Vietnam's battlefields become unlikely tourist spots 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 la Drang Valley, and Khe Sanh from news reports, movies, and history books.

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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 firsthand 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 1955 to 1975, with more than 58,000 Americans killed and many times that number of Vietnamese.