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E-book Footprints of War : Militarized Landscapes in Vietnam

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Penilaian

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In Februruary 1972, Working in the perpetual Drizzle that shrouds the central coast of Vietnam each winter, soldiers from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) produced a photographic inventory of two bases newly acquired from the Americans. Just a few weeks before, some thirty thousand US Army and Marine Corps troops removed themselves with thousands of tons of equipment from Phú Bài Combat Base and Camp Eagle. In the peak of fighting during what Vietnamese call the American War, these two bases were round-the-clock military cities. Networks of pipelines sup-plied diesel and aviation fuel from a makeshift port to the airfield, helipads, power plants, and fuel depots. The helipads supported a fleet of flying UH-1 “Huey” gunships, CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopters, and CH-54 Skycranes that ferried troops and heavy guns to distant firebases near the Laos border. Radio centers near Phú Bài linked the bases with US ships offshore, with top-secret planes carrying radio-listening equipment above, and with com-manders in the field. Night and day, the air around these bases buzzed with radio chatter and the whomp-whomp of rotor blades. In December 1971, just before the American troops left, comedian Bob Hope and other entertainers gave a final concert to an audience of more than ten thousand at Camp Eagle’s amphitheater, the Eagle Bowl. Two weeks later, the troops were gone; even the stage was gone. Only skeletal frames of lumber and scaffolding remained.While American media followed this latest wave in Vietnam base closures as a positive end to a tragic war now being overshadowed by Nixon’s trip to China, South Vietnam’s leaders attempted to retain the attention of the world’s media attention on these ruined bases. The ARVN produced a visual inventory, noting the missing, vital equipment (figure I.1). ARVN command-ers in Hu? were furious that the Americans had left these high-tech base cities, operating at full capacity a few months earlier, in tatters. American contractors removed the systems that provided electricity, clean water, and perimeter lighting while fire trucks, communications centers, and air condi-tioners moved to the few American bases still in operation. The commander of the ARVN’s First Division held a press conference, showing reporters these base ruins and the bill that the Americans issued South Vietnam for the remaining buildings, powerlines, and roads. The cost for these “improve-ments” to the land topped US$4 million, and at the time nobody paid atten-tion to the hastily covered landfills.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

940.54 DAV f 002893-eB-0122

Penerbit

: ., 2018

Deskripsi Fisik

282 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9780295743875

Klasifikasi

940.54

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Military History of World War II

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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