Viet Nam was a country of extremes. The weather was no exception. During their dry season it was blistering hot -- the daytime temperatures were often 100+ degrees. During the rainy season -- the monsoons -- the temperature dropped into the seventies as thick clouds blanketed the sky. You felt as if you would sweat to death and then, strangely, during the monsoons... you thought you might freeze to death. During the monsoons everything was wet! Our underground sleeping quarters often had three or four inches of water in them. You frequently had to battle five- to six-inch long bright orange centipedes to get to your cot.
In I Corp (the northern part of South Viet Nam) the lush river plains were bounded by what appeared to be steep-sided mountains... some rising to 5000 feet or more above sea level. However, much of I Corp could be better described by saying that it consisted of a high plateau punctuated by deep river beds. The mountains rose out of the high plateau. Looking at the steep sides from the river beds, it was easy to think that you were looking at the mountains themselves. In fact, you were just looking at the sides of the plateau as it dropped to meet the river bed. This is why this area was referred to as "the central highlands" of Viet Nam. Indeed, several of the maps list this area as 'the Annam Highlands'.
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Terrain around Gia Vuc (A-103)... This 'thumbnail' illustrates the mountainous terrain around the Special Forces camp at Gia Vuc. For a better view click the image to open a new browser window and a larger view. (Please allow time for the file to load.) To return to this page close the new browser window. |
Perhaps a better example of the 'high plateau' topology would be the picture showing the area around Thuong Duc, RVN. Special Forces A-109 was another 'typical' SF camp -- accessible only by air. Team members got used to riding in the Hueys. The open chopper doors often provided an excellent opportunity to get pictures, such as the one below.
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Terrain around Thuong Duc
(A-109)... This picture was taken enroute to Thuong Duc and very near the camp. Note the pronounced plateau with the low river valley. The river can be seen snaking its way to the South China Sea at the bottom-right corner. Sharply defined ridges or 'fingers' provide the transition between the plateau and the river plains. Also note that the actual mountains rise out of the high plateau. The A-109 portion of the web site has some excellent photos illustrating the severity of the terrain in and around Thuong Duc. For a better view click the image to open a new browser window and a larger view. (Please allow time for the file to load.) To return to this page close the new browser window. |
The terrain in the III or IV Corps areas (the southern or 'delta' region of Viet Nam) averaged sea level or below. Monsoons or not, it was difficult to find dry ground! The III Corps page has several photos which illustrate the flat, near-sea level terrain of the lower (southernmost) one-third of South Viet Nam.
