page_title: Ralph McGehee
section_title: Vietnam, 1968–1970
hierarchical_section_title: Ralph McGehee / CIA assignments / Vietnam, 1968–1970
context_page_description: Ralph Walter McGehee was an American author and case officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, serving the CIA for 25 years. From 1953 to 1972, his assignments were in East Asia and Southeast Asia, where he held administrative posts. Since leaving intelligence work in 1977, he publicly expressed views highly critical of the CIA.
context_section_description: McGehee arrived at Tan Son Nhut airport outside of Saigon in October 1968. The Viet Cong's Tet offensive had struck at cities the previous January. He'd last visited Saigon in 1960, which then seemed "a peaceful city with tree-lined boulevards," with herbal aromas and flower markets, and "Vietnamese women wearing the flowing ao-dai". Now in the downtown he was unpleasantly surprised by Tu Do Street, where "an atmosphere of hate permeated the air" like "the clouds of [vehicle] exhaust". Bars, massage parlors, and rock music catered to American G.I.s. In a very much larger, congested Saigon, the Vietnamese shared their streets also with Chinese merchants and Indian Sikhs.
caption: Sài Gòn may refer to bông gòn trees
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