This column is not about opinions. There are plenty of them to go around without adding mine. Rather, it's about the sadness that exists when children are raised in an environment where war is considered normal.
My first coherent memory, as my regular readers know, was the assassination of John Kennedy. At the time of his death, American soldiers were being deployed as "advisors" to the nation formerly known as French Indo-China, now split into North and South Vietnam. Within two years of the President's murder, the United States would be embroiled in a quagmire of a war that would strongly divide a nation, that would reek of bureaucratic mismanagement, and that would cause many mothers and fathers to weep tears of agony.
I have many, many memories of the Vietnam War. Both of my brothers served during that time, one in the Navy on an LST, the other in the Air Force flying C-130 missions. Thank God, they both came home okay.
But I also recall a widowed neighbor across the street who twice became hysterical and had to be comforted by family, friends, and neighbors. The first time was when she received news that her son had been wounded. The second, about a year later, was when she was informed of his death.
The war was something that dominated the news every night. Scenes of napalm bombings, of big guns firing at unseen targets, and of soldiers running through gunfire became repeated so many times that they lost any shock value that they might have had on a seven-year-old. Only Life magazine delivered the true horrors of war to my mind, as I stared breathlessly of images like the street execution of a Viet Cong operative, the Buddhist monk setting himself on fire while a Vietnamese soldier watched and searched for a lighter for his cigarette, and the children running and screaming as they are hit by splashes of flaming napalm.
The nation was deeply divided over the unfortunate conflict. The veterans and their associations would never dream of questioning what their Commanders-In-Chief were asking of them, or their offspring, for that matter. But as the war was handed from President to President, its focus seemed to wander, its backing from its own government seemed to become dubious, and ultimately, history made its entire purpose one big question mark. Vietnam is now a Communist nation with considerable freedom compared to, say, North Korea. And, in fact, it's a nation that does business with the United States.
Yet, many brave young men lost their lives trying to protect the nation from Communism. Perhaps they would have better been used dispatching Cambodian homicidal madman Pol Pot, who executed a large percentage of his nation's population in the Killing Fields.
The war caused much protest, many times the violent sort, and that was a steady source of news coverage in those days as well. Anyone can have an opinion, but when returning servicemen were reviled and spat upon as "baby burners," well, that just sucked.
That's like chewing out the checker at Wal-Mart because their employer does billions in business with ANOTHER Communist nation: China.
Indeed, the world is a convoluted, complicated place where what's right and what's wrong often cross over each other to a great degree.
Comments (3)
So very true, Ron, as to your final sentence above. Just this afternoon, while shopping for new luggage, I noticed that the tag on a name-brand's piece stated that it'd been made in Vietnam. I lost a family member during that war. And, today, I bought a different brand. I'd heard recently there's a KFC restaurant in Hanoi (not sure if true, but the source seems valid). As you say, it's a weird world.
Posted by Larry | September 4, 2007 2:43 AM
Posted on September 4, 2007 02:43
I have to be honest, as a child the Vietnam War really wasn't and issue for us. We had no family members who faught and knew very few neighbors who did. Of course the War was always on the news, but as a child, that was the last thing on my mind. I do remember when the war ended in 73. I remember that was an important event! My dad was a sailor in the Navy during the Suez Canal conflict in 56. He got out in 1958 after a three year enlistment. He did not have to do any Vietnam War time, but he was on a standby. The war was well over when I graduated. In fact, I was one of those who didn't have to sign up for selective services. Ron was probably one of those also. As an adult, I look at the Vietnam war as being unfortunate that it had to happen but support it's action. I salute and thank all Vietnam era veterans for their service to our Country and those who gave the supreme sacrifice! A true story about some of our Vietnam Vets, I was in the filming of the movie Gettysburg. I am a Civil War Reenactor. The movie was being shot and Ted Turner was producing this movie. Anyway, one day Jane Fonda was on the set. Well the Vietnam veterans who were in the movie protested and said they would not participate if she was present for the shoot. She did leave!
In our funeral home, we see a staggering amount of WWII and Korean War vets passing away. In the last few years, Vietnam era veterans are starting to pass. Anytime you have a chance to thank a veteran of the military, do so! They are the ones that give us the freedoms we have today. Vietnam was popular, but what war is? God Bless our Vietnam Vets and Thanks!
Posted by Rivers End | June 19, 2009 9:44 PM
Posted on June 19, 2009 21:44
Yes, we boomers definitely grew up around this war. We saw a very conservative America and a very liberal, sometimes even radical one as well. But what I marvel at is the pat simple easy answers people can come up with on both sides. Let me illustrate.
Those for war might suggest that Communism was as threat and we must avoid the “domino” effect. Or that we need to trust our leaders as they know better than we. Those are easy to assert, but do they hold up.
Those against the war and condemning those who joined and fought might say, if you join and fight, you are partly responsible for the madness, killing, insanity. Vietnam did nothing to us and we don’t by the domino theory. Stop blindly following your leaders.
The truth of the matter is that many young men went because they were drafted and had no real choice and saw no easy way out of it. As well, for many, it was virtually the only opportunity they had. That is even more true to day. They join because there are no jobs or opportunities here at home. Maybe that is what our leaders intended in order to get us to fight.
But5 our nation became very polarized and no one was willing to take a close careful, emotionally detached objective look at all the issues. But JFK, MLK, RFK, and Watergate made many take a 2nd look at it all.
I only ask this. If we are to learn anything from the past at all, are we willing to ask tough questions and ponder even tougher answers? Have we been lied to in the past? At this very time, I would say that is quite obvious. We have been lied to about nearly everything and it looks doubtful that government is acting in our best interests at all and may even be slighting us and serving themselves and interests opposed to the common people.
So I would ask if you are willing to rethink whether war is really the answer to what is going on. What is the real purpose of war? We have not had much peace since WWII began. Korea, Viet Nam, Lebanon slightly. The cold war of course. Lots of military bases maintained. Is it four our benefit or that of power and those who rule?
The 60s were unusual because for the 1st time, some, the young in particular, began to question it all and not just take for granted that anything we do as a nation is correct. But that died off and the punk music phenomenon seemed to despise hippies and those who questioned war. Did we take a wrong turn at Albuquerque maybe?
So I ask just one more thing to be considered. Is it really that silly to value human life to a point where was just decide that it would be better to die than to slight life or treat it so indifferently. Do we have any compassion left or are we now just mindless enforcers of whoever sends us to wherever?
To live history and then forget that history, is to doom us to repeating it. But our technology and surveillance abilities have reached a point that maybe its too dangerous to allow yet another empire to collapse as all previous ones have, by continuing to support military power. It deserves better thought than we are likely ever to give it. Just my opinion, of course.
Posted by Scott I | August 8, 2010 1:38 AM
Posted on August 8, 2010 01:38