Vietnam then and now for Mark Sweeney Vietnam then and now for Mark Sweeney (November 04, 2005)

by Jeb Bing @textFew remember service in Vietnam or the Army buddies they served with as well as Mark Sweeney, a prominent name in the Pleasanton real estate development business. In fact, he's been there twice, first as an 18-year-old soldier in H Troop of the 17th Armored Cavalry, 198th Light Infantry Brigade, that was stationed in Chu Lai at the northern end of South Vietnam in 1967. Then last year, he took his son Matt on a visit back to Vietnam with fellow H Troop buddies and business partner Chip Wiser. After coming back, they put together a DVD that chronicles the contrasts of their experience in Vietnam then and now, including a bicycle trip they made to H Troop's old base camp and to the Binh Son bridge over the Tra Bon River.

During his first trip, Sweeney recalls a miserable voyage across the Pacific in an old World War II ship called USS Upshur, which his infantry brigade of 1,700 solders renamed the USS Upchuck. He compares that with the return trip, where Sweeney and his group flew First Class in a 747 with in-flight massage, complimentary shoe shines and premium Napa Valley wines.

When he was first in Vietnam, Sweeney recalls sleeping in holes that soldiers dug out in the ground or on top of an extremely uncomfortable armored personnel carrier. On the return trip, they stayed at the Royal De Lat Palace, the Hanoi Metropole and the Ana Madara, a beachfront hotel that would rival anything in Hawaii. He also remembers eating a lot of WWII-vintage C-rations, a bit different than his return trip when the group ate at restaurants with white tablecloths, background music and nice wine lists. Sweeney also went to Vietnam twice for entirely different reasons. The first time was at the request of the president, who sent a personalized letter that started with the word "Greetings." Kids today have no idea the fear that that one word could invoke in 18 year olds in the late 1960s.

His idea for the trip last year came out of a reunion that his Cavalry troop had in 2003 in Branson, Mo., where soldiers from H Troop got together for the first time in 35 years to reminisce about their tour in Vietnam. Joining in the reunion were surviving spouses and families of some of those killed in action, including the family of Sgt. Gilbert Bandy. One night in December 1967, Sgt. Bandy, who at age 23 was the "old man" in the troop, was instrumental in saving the lives of many who were at the reunion by strategically calling in artillery fire on the Binh Son bridge that was under attack. Bandy, who lost an arm in a later firefight, died in 2001. Sweeney decided to make another trip to photograph and report on the sites that affected H Troop the most, and to make a DVD for both survivors and the families of those who didn't, including the Bandys.

Three weeks ago, H Troop met again in Washington, D.C., where the DVD was shown and distributed. The group also held an impromptu ceremony at the Vietnam Wall on Columbus Day, reading the names of 34 fellow soldiers in the troop who died. There were 90 at the reunion, including spouses and families, plus hundreds more who paused in their holiday sightseeing to join in the tribute.

Sweeney says that try as he did to see Vietnam in a different light on his return visit, he never felt comfortable. The memories of the battles and casualties were still too vivid, even 38 years later. Unlike many today who see Vietnam as a country, Sweeney still sees it as a war.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.