Children

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Village children in South Vietnam, 1969. We gave them C-rations and you can see the tins in their pockets. This was taken with a Nikon F on Etachrome.

Mike
 
Rangefinder M-P, perhaps it is about time you go back to Vietnam.
I've thought about that, especially when seeing your photos. It's a beautiful country and I knew that even when times were pretty tough. I spent time in Nha Trang and would love to go back there. It's something to think about. Thank you for the suggestion.

Mike
 
In 1969, I visited the orphanage at An Lac. While there, I took many photos of the orphans and provided many copies of those pictures to Betty Tisdale, a very remarkable lady. She raised monies in the US to support Madame Vu Thi Ngai's orphanage. I spied one of their charges, Ngoc, and snapped a quick pic:
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She was a sweet child and Betty said she helped the younger children tirelessly. Not too long after that, I was transferred north and never returned to the orphanage. In 2010, I received a message from Betty about a reunion of the orphans she evacuated during Operation Babylift as communist forces attacked Saigon. While at the reunion in Columbus, Georgia, I saw Ngoc, again:
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In 2017, it was my privilege to speak at her funeral. Life sure has some interesting twists and turns.

Mike
 
Is this the 'An Lac' in the Saigon suburbs, near the Western, or 'Mien Tay' bus station?
Yes, sir, it is. One of the orphans I met there sent this photo a few years ago taken on the site of the old orphanage:
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Mai is the young lady in the white blouse. Here's what she looked like when we took a group to the Saigon zoo 53 years ago:
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She has two children and owns a small shop in Ho Chi Minh City.

Mike
 
It's a small world. I know the An Lac area very well and lived there for some time. It is in today's Binh Tan District where the giant textile companies have set up shop. One of the largest employs some 70,000 workers and exports its goods to the USA and the EU. If you come for a visit, let me know and I'll show you around and buy you a 333. Cheers, OtL
 
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