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Started By
Message
re: The Fall of Saigon-50 Years Ago
Posted on 4/30/25 at 2:00 pm to choupiquesushi
Posted on 4/30/25 at 2:00 pm to choupiquesushi
Sounds like a line straight from Philip Caputo's book, "A Rumor of War."
Caputo served there, the book is excellent, and is required reading at many universities where they study the war in Vietnam.
Caputo served there, the book is excellent, and is required reading at many universities where they study the war in Vietnam.
1
Posted on 4/30/25 at 2:03 pm to BluegrassCardinal
Recently, I attended a funeral, and decided at its conclusion to walk through a nearby graveyard in Independence, La. Three young men from that small Tangipahoa Parish farm town were killed in Vietnam. The oldest was age 20. One drowned. One burned to death. The other was shot. I could barely read the inscriptions on their gravestone, the yard was unkempt with tall weeds, their graves appear to have been "upset," by God knows what. I stood there in utter sadness. Forgotten men, one block off a sun-baked rural highway, who never got to enjoy life. BR Catholic High School lost Donald Cook to the war in 1969. BR Robert E. Lee High School lost Don White in 1970. Broadmoor High School lost Roy Howard in 1968. I never knew these six men, but I think of them often. I don't really understand why, but it upsets me every April 30. RIP.
Posted on 4/30/25 at 2:05 pm to teke184
quote:
i have read that most people in south viet nam sympathized with ho chi minh. it was always going to be hopeless.
quote:
We were propping up a corrupt administration, at least at times, and we had no fricking clue what we were doing in a number of ways.
Sounds familiar today, doesn’t it?
Posted on 4/30/25 at 2:07 pm to wartiger2004
quote:
The blasted French have been picking fights for centuries always expecting us to bail their sorry snail eating asses out. Frick them.
They’re still at it today.
Posted on 4/30/25 at 2:07 pm to BluegrassCardinal
It was not a meaningless war and the domino theory really wasn't a theory just the realilty of the time. Our mistake was dragging it out and fighting with one hand behind our back but make no mistake opposing communisms at every turn was the right call.
Posted on 4/30/25 at 3:00 pm to BarberitosDawg
I am talking about post 1980 to present Communist China dumbass.
Our politicians, corporate greed and globalism created the Communist China threat that we now face. What do you think their economic strength was created by?
Our politicians, corporate greed and globalism created the Communist China threat that we now face. What do you think their economic strength was created by?
Posted on 4/30/25 at 7:00 pm to BugAC
quote:
was stationed in Taiwan
Respectfully, I think you must mean Thailand. Multiple USAF bases in Thailand supporting the air war. None in Taiwan as it’s too far away.
Posted on 4/30/25 at 7:13 pm to BluegrassCardinal
quote:
It was a hell of a war
Wasn’t even a war.
Was something congress passed giving LBJ the power to retaliate. And he did it because he feared losing to communists would bring another right wing uprising in the US.
And even before this we had the cia there failing. And we were running raids when the gulf of Tonkin incident happened. We instigated that whole thing.
This post was edited on 4/30/25 at 7:23 pm
Posted on 4/30/25 at 8:29 pm to dgnx6
One of the shames of the left, in the form of hippies, disrespcted returning vets.
“I ain’t no senator’s son”. CCR 1969 Fortunate Son..
“I ain’t no senator’s son”. CCR 1969 Fortunate Son..
This post was edited on 4/30/25 at 8:34 pm
Posted on 4/30/25 at 9:24 pm to GatorOnAnIsland
quote:
The Vietnam war was probably one of the first “deep state” wars contrived by the CIA.
You could make an argument for the Korean War
Posted on 4/30/25 at 9:30 pm to Kapitan
Years ago, maybe late 70’s, maybe 1980, dad had showed me pictures that Larry Flynt published. They were graphic US war casualties in Vietnam. He got extremely drunk and showed me the horrific pictures.
Why someone would want to show their preteen son something like that used to be a mystery. Now I understand he needed to offload the trauma and grief. This was before receiving any sort of mental health therapy from the VA. Fortunately, he did get help and he was able to quit the alcohol.
I guess the older I get, the more empathy and sadness I feel for the old man. Not a few days go by that I don’t miss him.
Why someone would want to show their preteen son something like that used to be a mystery. Now I understand he needed to offload the trauma and grief. This was before receiving any sort of mental health therapy from the VA. Fortunately, he did get help and he was able to quit the alcohol.
I guess the older I get, the more empathy and sadness I feel for the old man. Not a few days go by that I don’t miss him.
Posted on 4/30/25 at 9:33 pm to BluegrassCardinal
quote:My father in law was very much the same. He was an all-state running back in high school. Smallish guy though. He was drafted to Vietnam 1966 in an Army infantry unit at 18 years old. He did not go to college so no deferment for him. He left Vietnam an E-5 sergeant at 19 years old. He returned and told me about the disrespect he faced by some when coming home. My dad had a PhD and frequently told me my father in law was really intelligent. He retired from a large plant (worked in fabrication shop) and could fix or make anything. My dad said he could have easily been an engineer had he chosen to. The level of respect I have for that man was off the charts. One of my heroes.
My dad served two tours over, 1966 into 67 I believe. He was in the USMC and enlisted in 1965, right after high school. He was honorable mention All State in Kentucky HS football. Had a couple of offers, and I remember him saying Georgia Tech had sent some letters of interest. To me, he wasted a college football career for a meaningless war and the scars that would result from the war.
Posted on 4/30/25 at 9:50 pm to BluegrassCardinal
I was a small child but I still remember it vividly.
I was outside playing the yard when a black car pulled into the neighbors driveway.
Two men in uniform got out and went to their door to give the parents of 'Steve' the horrible news. He had been KIA in southern Viet Nam.
He was 21 years old.
They lived in Ascension parish and Steve lost his young life in the late 1960s.
We lost so many fine young men and lost so many more due to PTSD with many still trying to come to terms with their life's and the loss of their family members.
Tens of thousands of young men came home wounded, scarred, with lost limbs, blinded, confined to wheel chairs, with injuries and physical pain that they still suffer from this very day.
Most were patriotic young men who were serving their country.
Sadly, many came home to be scoffed, rejected and derided for their service.
Several years ago, one of my favorite customers came in to my workplace with his Vietnam vet baseball cap on.
He was always a happy guy who was all the time smiling and laughing.
He was about 20 yards from me and on his hat it looked like the Big Red 1 insignia.
Not thinking, I foolishly blurted out 'Hey Roger, was you in the Big Red 1?'
He turned around with an angry look on his face and said 'No, I was in the 25th ID. It was the same ID in the movie Platoon. That's how Vietnam was, just like in that movie.' He turned around and started laughing and joking around.
Its been a few years since I seen him and sometimes I wonder what became of him.
God bless our vets, that served so honorably and brave.
I was outside playing the yard when a black car pulled into the neighbors driveway.
Two men in uniform got out and went to their door to give the parents of 'Steve' the horrible news. He had been KIA in southern Viet Nam.
He was 21 years old.
They lived in Ascension parish and Steve lost his young life in the late 1960s.
We lost so many fine young men and lost so many more due to PTSD with many still trying to come to terms with their life's and the loss of their family members.
Tens of thousands of young men came home wounded, scarred, with lost limbs, blinded, confined to wheel chairs, with injuries and physical pain that they still suffer from this very day.
Most were patriotic young men who were serving their country.
Sadly, many came home to be scoffed, rejected and derided for their service.
Several years ago, one of my favorite customers came in to my workplace with his Vietnam vet baseball cap on.
He was always a happy guy who was all the time smiling and laughing.
He was about 20 yards from me and on his hat it looked like the Big Red 1 insignia.
Not thinking, I foolishly blurted out 'Hey Roger, was you in the Big Red 1?'
He turned around with an angry look on his face and said 'No, I was in the 25th ID. It was the same ID in the movie Platoon. That's how Vietnam was, just like in that movie.' He turned around and started laughing and joking around.
Its been a few years since I seen him and sometimes I wonder what became of him.
God bless our vets, that served so honorably and brave.
Posted on 5/1/25 at 12:16 am to deltaland
The AVG (Flying Tigers) was a government-backed op.
Posted on 5/1/25 at 7:24 am to HurricaneCamille
Read John Newman's book JFK and Vietnam and you will get a more detailed history of what went on in 1963 prior to the Diem assassination. November of that year was pivotal. It all centers around NSAM 273.
Essentially it backs up the idea that Kennedy wanted out of South Vietnam by the end of 1965 and that McNamara had come to the conclusion that the conflict was unwinnable sometime before that
Essentially it backs up the idea that Kennedy wanted out of South Vietnam by the end of 1965 and that McNamara had come to the conclusion that the conflict was unwinnable sometime before that
Posted on 5/1/25 at 7:52 am to BluegrassCardinal
I am appalled by how the government and civilians treated our troops. We probably should have never been there.
However, Walter Cronkite became perhaps the first person in the MSM reported their opinion as fact:
“It was the first time in American history a war had been declared over by an anchorman” David Halbersham wrote.
The only thing is, he was wrong!
LINK
However, Walter Cronkite became perhaps the first person in the MSM reported their opinion as fact:
“It was the first time in American history a war had been declared over by an anchorman” David Halbersham wrote.
The only thing is, he was wrong!
quote:
Tet was largely a resounding defeat for the offensive’s planners. The Americans and their South Vietnamese allies, along with smaller numbers forces from South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and even Thailand, quickly rolled back North Vietnamese and Viet Cong successes and inflicted heavy casualties
LINK
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