Every time I think about riding down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, all those bombing pics make me wonder… “How many of those bombs did I load and send-off.” More important… how many of those bombs I loaded didn’t blow up.” Then I think, “It would be the ultimate irony if… while exploring the HCMT, I got blown up by one of the bombs I loaded.”

I don’t think that’s really a big fear if we’re smart about stuff. Stay on the roads and trails that have been in use for the last 45+ years. Remote parts of the HCMT are okay too because the NVA cleared those the minute the last bombs dropped. With common sense, getting blown up by some of my own stuff is unlikely.

UXOs are still a big problem in Laos. The number of bombs and cluster bombs we dropped along the trail is beyond what I can wrap my mind around. I mean… Continue reading →