Dirt biking the Ho Chi Minh trail.....

[TommyXP]

-------Lots of interesting pictures at the link and a tale of the journey by a vet on a dirt bike, who was also there during the time we were sacrificing our best to the gates of Hell and terrorizing innocents for the sake of the corporations; as continues to happen today.........
I spent 2 years there, eventually as a door-gunner on Chinooks, then Huey's (slightly more exhilarating then riding the SH, but not much) with C troop 1/9th Cavalry and kinda had a ring-side-seat, making many excursions into Laos to retrieve mutilated pieces of aircraft (sensitive electronics-weaponry) and what remained of our fellow adrenalin-junky aviators.......

"They love the soil which makes their graves,
but have no sympathy with the Spirit which may still animate their clay.
Patriotism is a maggot in their heads."
-Thoreau-

Legend of the Ho Chi Minh trail | Laos GPS Map

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 8099,d.aWc

Forgive me for including this. Just goes with the story.......

[robber57]

May i assume the young innocent looking boy in the picture is you? , probably at the time still proud of the job assigned too and unaware of the evil mankind can spread on its children

I"ll have a look when i get home out of the financial jaws called " roaming" , i just spend , by accident, 78 euros in 10 minutes of my prepaid simcard, as it turns out i forgot to exclude the appstore update service from the 3G cell connection

[TommyXP]

The job wasn't assigned; volunteer ONLY. They had a terrible time trying to force people to do "that". The last thing you would want is someone in the air with you who didn't desire to be there with you, rather than shitting his pants because of himself.......
I was distinctly aware of the appalling Evil, especially the behavior of some gung-ho fellow troops. I shot more peace-signs then rounds and was only aggressive when someone else's life was at stake. Watched a veritable tropical paradise and simple innocent pheasants destroyed before my eyes.
I fought against the war the only way I knew how. Bizarre, being in the middle of a war(?) and fighting against war. Lots of anguish and sense of powerlessness.......except for a certain amount of "fragging"......

Where are located now? Paris? How is the trip going?

[IntlRunner]

Tommy,

I guess the one positive was that your trips were paid for by uncle Sam

I went as a tourist in 2006, probably 40 years after you and really realize how senseless most wars are by realizing how similar people are around the world. Anyways, I spent most of the time in the North and despite a few displays of that aviation technology as war memorials, never did I feel anything but welcome. Then when I rode down to the coast, you saw the miles after mile of spanking new manufacturing plants with western company logos so those corporate interests are still at work.

[robber57]

Nice site, thank you for that.