Finished the series on the Vietnam War last evening. Watched
each episode, some twice, some three times. At the risk of beating the horse,
some thoughts.
My favorite line: from a veteran who said, “The veneer of
civilization is very thin.” So true. The Vietnam war certainly validated the premise
of Sir William Golding in his 1954 classic Lord
of the Flies. His wasn’t, of course, the first warning. There were many,
going back as far as the Old Testament
account of the treatment of the Midianites by the victorious Jewish army (Numbers
31:15-18). The William Calleys of history have been consistently present, consistently
vicious, and consistently adamant in their claim of “following higher orders.”
Ofttimes, those orders originate, avowedly, at the deity level.
My favorite interviewee. the former South Vietnamese who
spent over 17 years in a re-education camp (prison) after the war. His
description of the mendacity, lack of character, and unwillingness to learn of
Vice-President Nguyễn Cao Kỳ could be used in today’s newspapers in describing
another world figure.
Most ironic sequence: the one in which the United States
Marines, in "full-Chesty” mode, stormed ashore at Da Nang to be met my beautiful
young girls in their best áo dais bearing wreaths. In a split-second framing,
one could see Monkey Mountain in the background. That’s where I spent the last
three months of my tour, guarding a communication base.
Most understated scene (for me): the sequence in which the
victorious North Vietnamese army entered the Da Nang area. It featured a shot
of the expensive home of a high-ranking South Vietnamese officer. I cannot be
certain, but it certainly looked familiar to me. The United States had helped
build it, or a similar home, on the highway between Tien Sha village and Da
Nang, less than a mile from my home base. The owner was a
“Number One Honcho” in the area, and one believed by most enlisted personnel to
be a double dipper, politically. He “fell” from a truck full of GIs one day as
they headed for a mission. No one mourned his death.
Most troubling segment: the account of the battle of Hue
City. Most of the news coverage at the time centered on Saigon. Meanwhile,
General Westmoreland and his subordinates, who believed the Tet Offensive was a
ruse to draw American troops away from Khe Sanh, repeatedly ordered
company-level troops to clear Hue of three enemy battalions, repeatedly
denigrating the courage and fighting ability of those brave Marines who were being
slaughtered.
Most needing of a bit more information: the iconic shot of
the South Vietnamese general executing the VC could have benefited from
additional information noting that the victim had, himself, just executed, I think,
some 30 civilians in cold blood, including a family of eight, if I remember
correctly. The veneer of civilization is, indeed, quite thin.
Most non-surprising surprise: that Richard Nixon was a noxious
traitor who set the stage for future incidences in which presidential
candidates would conspire with foreigners to gain political advantage in
campaigns.
Most conspicuous omission: how Americans allowed the media
to instill the image of the Vietnam Veteran as a half-crazed dope-fiend who
couldn’t cope with the realities of coming home from the war. It was all
bullshit. Those odious creatures who haunted ceremonies and street corners in
filthy field jackets were seldom veterans at all and almost never Vietnam
Veterans. Nonetheless, a feckless media and uncaring public loved them and
allowed them to control the image of millions of loyal veterans. For the true
story of this communal crime, read Stolen
Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History
by B. G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley.
In the meantime, watch the documentary again. It, the ordeal
represented by the Vietnam War, could happen all over again. It won’t include
me, but your children and grandchildren deserve better.
 |
| Never again, please, never again. |
No comments:
Post a Comment