The soldiers, most of them quite young, were remarkably friendly and happy to pose for pictures. It was a weird feeling to come face to face with the "enemy," and I imagine that was how they felt too.
Actually, it’s not so strange – unless they were hard core political officers.
I had the experience of setting down and drinking a few “33” beers with enemy soldiers in 1967. The four of them (VC “volunteers” from North Viet Nam) were armed with AK 47s, the two of us had our M-14s. This happened in a bar outside Vung Tau – near the local VC R&R center. Neither group noticed the other initially, but I noticed the waitress was extremely nervous when she came to our table. When my eyes adjusted I saw then in the corner and asked the waitress to give them a round and invite them over.
It was better than having a shoot out when out numbered.
They hesitantly joined us. My Vietnamese was pretty shaky, but one of them had been an English teacher at the University of Hanoi before he was drafted and sent South.
The conversation was typical of junior enlisted throughout history. No politics were discussed. We talked about girlfriends and family left behind, they were envious of our one-year tours, and we all talked of NCOs and Officers we could do without.
One thing that helped initially defuse the situation was that neither group should have been there. It was off limits to us and they were not allowed in any bars.