| Posted by David H Hickcox on March 16, 2026 | |
This is a really beautiful photo of an area with which I am familiar. Thank you for posting it. In 1970 & 1971 I traversed the pass several times in an US Army jeep and flew over the pass as well. I never traveled on the steam powered train which at the time went from Hue south to Da Nang and maybe further. The Viet Kong and/or the North Vietnamese Army liked to set mines under the track along this isolated roadless area. The railroad countered this by taking two very long logs and extending them from the steam loco to an isolated freight or passenger truck which was heavy enough to detonate the mines but without damaging the steam locomotive or its train. I photographed the train with this contraption in 1971 when it was stopped south of Hue but unfortunately that was the only roll of slides that was never returned to me by Kodak. That was a major disappointment but I at least have the memory. In 1971 the Pass was relatively secure but when we traversed it by Jeep our rifles were locked and loaded, ready to fire. Again, thanks for posting such a beautiful and meaningful-at least to me, photo.
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