It had been 44 years since Roanoke resident David Helmer stepped foot in Vietnam. The retired army major returned there last May with other members of the 1st Air Calvary.
Tonight he'll share images of the road he traveled - which happened to be the same one his convoy drove four decades ago.
Helmer will present a photographic tour tonight at the History Museum of Western Virginia at 7p.m.
"The people of Vietnam are friendly toward Americans. I found no hatred, no animosity, from the people to our group or to anybody," said Helmer. "I felt very safe in walking around and wandering around that particular country."
Helmer said Americans are portrayed as "the bad guys" in museums, but the people of Vietnam do not treat them that way.
"One of the most emotional experiences, literally out on the Laotian boarder where we met some workers that had been on the Ho Chi Minh trail during the construction," said Helmer. "One of the members, all with uniforms on, they recognized we were with military officers, they came over at the end and shook my hand and said thank you. I guess the war's over."
The History Museum of Western Virginia is located on the third floor of Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke.
