President Nixon in South Vietnam, 1969
President Richard Nixon chats and shakes hands with the men at the 1st Infantry Division's Di An base camp in South Vietnam. The president swept in and out of South Vietnam July 30th during a tour that was mostly kept under wraps as security and secrecy engulfed the Nixon trip as it began from Bangkok without advance announcement. His call at Di An, a small base in scrub country some 12 miles north of Saigon, was the first presidential trip into combat operations area in Vietnam. Troops at Di An knew something was coming but not exactly what until about two hours before President Nixon actually arrived by helicopter. The 1st Division commander had called a practice red alert and had warned the men two days earlier that they faced a general inspection the morning of the 30th, ensuring the base was tightly secured and the troops were all spit and polish. Walking through the ranks and shaking hands the topics of conversation centered around baseball, football, hometowns and the Apollo 11 moon landing. On the topic of the latter, the president remarked to the gathered men, "They [the astronauts] proved we've got some guts left in this country. You guys are doing the same thing."
