Vietnam War Locations

Ever since moving to Saigon I have been interested in where exactly certain events related to the Vietnam War took place in Saigon.

Saigon is such a big sprawling city that it made me curious exactly where incidents took place, or where the US forces had their bases, or where the soldiers spent their free time and so on.

This interest in the geography of the war was further sparked one day when at work some of the Vietnamese people in the company I use to work for took a break from their work to light incense sticks, pray and then enjoy a roast duck meal.

Working in the Tecasin Building at 243 Hoang Van Thu at the time, I had never known the history of this building until I asked them the reason behind the incense and prayers.

To my surprise they said that during the Vietnam War the building had been used by the Americans as an army hospital, and that they were praying for all the spirits of the people that had died in the building.

The building still does have that hospital feel. The long corridors, large regular rooms with wide doors for wheeling in beds or medical equipment all hint at the fact that the building was once an Army Hospital.

After this I did a little bit of research and found out that the building was part of the 3rd Field Hospital that operated in Saigon.

The 3rd Field Hospital it turned out operated here between 5/1/65 and 12/1/72.

Other War Locations

Binh Soup Shop

During the war this little soup shop operated as the secret headquarters of the Viet Cong in Saigon.

It was from here that while serving noodle soup, the Viet Cong planned its attack on the US embassy and other places in Saigon during the Tet offensive in 1968 upstairs.

7 Ly Chinh Tha Thang, Dist 3

Tan Son Nhat Airport

During the war Tan Son Nhat was an important facility for both the United States Airforce and the South Vietnamese Airforce.

Tan Son Nhat Airport during the Vietnam War It was also from Tan Son Nhat that many of the soldiers who fought in Vietnam left Vietnam on their Pan America flight back home.

This made Tan Son Nhat airport the last view of Vietnam for many of these soldiers as they flew back home.

Today on the city side of the airport runway there are a number of old aircraft hangers and other military structures that can still be seen as you land.

Many of these are helicopter hangers dating from the war and contain old derelict looking American and Soviet helicopters.

There is also an area further round near the domestic terminal that looks like an old aircraft graveyard, and you can see a number of rotting aircraft as you walk across the tarmac from your domestic flight to the terminal.

Thich Quang Duc

Everyone knows the shocking picture showing the monk Thich Quang Duc sitting calmly with legs crossed while engulfed in a ball of flames.

Thich Quang Duc had traveled to Saigon from Hue and set himself on fire in protest to the policies of President Ngo Dinh Diem on the 11 June 1963.

Diem had come to power in the South after the signing of the Geneva Accords. However as time went on Diem became increasingly tyrannical in dealing with any dissent of his government.

Consequently in the early 1960s South Vietnam was rocked by increasing anti Diem unrest led by university students and clergy, resulting in a number of self-immolations such as in the case of Thich Quang Duc.

The act itself occurred at the intersection of Phan Dinh Phung Boulevard and Le Van Duyet Street.

The body of Thich Quang Duc was re-cremated on the 19 June, but the heart of Thich Quang Duc servived the re-cremation intact.

The intact heart was considerd holy and placed in a glass chalice at Xa Loi Pagoda in district 3.

The Rex Hotel

The rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel was a popular hang out for officials and journalists during the war.

Operating as an officer's hotel during the war, the Rex Hotel was also where American spokesmen held press conferences to give daily body counts.

These briefings, in which spokesmen often gave inflated body counts, were dubbed "the Five O'Clock follies".

You can still go and enjoy a coffee or drink on the top of the Rex Hotel today even if you are not staying there.

141 Nguyen Hue, Dist 1