Vietnam's government, pressed by an ever more powerful China, knows it cannot stand up to Beijing alone and is cautiously moving toward increased ties with the United States. Despite their shared communist ideology, Vietnam and China fought over islands in the South China Sea in the 1970s and '80s. Two years ago, China sent an oil rig into disputed waters close to the Paracel Islands, which are claimed by both countries, leading to clashes at sea and anti-Chinese riots in Vietnamese cities. All that and they dearly miss the free spending US GI's.
IMHO it is far better for our guys to be drunk and disorderly in RVN, than Turkey.