The South Vietnamese Soldier’s Sacrifice

The city of Westminster is going to memorialize the Cold War camaraderie between the United States and the Republic of Vietnam with a bronze statue depicting American and South Vietnamese soldiers side by side. Several public figures in Little Saigon have said that they would like to see such a statue added to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington. But for now, everyone is welcoming the honor of having the monument in Westminster, the heartland of the overseas Vietnamese.

The half-million-dollar project is privately funded, and donors are largely Vietnamese Americans. The City Council has promised to provide a respectable site once the full amount is collected. Under the auspices of the Foundation for the Arts, the fund-raising goal has been met. The next critical step is to beseech moral support from the people of Westminster.

The idea of having such a memorial was first proposed several years ago by Mayor Frank Fry. But it did not take off until after the Tran Truong incident, where thousands turned out to protest the displaying of Vietnamese communist artifacts by a storekeeper in Little Saigon. The mayor, after years of associating with the Vietnamese community, has come to recognize the angst in the souls of the Vietnamese emigres. In them, he sees the reflection of anguish in the hearts of American servicemen, for the way they were received upon returning home from Vietnam.

There is a sense of bitterness in the psychology of those from the former Republic of Vietnam who now live in the United States. They feel misunderstood and underappreciated. America has taken them in, provided them with economic comfort, and they are grateful for that. But America has never officially recognized their valiant contribution in defending freedom.

Vietnamese Americans suffer a yin and yang complex. They wrestle between thanking America for giving them a new life and resenting her for the outcome of the war. Not to mention how some experts in the media often make them out to be but an appendage of a war in which they have sacrificed much. Nor does it help these former soldiers to see American colleges and universities line up with books written by principle architects of that war, or by some scholars who have no idea how the war was lost. No one asked them. Their experience is not regarded.

Vietnamese people are survivors. They are mentally strong and resilient. It is not unusual to find a former officer of the South Vietnam armed forces doing manual labor for meager wages, without any shame or embarrassment. Thanks to America with plenty of golden opportunities, most have made good. But there are wounds in their hearts that need healing. In the past, with all due respect, most of us have left them alone to lick their wounds. But now is the time to bring them out. Now is the time to extend the work of healing the wounds of war to include them. A memorial to dignify South Vietnam’s cause is a good beginning.