March 2024
M T W T F S S
« Aug    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Archives

Categories

Tony Doggett Reconnects With Saigon Kids™.

By Clinton (Tony) Doggett (ACS)

I was in Saigon and attended ACS from 1963 until the evacuation of U.S. dependents in February 1965.

I have stories and impressions I would like to share if anyone is interested.

19 comments to Tony Doggett Reconnects With Saigon Kids™.

  • Kevin L. Wells

    Tony,

    I was there before your time. We always welcome those who have a different view of that era because they were there at a different time.

    You may want to read back over past submissions to see what others have done and to get the memories flowing.

    Let ’em rip!

    Who knows, you may end up motivating those who just lurk and get them going too.

    Kevin

  • George Gottlieb

    Hi Tony!

    I was just listening to your CD the other day! I’m the guy that was in the rock fight with you at Circus Berlin in ’62. I also saw you at the reunion in Arlington.

    Please feel free to tell any tales you wish.

    George

  • Hi Tony,
    Your mother was my 8 th grade teacher at ACS. Your brother, Peppy (?) was also in my class, along with Derek Wildman, Carol Gillis, Linda. ( she had a pet monkey but I can’t recall her last name). My older brother, Phil, was a sophomore in high school at the time.

    Would be interested in the stories as well as updates.
    Susan

    • Kevin L. Wells

      Susan

      Wait!

      Derek Wildman was there after 1962?

      I saw Wildman leave in 1962 at the latest. How could this be? Did the family come back after a break elsewhere?

      Just wondering!

      KLW

  • Deb Martin

    Hi, I was in Saigon and attended ACS from 1963-1966. Then Esso, my Dads company, opened a small private school for families of private companies that stayed on after the military families left. Then I went to Brent School, a boarding school, in Baguio Philipines, while my parents stayed on in Saigon. My mother was the Junior high and high school art teacher at ACS , Betty Spohr. Before I went to ACS I attended a private French girls school called Les Oiseaux. I learned to speak French fluently there and never had to take a foreign language in high school because of that. My mother wrote and illustrated a childrens book called “Little Long Tail”. It was about a douchound (our pet) who was going to be left behind in Saigon after his American family left the city. I still have the book and it has wonderful drawings of places in Saigon. I would be willing to share it with any who are interested. I liked Saigon a lot. Paris France really reminded me of Saigon!! Deb Spohr Martin

  • Janie Sheppard

    We did not overlap in Saigon, but my family left behind a dachshund as well. I would love to see your mother’s book.

    Can you take pictures of the pages of the book and post them on this website?

  • Les Arbuckle

    My family was there from Jan. ’62 until June of ’64. I was a friend of your older brother’s, Peppy, and Larry. Larry gave me my first gig playing alto sax for a Ladies Luncheon. He couldn’t make it, so I was his substitute. We played “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White,” and another tune, which I think may have been “Tequila.” Peppy and I spent a lot of time misbehaving with our other Saigon pals… I’ve recently written a memoir about those crazy days, for which my literary agent is currently seeking a publisher. Maybe someday… Did you know either of my brothers, Lynn or Lowell?

  • John Adams

    Tony, John Adams here. I was there 61-65 and pretty sure we were in the same grade or close. I’ll be happy to swap stories with you.

  • Dave Burford

    My family was there from Jan ’62 until the evacuation in Feb ’65. My dad worked for USIA (or was it USIS at that time?). All three of us kids went to ACS, my older brother, Frank (Ned)(grades 8 & 9), who left Saigon in Aug ’63 for military school back in the States; my older sister, Pat (grades 7 – 10) and me (grades 5 – 8). Unfortunately Frank passed away 3 years ago, but Pat and I still have fond memories of our years in Saigon and often wonder what happened to the many friends who we have, unfortunately, lost contact with. Tony, I remember you, you may have been friends with my older brother and sister. I believe John Adams was another friend of theirs as well. Marie Perry had written a reply to someone a couple of years back but my contact attempt with her failed–I was a classmate of her younger brother, Alain Perry. Unfortunately in my many moves since Saigon I’ve lost track of my Gecko yearbooks so I can’t look at names and faces anymore either. I remember many hours spent at the Cerc Sportif, going to movies at the Alhambra and then Capitol Kinh-Do (was there the first time it was bombed), how about Dr Sheidel (sp?), the US Embassy doctor tooling around Saigon in his Corvette (pre-Stingray), also can relate to the memories shared recently about the Minh coup against Diem in Nov ’63. Would be good to hear from folks who we knew “back in the day”.

    • Kenneth R. Yeager

      USIS outside the US, USIA is the Agency or was, no longer exists, now part of the State Department.

    • Marie Perry Wright

      Hi David!…..Just saw your note now, as I don’t often go on the Saigon Kids website, and happened to see your name in the left hand column!…How are you?…I never received anything from you, but perhaps it was an old email address? I don’t know…anyway, you can contact me at mariecolombe@me.com so we can catch up. I’m sure Alain would love to hear from you!…Hope you are well…great Saigon memories…

  • Sarah Rogers

    Aloha Deb Martin,
    My family also left a dachshund in Saigon. He had been hit by our school bus and had some injuries but could still make puppies and that was his ‘duty’ from then on. Would also love to see the book your mother wrote.
    Sarah (Bush) Rogers

  • Laurie Methven

    Hi Tony – Many of us have so many memories of Saigon. I went to school with your brother Peppy and was there from ’62 until the evacution in ’65. So many memories, where do we all start?! Many have been shared on this site.
    One of the items I haven’t seen shared or I missed it – was going to school on the bus. Remember the grenade screens on the windows? Or the MP & Vietnamese police on the bus?

    • Tony Doggett

      Yes, I do remember the grenade screens on the buses! That may have been the first step in my loss of innocence. The came the VC attacks on the Capital Kinh-Do movie theater, the bowling alley, and the softball field….

  • Joan Mashburn

    Tony,
    Thanks for getting the stories started. Our family had to stay in Hong Kong during the burning buddists event, then we lived close to the base for a short while during the Coup, then we moved to Le Quy Don Street. I was watching Lady and The Tramp when the theater was hit, we ran back to the Jackson’s house which was a few block away. I remember watching movies at Lodge residence, riding horses, the packed French swimming pool, piano lessons, going to Baguio PI with the girl scouts, Dalat for a chance to wear sweaters, so many memories.

    I’ll be watching for more stories.

    Thank you all.
    Joan in Arlington VA.

  • Deb Martin

    Hi Tony,
    Several people have requested to see my Mother Betty Spohrs childrens book “Little Long Tail”. It was about our dachshund we left behind in Vietnam. This and another short set of poems by my mother are available at:

    http://timfo.com/EBS/

    Thanks
    Deb Spohr Martin

  • Maile Doyle

    Deb Martin, I was really good friends with Michelle Laughlin who’s father also worked for Esso. I have been trying to find her unsuccessfully for several years. She was there for the 1962-63 school year. We moved back to the states in the summer of ’63. Is there a way to find the family through Esso?
    Maile Miller Doyle

Leave a Reply to Susan Pomeroy Cancel reply

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

  

  

  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.