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SAIGON – 2/28/94, 10:38pm
I’m in Saigon, Vietnam, or Ho Chi Minh City, as it’s officially called now. All of a sudden I’m in a place that I grew up with. I’m landing at Ton Son Nhut A irport—which was the main U.S. airbase during the war and a place which is heavy with symbolism and meaning of the America I grew up. I came close to crying.
I’m becoming convinced that working in difficult places like the Middle East and Russia really makes Asia an incredibly pleas- ant place to work and be; but so much for generalizations - I can’t wait to get going tomorrow. It’s almost as if Vietnam is to me, as an American growing up with the war, a place and people that is inextricably tied to me and my country. And living in Califor- nia, it’s like an immigrant home- land as close to America as Italy, France, Ireland, Germany.
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