Randy Zito says a recent return to the countryside where he fought in battles 40 years ago during the Vietnam War was a bittersweet experience he will never forget.
The first time he was in Vietnam he was 21, freshly drafted into the Army and at the height of the war. The second time he was the principal of Winnacunnet High School in Hampton.
"My memory of Vietnam was of wartime," Zito said. "It was a very frightening experience. We were in peril on a daily basis. Villagers were often unintentional victims of war. In some cases, they were your friends by day and enemies by night.
"... It was nice to go back to that place where none of that existed anymore. The two countries have moved beyond their war. They do not appear to be dwelling in their past. They seem to be more worried about their future."
Zito was offered the chance to return to Vietnam and Cambodia as an educator rather than a soldier and by choice, not by orders.
He was one of 13 educators selected from around the United States by the Association of School Curriculum and Development back in December.
The goal of the trip was to talk to educational leaders in both countries and offer advice on some best practices in the United States in educating students. While in Vietnam and Cambodia, they visited several schools and talked to numerous teachers and professors.
"I was happy to see that students in Cambodia and Vietnam were no different than students in America," he said. "They were excited about learning and they were just as excited about doing algebra on the front board of the classroom, just like students here."
But, he said, both countries face difficulties regarding education, including a shortage of qualified teaching staff and lack of suitable teaching materials.
Cambodia, he said, is a little bit more behind than Vietnam.
"It was only less than 30 years ago that 80 percent of all educated people were slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge," Zito said. "They have spent the last 25 years rebuilding their education system with young people because all the veteran teachers were murdered."
Zito said the trip wasn't all work. He visited several sites in both countries, including visiting south of Saigon, within five miles of where he fought.
He called the experience a healing moment.
"I was able to see the same countryside, same roads," he said. "But this time it was peaceful."
The only remnants of the war, he said, was found in the museums, including one in Saigon.
Zito did have one awkward experience while visiting Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City.
A couple of college-age girls walked up to him and in broken English asked if they could speak to him privately.
"It caught me by surprise," Zito said. "I didn't realize that our translator told them I was a 21-year-old American soldier in Vietnam 40 years ago.
"They wanted to know if perhaps I had a Vietnamese girlfriend when I was over there. I politely told them I had been busy and not able to socialize as much as I wanted to."
In Cambodia, Zito said he visited a killing field where he saw a monument of 9,000 skulls of victims.
It was just of one of 300 killing fields.
"I walked on paths where the ground was still filled with bones and clothing of people placed in graves in the countryside. Too many to dig up, I was told."
Zito said he was glad for the opportunity.
While old memories remain, new ones have been made.
"I still don't know who nominated me to go," he said. "I would like to know who so I can thank them."
He plans to get together in the spring with some of the soldiers he served with and to share the experiences of his trip.
"I was so happy to see two countries finally at peace, prospering, living their lives without the threat of war," he said.
"There were no soldiers with weapons and it was an atmosphere where people move around freely and comfortably, where as 40 years ago it was an atmosphere of guns, soldiers, military vehicles and weapons."
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