Kerry relives Vietnam War ambush
VIET Cong veteran Vo Ban Tam remembers the first time he crossed paths with John Kerry on the banks of the Bay Hap river, a day that ended in bloodshed.
Almost a half-century later, the now 70-year-old Mekong Delta prawn farmer locked eyes with the US Secretary of State on Saturday and they warmly grasped hands in mutual respect.
Mr Kerry returned to the Vietnam waterway less than a week before he was to leave office, searching for the spot where he won a Silver Star for bravery as a young US Navy lieutenant.
On February 28, 1969, as the skipper of Swift Boat PCF-94, Mr Kerry was patrolling when Vo Ban Tam’s unit launched an ambush.
The plan, the Vietnamese guerrilla told his former adversary on Saturday, was to use rifle and grenade fire to lure the craft into range of a shoulder-held rocket launcher.
This tactic had paid off in the past but on this day Mr Kerry made a dramatic decision, deliberately beaching his boat then storming ashore to pursue the operator.
Grabbing an M-16 rifle, the then 26-year-old chased down the guerrilla and shot him dead, saving his crew from a counterattack.
Vo Ban Tam remembered the dead man, 24-year-old Ba Thanh, as a respected member of the Viet Cong’s main force in Ca Mau province, trained to use the prized launcher.
“He was a good soldier,” he recalled, speaking on the banks of same river.