Vietnam Road Trip - Somewhere Between Saigon, Phuoc Vinh and Bien Hoa, circa 1969

These are the last of my uncle's slides. They're in color, probably dating from 1969 or 1970 during the Vietnam War. My educated guess is that most were taken from the back of an army transport truck leaving Saigon on the Bien Hoa highway. Most likely on my uncle's way to the 74th Field Hospital in Long Binh where he was stationed.

I figured this out by first trying to hunt down the location of the soldier statue and temple. Then, I stumbled on another American soldier's post of the same Shell gas station from the same time frame.  He labeled it as "somewhere between Phuoc Vinh and Bien Hoa."

More of my uncle's photos:  Vietnam in Black & White - 74th Field Hospital, Long Binh 1969

Soldiers cycling with baskets full of bananas.

Thuong Tiec, a memorial statue to the fallen ARVN soldiers, located at Bien Hoa. It was destroyed in April 1975. 

Bien Hoa Cemetery, also called the National Military Cemetery of Bien Hoa, still exists under the name Bình An Cemetery. It was established in 1965 as an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) military cemetery. 

The Shell station, that appears to be the same one identified by Ken Roy as "Shell station in the middle of no where, somewhere between Phuoc Vinh and Bien Hoa, Vietnam."

Vietnamese movie posters. "Tinh Yeu va Su Mang" in Cinemascope.

Farmers and livestock. 

Water buffalo on the side of the road.

Saigon Bridge, known as Newport Bridge before 1975.

 

I'm not sure exactly where these were taken, guessing they're still along the same road from Saigon. 

Sign says "US ARMY" along with "50th" but can't make out the rest.

Donald William "Bill" McCaw, Jr. (1945-2005)

Vietnam in Black & White - 74th Field Hospital, Long Binh 1969

Shortly after graduating from the University of Missouri-Rolla, my uncle Donald William "Bill" McCaw. Jr. joined the US Army as an enlisted man. He was an SP5 stationed at the 74th Field Hospital, Long Binh, Vietnam. From the bits and pieces of stories I heard growing up, I don't think he ever got over what he witnessed as a young man while treating the casualties of war.

Curating these images was bittersweet. I wish my uncle were around to tell me about them, and that thought is even sadder knowing that the war is part of the reason he's no longer here. The captions for each picture are his notes to my grandparents written on the backs of a few of the photos. Sarcastic, to the point, and with a hint of sadness, much like I remember him.

A medevac copter. The red cross insignia are small crosses on an OD background.
They are hard to see and, therefore, harder to shoot at. "I guess"

No caption - but from the looks of the suitcases, I would guess this is arrival day. 

Left to right - Bill McCaw, Skip Bond, and Charles Starling, Laboratory Services Personnel, 74th Field Hospital, July 7, 1969. 

Another view to the east. The 1st Logistical Command.

"Guardians and Enforcers"

Headquarters - 74th Field Hospital. On the right, sorry looking banana plants. 

Several OR boys running around in circles. In the back is the motor pool.

"The box" - labs private vehicle. 

View to the east. Note how pre-planning makes for a neat and orderly community.

Looking west, the 24th Evacuation Hospital. The trees on the right are the last of the rubber trees that made up the Michelin Rubber Plantation here. 

"Yours Truly"