Thoughts from Dr. Joe: Vietnamese veterans should not be forgotten
During this week when Veterans Day is marked, I search for a reason to rationalize the sacrifice of veterans. For freedom, they say. But the quest for freedom is only salient when you don’t have it. Regardless, it’s a nebulous term and I can’t fathom how such an abstract idea can mitigate the experiences of veterans.
I found my reason when I visited my friend Lý-Trúc-Vi¿t in Houston, Texas, home to one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the United States. He was a boy when by boat he escaped the hordes of approaching North Vietnamese soldiers. Today he has a business, a family, and the most adorable little girl.
Veterans are unable to rationalize war. I’m not certain, but maybe it’s the people they die for.
Vi¿t took me to breakfast at a local diner filled with old Vietnamese men. I was wearing my camouflage jacket from ’Nam, which caught the attention of the men who were similarly dressed. Their look was hard. Regardless, it was an affirmation to let me know they too were veterans. The only difference is that we wore different uniforms.
There were no smiles, but we nodded as veterans and as brothers of arms often do. But, my dear reader, I felt squeamish because I know the history of the last days of South Vietnam (26 April – 30 April 1975). It was difficult to look these veterans in the eye knowing the United States dishonored its promise and left many loyal Vietnamese who bled with Americans to suffer the fate of the Communists. A shameful betrayal!
The 1973 Paris Peace Accords maintained the partition of North and South Vietnam. When American forces left, the Communists moved south, closing in on Saigon. Nixon promised we’d intervene, but he resigned. President Ford petitioned Congress to send military supplies; Congress refused. Our Southern allies were forced to ration munitions and bandages and were left without material support. The North, supplied by the Russians and Chinese, had an overwhelming advantage. On 26 April, they followed 500,000 refugees toward Saigon. Believing the South would survive, Ambassador Graham Martin refused to plan an exit strategy. He was delusional. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon bungled the war. President Ford and 1975 Congress bungled the evacuation. On 29 April, at the 11th hour the evacuation began. It was too late. Thousands of loyal Vietnamese were left to the brutality of the Communists.
My friend Lý continued to speak of the events of 29 April. His boat sailed into the Gulf of Tonkin and he witnessed the valiant efforts of sailors, Marines, government agents, and Vietnamese pilots rescuing the beleaguered Vietnamese. A sea of humanity clung to ships, helicopters and small boats. Lý recalled passing the aircraft carrier Midway and witnessed the crew pushing helicopters overboard. One day, I’ll tell that story.
The old Vietnamese men who fought and bled with us in Vietnam are forgotten veterans. They came to America without the G.I. Bill. Their PTSD went unnoticed. There were no movies about them, no parades, and who among us ever says, “Welcome home” to them? Yet they too are veterans and they deserved better than they received. Their children are the fabric of America yet they were never able to check the box that said their father was a veteran. President Nixon promised all of us, “Peace with honor.” It’s been 40 years since the last days of South Vietnam, yet there is no honor. Reaching out to the Vietnamese veterans would be a good place to begin. There is never a happy ending to a veteran’s story.
We left 425 Vietnamese remaining in the American Embassy. A presidential order ended the evacuation. However, we promised we’d save them. Then, early in the morning on 30 April 1975 the Marine Guard lowered the American flag, folded it, and handed it to Ambassador Martin. He boarded the helicopter and we left. That was it.
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JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.
