Children

[JohnWolf]

Charleston, SC by John Wolf, on Flickr

 

[Rangefinder M-P]

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

 

[Rayt]

Children from village in northern Vietnam from 20 years ago. Olympus E-1 and kit zoom

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (color skopar 50mm f2.5) leica m3

Amsterdam, 2017

Erik.

 

[p.giannakis]

Charleston, SC by John Wolf, on Flickr

Well captured John!

 

[p.giannakis]

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

Makes me wonder where are those kids now. What are their memories of those years.

 

[Out to Lunch]

School is out. Children at play outside a Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam. Zeiss Ikon ZI - Zeiss Biogon T* 2.8/28 ZM - Infiniti Uxi 100 ISO. I don't this cheap film is still available.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Makes me wonder where are those kids now. What are their memories of those years.

The unofficial US Army line during these days was: "bomb 'em, and feed 'em".

 

[Rangefinder M-P]

Makes me wonder where are those kids now. What are their memories of those years.

I've wondered, too, for fifty-three years.

Mike

 

[Out to Lunch]

Rangefinder M-P, perhaps it is about time you go back to Vietnam.

 

[Rangefinder M-P]

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

 

[Out to Lunch]

Just do it. Today, in Saigon it was 100.4F, so maybe not tomorrow. E-visas are easy to be had and Nha Trang is a laid-back city. Cheers, OtL

 

[Rangefinder M-P]

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:

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:

In 2017, it was my privilege to speak at her funeral. Life sure has some interesting twists and turns.

Mike

 

[Out to Lunch]

In 1969, I visited the orphanage at An Lac.

Is this the 'An Lac' in the Saigon suburbs, near the Western, or 'Mien Tay' bus station?

 

[Erik van Straten]

silver gelatine print (color skopar 50mm) leica m3

Amsterdam, 2017

Erik.

 

[Rangefinder M-P]

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:

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:

She has two children and owns a small shop in Ho Chi Minh City.

Mike

 

[Out to Lunch]

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

 

[Rangefinder M-P]

I remember Tiger 33 but 333 would be a new experience! Thank you for the kind offer.

Mike

 

[Out to Lunch]

I'm a Tiger man myself but thought the 333 was closer to your 60s experience. Cheers, OtL

 

[Out to Lunch]

Tiger in Saigon today...