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