Vietnam's unlikely tourism, 50 years on from the war

More than half a century after the Vietnam war dominated headlines, some remember the battles of Hamburger Hill, Hue, the Ia Drang Valley, and Khe Sanh from news reports, movies, and history books.

- DAVID RISING HAU DINH

For thousands of Americans and Vietnamese, these locations are the final resting places of loved ones. Today, the battlefields of Vietnam serve as pilgrimage sites for veterans from both sides and tourists seeking a first-hand understanding of the war’s battlegrounds.

“It was a war zone when I was here before,” reflected US Army veteran Paul Hazelton as he walked with his wife through the grounds of the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, which was known as Saigon when he served there.

Hazelton’s tour just shy of his 80th birthday took him back for the first time to places he served as a young draftee, including Hue, the former Phu Bai Combat Base on the city’s outskirts, and Da Nang, which was a major base for both American and South Vietnamese forces.

“Everywhere you went, you know, it was occupied territory with our military, now you just see the hustle and bustle and the industry, and it’s remarkable," he said. “I’m just glad that we’re now trading and friendly with Vietnam. And I think both sides are benefiting from it.”

Vietnam’s war with the United States lasted for nearly 20 years, from November 1955 to April 1975, and resulted in the deaths of more than 58,000 Americans and many times that number of Vietnamese.

For Vietnam, it started almost immediately after the nearly decade-long fight to expel the colonial French, who were supported by Washington, which culminated with the decisive defeat of French forces at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

The end of French Indochina meant major changes in the region, including the partitioning of Vietnam into communist North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, and US-aligned South Vietnam.