Archives: Phan Thiet History

	Web MuiNeBeach.net

Transitions Abroad Magazine

10.09.07 Adam Bray, author and owner of this site, has an article featured in this month's issue of Transitions Abroad Magazine. Read the article online HERE. Adam is also noted as a contributor in the new Lonely Planet Vietnam, 2007, and this site is recommended on page 300 in the Mui Ne Section.

A British Subject Remembers Vietnam

31.07.07 Christopher Rose arrived in Saigon, South Vietnam at the end of July 1965. He had previously been working under contract to the U.S. Navy on the Atlantic Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre in the Bahamas. An employee of Decca Navigator Systems he would now work for the US Army. In Vietnam Decca was a British technical system being used for the navigation of the army helicopters.

Mr Rose was to spend nearly ten years in South Vietnam until the communists took control of the country in 1975. Any absences were due to sickness and leave. Illness would take its toll and was an inevitable consequence of too long a stay. At the end of his contract and the abandon by the U.S. army of the Decca Project in July 1969 he stayed on in Vietnam in a private capacity.

He travelled extensively by road. He had first experienced this when he had been working up country for the Americans. His trips then had been unauthorised but gave him a chance to see aspects of the country not possible in a military camp. Often hair raising he learned to discover the meaning of fear and his own reactions to it.

He also saw the devastation at first hand, particularly in Phan Thiet during the fighting of 1968. There is a large selection of photos devoted to the events in that town. Living and working with the United States army and the South Vietnamese he came to know war and the destruction it brought to people’s lives.

Settling down in Saigon where he married he took up teaching. This, after various other interesting but minor activities. He now had a chance to get to know the people better and gained a deep insight into their character and customs and habits. He also developed a very close personal relationship with the country, it’s inhabitants and their hopes and fears.

After a delay of thirty years Christopher Rose is now putting his notes and photos into a blog. In it he tells the story of the events he experienced in a series of 160 posts as they happened at the time. From before he arrived in South Vietnam till the end of the war. These are accompanied by a selection of about 150 photos, most personal, relating to the people he knew and the events he witnessed. He also tries to look back at the past in as dispassionate a way as possible.

For additional information please contact:
Christopher Rose
Orleans, France
Tel: 33 6 7036 2386
http://vnpersonalwar.blogspot.com
http://www.vnrozier.net

Yan Can Tour

14.01.07 American Chef Martin Yan, known for his award-winning cooking show "Yan Can Cook" and "Martin Yan’s Chinatown," will be in Phan Thiet January 17-18. Yan will be traveling with 69 members from the Hong Kong Cinema Association and will be producing video promotions, photographs, and posters to be taken at sites around the city.

Martin Yan is a Chinese-born American chef and actor. He is a certified and highly respected food consultant, a cooking instructor and a prolific author with 26 cookbooks, including the award winning "Martin Yan’s Feast" and "Martin Yan’s Asian Favorites." He has hosted more than 2,000 cooking shows broadcast world-wide.

Earl Woods, Father of Tiger, Dies

08.05.06 Earl Woods, father to the world-renowned golfer Tiger Woods, died last wednesday due to cancer. Mr. Woods served in Phan Thiet during his second tour of duty. His son, Tiger, was given the nickname of Earl's close friend and comrad, Lieut. Col. Vuong "Tiger" Phong, the ARVN Province Chief. Tiger Phong died shortly after the war, in a re-education camp in Hoang Lien Son Province.

Famous People Have Left Footprints in Mui Ne

08.04.06 Actors, directors, singers, comedians, athletes, record-holders and revolutionaries have all found themselves in our community at different times. Read below to see who you may share beachside memories with and didn't know it.

Disney child actor Kevin Corcoran (Old Yeller, Swiss Family Robinson) served at the LZ Betty in Phan Thiet and received the RVN Gallantry Cross. See photo here.

Vic Morrow, who's career as an actor spanned 30 years in television and film, visited the LZ Betty in Phan Thiet while touring with the USO. He was probably best known for his roles in the television series "Combat!" as well his role as Coach Roy Turner in "The Bad News Bears" (1976) He was tragically killed while filming "The Twilight Zone: The Movie" (1983).

The New York Times (August 2005) reported that director Marek Kanievska ("Less Than Zero") spends about five months a year in Mui Ne.

Earl Woods, father of the world-famous golfer, Tiger Woods, served in Phan Thiet during his second tour of duty. His son, Tiger, was given the nickname of Earl's close friend and comrad, Lieut. Col. Vuong "Tiger" Phong, the ARVN Province Chief. Tiger Phong died shortly after the war, in a re-education camp in Hoang Lien Son Province. Read more at vva.org or golfdigest.com.

Singer Vikki Carr and actor Danny Kaye lifted the spirits of American troups at the LZ Betty, Phan Thiet with a visit and performance during the war. See photos here.

Actor Sabaston Cabot (Family Affair) made his way through Phan Thiet during the war.

Actor Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) has received a few sightings in Phan Thiet.

The father of moden Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, spent time as a teacher at the Duc Thanh School in Phan Thiet. A museum and reconstructed school are open to visitors near the central market.

Numerous Vietnamese celebrities frequent Mui Ne for work and pleasure. A performance center in downtown Phan Thiet brings famous Vietnamese singers to town once a month. Numerous singers have also filmed music videos at the White Sand Dunes, including Quach Thanh Danh, Dan Truong, Lam Truong, and My Linh.

Do you know of a famous or important person who's life has been intertwined with Binh Thuan Province that we may have forgotten? Please contact us and let us know.