73rd SAC -
Vung Tau Photo Album - No. 1

• Quiet little street in Vung Tau
  Vung Tau has to be one of the most beautiful cities in all of Vietnam. This picture shows a quiet little back street. The French were here for many years and had a lot of influence on local architecture. One would never imagine that a war was going on just a few miles away. From what I understand... Vung Tau was spared any kind of destruction, due to any major battles.
  

• Center of town...
  This area of Vung Tau is right in the middle of everything. When all of these pictures were taken in 1968, Vung Tau's population was about 25,000. According to most recent reports (not confirmed), Vung Tau's current population is over 600,000.
  

• Front Beach
  Front Beach has several hotels and restaurants along its beautiful tree lined street that runs along the beach. You can see the water front through the trees on the right.
  

• Vung Tau's equivalent of the "Greyhound Bus Station"...
  Ownership of personal automobiles in Vietnam is rare. Most people travel by bicycle, bus, walking, or water craft. Notice the markings on the bus to the left - "Vung Tau - Saigon." You could catch a bus here for Saigon, then transfer at Saigon for some other distant destination. All Aboard!!
  

• Looking over Vung Tau...
  This view is looking west... Front Beach is to the left. Back Beach is to the right, and more right. The airfield would be to the far right. The South China Sea would be behind us. Can you imagine 600,000+ people living here?
  

• A back street in Vung Tau...
  This is one of Vung Tau's back streets. The back streets of Vung Tau had many bars to quinch your thirst. Like any other bar... any other place, you would exercise a reasonable amount of caution when frequenting these bars. I didn't frequent them that much... and when I did, I usually went with friends. The scooter you see here is the local version of a "taxi cab."
  

• More shopping...
  Here's your big chance for a major shopping opportunity! It isn't exactly your favorite urban mall, but... I bet the prices are better.
  

• Yes, more shopping...
  I use to go into Vung Tau on occasion, to just look around. The airbase had it's own "base exchange" (store), so it wasn't necessary to depend on the market in Vung Tau for shopping needs. The base exchange had a pretty good selection. Actually, the Australians had a better selection at their base exchange... over at their base. The Australian base was between the VTAAF and Back Beach... and could be accessed through a gate via Back Beach. Not many U.S. personnel at the Vung Tau Army Airfield knew about this. They also had a nice secure beach that we would use frequently, since I (and a couple of my co-worker buddies) worked the night shift. I'm giving away all of my Vung Tau secrets...
  

• Not more shopping!
  I don't know about you... but, I'm tired of shopping. My feet are getting tired and I want a place to sit down. How about a nice quiet little bar... and a nice ice-cold Bud?
  

• Beautiful tree lined street...
  This was the road/street heading out of downtown Vung Tau for the Vung Tau Army Airfield (VTAAF). The airfield was a couple of miles down this road. Since GI's in Vietnam weren't issued their own personal vehicles, I walked this road many times, back and forth from the airfield into Vung Tau. There was a certain amount of military vehicle traffic on this road, and catching a ride usually wasn't very difficult. The walk was always interesting, so I usually preferred to walk.
  

Return to:
73rd Surveillance Airplane Company (SAC) - Home Page

Disclaimer

No restricted and/or classified information is contained herein. This home page and web site have been constructed and will be maintained entirely by the author, and the author is responsible for the contents and accuracy of this site. The contents of this page have not been reviewed, approved, or monitored by the United States Army, nor is this page and/or it's contents a representation of such. All comments, questions, and concerns should be directed to the author - John E. Akers

Copyright

All photographs, electronic photographs, images, are copyright by the author, John E. Akers, 1997-2002, All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce without my express approval, or written consent. Any creation of new or duplication of existing material, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited by federal copyright law. Violators may have civil penalties imposed.

Copyright © 1997-2001, 2002, John E. Akers, All Rights Reserved.

Maintained by:

John E. Akers

...Send Comments and/or Feedback

Last update: January 27, 2002