Blogs from Vietnam, Asia - page 1434

Asia » Vietnam » Central Highlands » Lam Dong » Da Lat September 30th 1973

In September 1973, my boss asked me to go to Saigon for six weeks to replace the Design Division Director who was going on home leave. I wanted Linda to go along, at my expense. Initially he was reluctant to agree as security in Saigon was still questionable despite the peace treaty. When I told him that we would be staying with friends at the mission guest home, he agreed. On September 30, 1973 Linda and I flew to Saigon. We stayed at the mission guest home which was across the street from national police headquarters. The ends of the street were barricaded, so we felt relatively safe. I worked Monday through Friday, and Saturday mornings, so had Saturday afternoon and Sundays free. During my free time we hung around with my Air America friend Ed, ... read more

Cyclos and Lambrettas a large part of the traffic

Bob on the roof of the Alliance Guest Home

1959-1964 Middle School Years at Dalat

Asia » Vietnam » Central Highlands » Lam Dong » Da Lat August 22nd 1959

Sue and Bob in front of temple

Home and Away

Dalat School was beginning a major transformation. A new boys’ dorm was constructed to the left of the old boys’ dorm which was now the administrative building with an expanded dining hall. The lower piece of property to the left of the girls’ dorm was bulldozed for a track and playing fields. U.S. Army advisors were assigned to teach at the Vietnamese Military Academy, and they brought their families with them. U.S. Army dependants from Saigon also came to Dalat School for their education. We had children whose parents were with foreign embassies and foreign aid organizations; including a boy from Egypt. So the student population was becoming quite cosmopolitan. My dorm parents for this five year period were Uncle John and Aunt Esther. Until about 1960, driving from Saigon to Dalat was safe, but after ... read more

Bob in fourth grade class with Miss Kelck as teacher

1956-1958: Early years at Dalat School

Asia » Vietnam » Central Highlands » Lam Dong » Da Lat August 4th 1956

Dalat School Campus in 1956

Home and Away

I was six, almost seven, so it was time for me to start school. Missionaries in Southeast Asia sent their children to boarding school at Dalat, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Vietnam was part of French Indochina until 1954 when it was divided into North and South Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh and his communists in charge of the government in the north, and Ngo Dinh Diem as the president of the supposedly democratic South Vietnam, but he was really a dictator. Many Catholics moved to the South to avoid persecution by an atheist government. In 1956, when I first started at Dalat School, the communist Viet Cong had not yet organized their terrorism campaign to overthrow the south so traveling to Dalat was pretty safe. My parents and I took the train to Bangkok, ... read more

Dalat School student body when Bob was in first grade

Brief history of Vietnam

The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forc...more history

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