After 16 months of preliminary training, he was sent to Vietnam for his first year of long study. In 1951 Honey arrived at Saigon, when the guerrilla war led by the Vietminh against the French was increased. With a lot of difficulties and at considerable risk, Honey was able to make it to Hanoi to conduct his research and study the local language. This period was very valuable, since in 1954, the Geneva Agreements partitioned the country into two-halves, and North Vietnam was not accessible for a long time.