Summer 2009              Download color brochure here!               

Join Adjunct Faculty Member William Holiday of Keene State College along Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s Jan Scruggs and former Attaché to the Ambassador to Vietnam, Alan Carter, for a unique visit to Vietnam.

Discover The Republic of Vietnam, rich in history and extraordinary beauty as you travel throughout Vietnam. Adjunct Faculty member William Holiday of Keene State College, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) Founder and President Jan Scruggs and Alan Carter formerly of the American Information Service and be part of a group promoting healing and understanding between two countries once divided by war.  

During the journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, you will visit and study famous landmarks and bustling cities, tropical forests and Vietnam War era landmarks, while experiencing the cuisine, culture and kindness of the Vietnamese people while developing curricula for classroom use.  

June 30 Depart Los Angeles

Day 1  July 1~ Hanoi

 

The delegation will arrive in Hanoi in the morning and will be greeted by a Vietnamese tour guide and VVMF’s in-country representative Chuck Searcy, an American war veteran who has lived in Hanoi for the past 13 years. From the airport, we will transfer to Hanoi’s Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel for a lunch and a workshop. In the afternoon, we will meet with high - level Vietnamese officials as well as receive a private briefing by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command about the ongoing efforts to identify and return the remains of U.S. service members killed in the Vietnam War.  

In the evening, we will dine at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.

Day 2 July 2~ Hanoi

 

The day will begin with an orientation tour of Vietnam’s capital, including visits to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university established in 1076; Hoa Lu Prison (a.k.a. the Hanoi Hilton); and West Lake, where Senator John McCain was shot down during the Vietnam War. An afternoon workshop will be followed by a performance of puppetry and folklore at the renowned Water Puppet Theater.  

Tonight’s dinner will be at Bobby Chinn’s, one of Hanoi’s fine restaurants.

Day 3 July 3~ Hanoi

 

A workshop morning session will prepare us before embarking on an afternoon walking tour of Hanoi’s ancient quarter, 36 streets and 36 wares. An evening flight will transport us to Hue, Vietnam’s former royal capital and cultural, religious and education center during the 19th and 20th centuries, Accommodation will be the historic La Residence Hotel. 

Day 4 July 4~ Quang Tri Province

 

Today, we will experience a full day of activities where we will learn about VVMF’s Project RENEW, a mine-action program, We will witness the deadly effects of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left from the Vietnam War and recognize the many ways Project RENEW is helping to improve the quality of life for survivors and their families through micro-credit programs, vocational training and community outreach. We will enjoy a game of baseball at Vietnam’s first baseball field, which was built by VVMF in 2006. Tonight, we will enjoy a traditional royal dinner featuring the traditional food and music of Hue.

Day 5 July 5~ Quang Tri Province

 

After breakfast and a workshop morning session, we will depart by bus for a full-day excursion through Vietnam’s countryside with stops at: 

• The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the area that partitioned North and South Vietnam from 1954-1975 at the 17th parallel 

• The Hien Luong Bridge over the Ben Hai River 

• The former Marine Corps base at Khe Sanh, which was the site of a pivotal battle in the Vietnam War.  

We will take part in the dedication of a community center and preschool complex for the Van Kieu ethnic minority tribe in Ha Bac Village located near the Rockpile, a 750-foot-high, jagged mountain that the U.S. Marines used as a base during the Vietnam War 

Following lunch, we will visit the elaborate Vinh Moc tunnels where thousands of Vietnamese lived and based their military operations during the Vietnam War.

Day 6 July 6~ Hue

 

The workshop morning session will prepare us for day beginning with a morning cruise of the Perfume River with magnificent views of The Citadel, gardens, pagodas, towers and temples. This excursion will be followed by a visit to the Thien Mu Pagoda and a tour of the Forbidden City inside the Citadel, the site of the 1968 Tet Offensive.  

In the afternoon, we will travel by coach to Da Nang and the famous Furama Resort on China Beach.  We will stop at Marble Mountain, and later in the day visit the Da Nang Historical Museum.
 

Day 7 July 7~ Da Nang and Hoi An 

In the morning, we will journey to the Cham Ruins of My Son.

Following lunch at a local restaurant, we will move to the fishing village of Hoi An. A walking tour will acclimate us to this once thriving international trading port from the 16th to 18th centuries.  Hoi An retains its historic feel with its eclectic pastel-hued buildings and narrow winding streets lined with antique stores, tailor shops and galleries.

Day 8 July 8~ Da Nang

 

We will spend the morning developing ideas, sharing thoughts, developing projects.  

Later, we will travel to the airport for a flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) where we will stay at the Caravelle Hotel.

 

Day 9 July 9~ Ho Chi Minh City

 

Experience the elaborate tunnels in Cu Chi where thousands of Vietnamese lived and based their military operations during the Vietnam War. In the afternoon, we will visit the Reunification Hall, the former South Vietnamese Presidential Palace.  

Day 10 July 10~ Ho Chi Minh City 

Today we will visit the War Remnants Museum (Atrocities Museum) in Ho Chi Minh City in the morning.

The afternoon will allow participants to select sites to visit.

This evening, we will participate in a farewell dinner.

Day 11 July 11~ Depart Vietnam

 

The delegation will depart in the morning to Tan San Nhat International Airport and begin the journey home.  

*Itinerary is subject to change  

Trip Details Price: 

The cost of this exciting trip is based on double occupancy.

Payment includes all hotel accommodations and meals

An English-speaking guide

Private transfers as we move through Vietnam

Two domestic flights from Hanoi to Hue and Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam tourist visa

Emergency medical evacuation insurance

Upgrades & Options for single occupancy are available and will add to the cost, 
 
 
 
 
 
 

William Holiday – KSC Adjunct 

      Bill Holiday has been teaching in the WSESU in Vermont for 36 years and been an Adjunct Faculty member at Keene State College since 1985. Holiday has been integral in developing the White Rose Project for integrated instruction and writing curriculum.  The White Rose has involved student/teacher groups in England in 1995, 1997 and 2001, the Republic of Ireland in 1999 and 2006 and in Italy in 2008. 

      Holiday has developed field studies with groups in Dallas, Texas to investigate the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  In 1999 Holiday was named JFK Lancer’s National Teacher of the Year for instruction of the Kennedy assassination.  Two of Holiday’s students have been awarded national Student of the Year awards.  

      Recent developments have included ‘Writing Civil Rights Curriculum’. In the summer of 2004, Holiday took veteran teachers and undergraduate students on a field study in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.  In 2006, Holiday led a group to the Republic of Ireland where participants studied the Great Hunger and Easter Rising. 

      During the summer of 2003, Holiday was selected to participate in the Teach Vietnam Teachers Network and during summer of 2007 visited Vietnam with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.  He and his students have developed a community service offering to aid UXO victims in Quang Tri Province.

Holiday is a graduate of Windham College 1972 – BA American Studies and Keene State College 1975 – Masters in Education.

 

Alan Carter

      Alan Carter spent a career in diplomatic service.  From 1956 to 1980 he served in the United States Information Agency in Washington, DC.  He was appointed Career Minister by President Carter in 1978 and became Director of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, overseeing programs in 15 East Asian and Pacific countries. 

From 1963 to 1964, Carter worked for the United States Information Agency in Japan and from 1965 to 1970 as Director of the USIA Television Service for the Near East and South Asia,  

Carter’s career continued in public service as Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs. In Tokyo, Japan, and Public Affairs Advisor to the Embassy.  He was the Director of USIS operations in Japan from 1970 to 1974.  

Carter also has served as Deputy Associate Director for Programs, providing executive direction to the United States Information Agency for Films, Press and Publications and Exhibits,.  He was Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs and was stationed in Saigon, Vietnam during1974 and 1975.  Carter was given responsibility for developing the list of evacuees in April of 1975. 

From 1982 to 1994, Carter worked at World Learning, serving first as Vice-President of the International Program, then as Executive Vice President, and as Chief Operating Officer.  Carter was Acting President of World Learning from Jan, 1993 to April 1994.

      Carter is a graduate of the University of Michigan, BA (Political Science, Broadcasting) and served in WWII (Lt. Og) US Navy, Submarine Chasers, Europe & Pacific) 

 

Jan Scruggs 

 

Jan Scruggs is the Vietnam veteran who led the effort to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, the most-visited memorial in the nation’s capital with nearly four million visitors annually. His book about building the Memorial, To Heal A Nation, was made into an NBC-TV Movie of the Week.

From 1969-1970, Jan served with the U.S. Army in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. He received a Purple Heart and was decorated for gallantry for his service during the Vietnam War.

 

Scruggs and Holiday in Vietnam 2007

As president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Jan has visited Vietnam several times. 

 Jan has accompanied Major League Baseball’s first-ever Vietnamese-born player, pitcher Danny Graves, to introduce baseball and promote healing and understanding between the United States and Vietnam. Project RENEW’s Emergency Ordnance Disposal (EOD) staff played a key role in building a baseball field in Vietnam. The EOD team that cleared the site found one artillery shell, two mortars and 11 other types of UXO and safely removed them.