Blood Road Page #6

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who's also passed away.

And that's

really recent as well.

This was her opportunity

to kind of share

a little bit more of her story.

NGUYEN:
(IN VIETNAMESE) My life with

two kids has various difficulties.

However,

it's my kids who give me

strength and motivation in life.

RUSCH:
After sitting down

and sharing with Huyen,

I realize that her daughter

is growing up just like me.

We both lost our fathers

at a very young age.

It really gave me

a better understanding

of what Huyen's going through,

especially knowing how hard

it was for my mom

to raise us as a single parent.

You are very strong.

RUSCH:
Thank you.

So are you.

You're doing awesome.

That was

a gnarly couple of days.

It all looks the same.

I don't have my GPS rolling.

Wow, it's not a very good trail.

Too much.

(IN VIETNAMESE) So at that time I felt

utterly tired, drained and forlorn.

After two strenuous days,

I was exhausted

and I felt like giving up.

More up. More hiking.

I think it stays hard

for a little while.

Yeah. And then we'll

see Jason and Greg,

but then we have 70

kilometers on the bike

to reach our goal

of the campsite.

I'll try my best to follow you.

RUSCH:
I thought it

was gonna get easier,

but it doesn't look like it.

(WHOOPS)

Hey.

Hi.

Hi.

Hello.

You guys spent

the night in a cave.

We went through,

spent the night on the beach,

then started the hike over

this morning.

BAUER:
Yeah.

RUSCH:
Lots of walking.

MARTIN:
Today was all coming over?

All hike a bike, just totally

over those mountains, like...

BAUER:
Huyen, how are you feeling?

My shoulders, my arms, my legs.

BAUER:
From your pack?

Huyen's body is definitely

reaching for the reserves.

MARTIN:
It sounds like a long time

of being sweaty and wet.

Rebecca definitely came back

with some battle scars

and some scratches, and seemed

to be a little slower.

It's 3:
30, okay?

So no more than

20, 30 minutes here and we go.

Is that okay with you?

NGUYEN:
Yes.

Cool. Awesome.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING

INDISTINCTLY)

Party.

I like it.

(MUSIC PLAYING, PEOPLE CONTINUE

CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)

RUSCH:
As we were about

to get back on the trail,

we heard a group of Lao

villagers laughing and singing

and having a great party.

And it was such a welcome sight,

and it was exactly

what we needed

to lift our spirits

before the long ride ahead.

We can do this, right?

Yeah.

(MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)

RUSCH:
I kind of wanted to

call a little team meeting.

Everyone's tired, sweaty,

getting heat rash,

and working super-long days,

and I just felt like

that I wanted to kind of

use the opportunity

to remind you why I'm here

and to thank you for being here.

My dad was a musician.

I don't know if you know that.

One of his favorite songs

is one that speaks to me

and sort of defines

how I've lived

my life

wandering around as well.

This is my father's voice,

and it's the only time

I've heard his voice,

'cause I don't remember it

from when I was a kid.

(STEPHEN PERFORMING "I CAN'T HELP

BUT WONDER (WHERE I'M BOUND)")

It's a long and dusty road

And a hot and heavy load

The folks I meet

Ain't always kind

Some are bad

Some are good

Some have done

The best they could

Some have tried

To ease my troubling mind

And I can't help but wonder

Where I'm bound

Where I'm bound

Can't help but wonder

Where I'm bound

Wow, a lot of people.

RUSCH:
Here we go.

Here we go.

(KIDS LAUGHING)

Well I've been

All around this land

Just doing the best I can

Trying to find out

What I was meant to do

And the faces that I see

They're as worried

As can be

And it looks like

They're wondering too

And I can't help but wonder

Where I'm bound

Where I'm bound

Can't help but wonder

Where I'm bound

DUVALL:
I don't know where they

turned wrong. I don't see tracks.

If you're not seeing

their tracks,

that'd be the only other way

they could go.

Whoo!

RUSCH:
All right, we're out.

So now I had

a buddy from home

Till he started out to roam

Last I heard he was out

By the Frisco Bay

And sometimes

When I've had a few

His old voice

Comes singin' through

And I'm going out to see him

Some old day

And I can't help

But wonder

Where I'm bound

Where I'm bound

Can't help but wonder

Where I'm bound

(IN LAO) When the planes

came, people came inside.

This was a house and a kitchen.

So if you see me passing by

And you sit

And you wonder why

You wish that

You were a rambler too

Nail your shoes

To the kitchen floor

Lace them up

And bar the door

Thank your stars for the roof

That's over you

And I can't help but wonder

Where I'm bound

Where I'm bound

Can't help but wonder

Where I'm bound

Once again.

And I can't help

But wonder

Where I'm bound

Where I'm bound

Can't help but wonder

Where I'm bound

Thank you.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS)

(LAUGHING)

RUSCH:
What is this, Don? What is it?

DUVALL:
That's a seat off

an anti-aircraft gun.

Really?

That they found up in the hills.

RUSCH:
So they dragged all

this stuff back here?

(BOTH SPEAKING IN LAO)

RUSCH:
What's he telling you, Don?

DUVALL:
He's saying that this

came from the anti-aircraft gun

they found up in the hills.

RUSCH:
Yeah.

They got the seat,

but all the rest of the metal

got sold to Vietnam.

RUSCH:
Oh.

This place is a living history.

And it takes on

a whole other life

when it's right there

in front of your face.

It's a better use for it

here, now.

Just to chill under this tree.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(HELICOPTER WINGS WHIRRING)

NARRATOR:
Throughout the war,

the Ho Chi Minh Trail

remained a top priority

in the United States' battle

against North Vietnam.

By 1969,

the U.S. had 540,000 troops

on the ground in Vietnam,

yet they remained unable to halt

the flow of supplies

along the trail,

so the U.S. continued

its relentless carpet-bombing

and even began spraying

the jungle with Agent Orange,

stripping the leaves off trees

to better spot

the trail from the air.

While the war raged on,

both sides continued

to suffer heavy losses.

By 1972,

the death toll was staggering.

Approximately 58,000 Americans

were killed,

hundreds of thousands of

Laotians and Cambodians died,

while three million Vietnamese

perished.

Meanwhile, in the United States,

anti-war protests began

to erupt across the nation.

Responding to

an ever-increasing death toll,

many Americans

grew disillusioned

with their nation's

heavy involvement in the war.

(BEEPING)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

RUSCH:
Huyen and I are

very different people.

She is very talkative,

very curious,

and I tend to be

more of a private person.

It's probably good

because she actually gets me

to verbalize some of the things

that are spinning around

in my head.

Many people,

many children, American,

Vietnamese, and Laos died here.

When I think about it,

and I feel unhappy,

and very lucky now

we can have a peace life.

RUSCH:
Ever since we got to this area,

I'm a little afraid

to see the place where he died.

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