an old man, the oldest lieutenant in the Belgian army, my uniform doesn't fit anymore!
Do you know what happened: the CO made me eat a lobster (affirmative a lobster!) and made me position my platoon on a rocky coast; then I woke up!
I presume there must be a link between the lobster and the rocky coast?

Very interesting comments on your military experience. By coincidence 1964-65 was my military service period but in the secure Germany. Shall I say I damn liked your Vietnam comments because they are so different from what we all write just about tourism.
lmkluque Feb 4, 2012 at 11:02 AM Report Abuse

Thanks Don for the past and present comments here. Did you ever meet anyone who knew/remembered you in 1964-65, while there later on with your son?
picek Jan 28, 2012 at 7:16 AM Report Abuse

What vivid memory and story! It has to be very interesting to revisit VN after so many years, when country is put in entierly different frame. Good that camera documented some of the interesting people in the village, and that after all you got along well with everybody. Thanks for sharing this story! Vesna
mvtouring Jun 14, 2011 at 1:32 PM Report Abuse

What a lovely story, I am glad that you could go back with your son, must have been a great honour for him ;-)
Jefie Nov 20, 2010 at 4:39 PM Report Abuse

Thanks for taking the time to post your old photos and tell us your story - as someone who mostly learned about Vietnam through novels and movies, I can't begin to tell you how special it is to read you tips.
traveldave Oct 9, 2010 at 5:41 AM Report Abuse

It was fascinating reading about your time in Vietnam during the war. And it is great that you were able to return years later to see how things had changed.
BruceDunning Oct 6, 2010 at 3:43 PM Report Abuse

Wow-that is a fascinating history of a time in a different place. I was in the military but never got to ship to there. Wanted to, though. Nice description of the people and culture.
janetanne Sep 24, 2010 at 4:38 AM Report Abuse

I think you should turn these tips into a book. How very interesting and easy to read. One of the most interesting accounts I've read on VT. Janet
MalenaN Sep 5, 2010 at 4:43 AM Report Abuse

Very interesting page Don! I have enjoyed reading about your personal experienses of daily life in Tan Ba during war time. Pretty house you lived in, and garden!
angiebabe Jul 30, 2010 at 1:16 AM Report Abuse

amazing page Don!how wonderful to read through your experiences with these people and see your photos - very moving - laughing to almost crying! how excellent to make your way back to this place - time goes too fast though - already 15 years ago!