At about 12:30 am tonight, EDT (equivalent to 11:30 am in Ho Chi Minh City), we will mark the 49th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.
It was at 11:30 am Vietnam time on April 30, 1975, that a North Vietnamese tank burst into the grounds of the Presidential Palace and Lieutenant Bui Quang Than pulled down the flag of the Republic of Vietnam and hoisted the Flag of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Vietnam (Vietcong).
The government has been marking the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War overall for the last several years. I believe there are a number of events coming up as we commemorate the 50th year post war.
I heard a recounting of a story about a South VietNamese pilot who managed to smuggle his family to a small airport where he had a piper. He took off without knowing where he was going to land. We flew out to sea, to one of the USA aircraft carriers. The last helicopter had landed, and none were going to go back in. The deck was clogged with helicopters. The captain ordered some of the helicopters to be pushed overboard to make a landing area for the piper that was running out of fuel. The plane landed safely.
Two images or photographs from the war that were misconstruded and never clarified. The napalmed child and the execution of the “civilian”. Even Ken Burns could have further explained but didnt in his pbs documentry on the war.
The napalmed child running was accidentally wounded by ARV (South Vietnam) forces and not U.S. She had medical treatments in Cuba and lived most of her adult life in Canada.
The policeman executing the “civilian” . The civilian is not a civilian but a VC cadre during the Tet Offensive. The VC was guilty of killing a ARV general and ten members of the generals family because the ARV general will not instruct the VC on how to start and operate a tank. Even the photographer who took the picture had regrets taking the picture because of the demonization and harassment the policeman endured while living in the states.
I do not think anyone can look at the footage of the fall of Saigon and not be moved by the sheer speed and chaos of the withdrawal. In some ways reminds me of Afghanistan.
My father in law only once opened up about his time in Vietnam but we talked for several hours. Well he talked and I listened. I suspect his experiences were not unique.
Politics aside I take my hat off to anyone who has served in combat in any war or military endeavor. I know there are more than a few on this forum and even though we may be politically miles apart you certainly have my respect (not that you need it) for what you did.
Vietnam was super complicated for US culture in general and we are still dealing with its consequences and its after effects. Just for one thing the government has never earned back the American people’s trust it enjoyed before Vietnam since then. And people became super cynical because of the war.
Probably the most important event in American history after the Civil War and the Revolutionary War. The US completely rebuilt the US military in its aftermath. The Army that came out of Vietnam was nothing like the Army that went into it. They changed everything about how the Guard works for example because of Vietnam. And everyone got to see that new military go to work in Iraq in 1991 during the Gulf War on TV.
Vietnam was the gap that bridged the World War II/Korea military and the modern US military.
I wasn’t alive during the 70’s, but I’ve seen the play Ms. Saigon. It depicts many people trying to flee Vietnam when it fell to Communism. It’s sad to see these people are still under the grip of it, more than 30 years later.
The turning point came in 1986, when technocrats replaced the more hardline communists in control of the Central Committee of Vietnam. My first trip to Vietnam was in early 1995, shortly before the United States reestablished diplomatic relations. I got to see the old United States Embassy in Ho Chi Minh City with the ladder still in place. Vietnam has greatly modernized and grown since then.
I understand the compulsive need to slag Biden, but at least he didn’t work with a foreign government to extend the war several more years, at the expense of thousands American lives, to get an electoral advantage, as Nixon and Kissinger did.
Both Vietnam and Afghanistan are perfect illustrations of why the US should never get involved in nation building.
Afghanistan was a complete cluster politically, there were so many mixed messages. For example protecting the poppy fields as that was vital to the economy of Afghanistan yet domestically this goes against current government policy.
As usual the soldiers who served there did the best they could and as usual politicians used them as pawns. I find it pretty nauseating to see politicians all vying on social media to see who can be the most patriotic and using serving military and veterans as a political prop.
Sorry, it’s a true story.. But if you want to carry water for Nixon and Kissinger, proceed governor.
LBJ and McNamara (especially) and others were terrible, too—I don’t give a ■■■■about their party. It’s bizarre to look at it in a partisan way now.
