In November of 2002 while visiting Nui Kim Son and the Marble Mountain area my goal was to capture some pictures from the same locations I had taken pictures from in 1966-67. The changes in 35 years were significant and it was hard to accomplish what I wanted.  Main street NKS was the best I could do...doesn't look too different.  It was fun to walk around the area with Mike Cunha and try to remember what it was like in the 60's.  The area around the stairs leading to the main cave was the most developed. The beach has not changed at all.  The resort we stayed at was 2-3 miles north of NKS where the old helicopter airport use to be which was basically  what was called China Beach.

"Marble Mountain Patrol" Marine Corps Art Collection.   By John Groth

This sign looks like it was left over from the 70's but in fact may not have been more than ten years old based on the quality of Vietnamese mortar.

This is the Village Chief of Nui Kim Son.  His house was located on the right as you ented the village from the north.  Second  Platoon guarded him and his house in the summer of 1966.

Pictures of the main drag through NKS taken from opposite ends of the village and thirty-six years apart.

The 1966 picture on right is generally the area  you see in the three pictures on the left which were take from the top of the mountain in 2002. The original Hill 10 is now a graveyard for VC and NVA vets.   ARVN troops are not allowed.  Their families have the responsibility to find a place to bury them.

The old French Fort is gone.  The watering hole on the backside of NKS is gone and is now  the water area you see in the picture on the left.  The truck was used to haul away the sand which was used to build the homes  you see in the current NKS.  This is probably true for the sand under the French Fort.

Willys Jeep converted to local bus. 1966...Marble Mountain in background

Marble is not harvested from Marble Mountain but brought in from a  quarry  outside the area.

In 1967 there were no homes between the two mountains above.  I spent I couple of days atop Crows Nest my last week in country and remember looking down at the smaller mountain and seeing small caves at the base.  The story was that they were occupied by female monks. In 2002 there were homes at the base of the smaller rock and we could not locate the entrances until we asked some local kids to guide us.   My surprise was that the cave went completly through the rock. The old woman said she lived in the feaured house  in 1970 which was the south exit of the cave.