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Vietnam War continues for many

Saturday, April 26, 2008 11:40 PM PDT

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Commentary by Lam Luu
For The Daily News

Next Wednesday, marks the 33rd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, or the American War as it is known in Vietnam. The fall of Saigon to communist North Vietnamese forces on April 30, 1975, signaled the end of the war and America’s longest military involvement in Vietnam. The date will be marked in three different ways:

In this country, war veterans will wear full military regalia and attend commenmoration ceremonies to pay tribute to their fallen and missing colleagues; they lay wreaths and listen to patriotic songs. In Vietnam, colorful parades will be held to celebrate Liberation Day and the victory over U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. In many Vietnamese communities around the globe, especially in America, the date will be remembered as the “Date of Sorrow.” Ceremonies will be held under the banner “Remembering the past, shaping the future.” They salute a yellow flag with three red horizonal stripes. It is not the official flag of any country in the world. But to them, this flag of a country past represents their heritage and their history. They have long wanted to preserve it and make it their official flag.

The war cost the United States 58,000 lives and 350,000 casualties. The financial cost to the U.S. comes to something over $150 billion dollars. The losses to the Vietnamese people were appalling — 3 million deaths.

Twenty years after the war, in 1995, Vietnam and the United States established diplomatic relations. The nationalist political speeches are put away these days in Vietnam, with leaders focusing on economic rejuvenation and the future prosperity of their country. American corporate logos are now a common sight along the same boulevard down which North Vietnamese tanks triumphantly rolled more than three decades ago.

There are now more than 3 million Vietnamese living abroad, including more than 1.2 million making their homes in America. The three largest pockets of Vietnamese are in Santa Clara and Orange counties in California, and in Houston, Texas. While new economic and cultural ties are being built, politically, the Diaspora and its homeland are still feuding.

Hundreds of thousand of Viet Kieu (Vietnamese nationals living abroad) visiting Vietnam each year. These days, however, Vietnam is but an 18-hour flight from California, and Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Americans chat online, text one another, talk to each other with cheap phone cards. Many Viet Kieus have returned to work, live, invest and retire in Vietnam, while many Vietnamese nationals are coming to the United States as brides, tourists, foreign students and businessmen. The government of Vietnam even considering granting dual citizenship to Viet Kieus to spur further repatriation.

Economies and culture may be fluid, and bridges are being built, but long-held political tensions remain unchanged. The Vietnamese Diaspora openly denounce the regime through rallies and protests against human right abuses, in hope of bringing democracy and freedom to the country. Yelling in Vietnamese and waving banners and flags on America’s streets for three decades, however, has failed to translate into political action.

Meanwhile, Vietnam can no longer be isolated due to the fact that it has joined the World Trade Organization and been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It is rapidly integrating into the world economy. The majority of Vietnam’s population are young and optimistic. An entire urban population has fallen under the spell of materialsm. Vietnam may wear the hammer and sickle on her sleeve, but her heart throbs with commerce and capitalism.

Lam Luu resides in Longview.

Predictably..... wrote on Apr 29, 2008 8:38 AM:

" it's impossible not to draw parallels between the Vietnam war & the war in Iraq. America has already lost over 29,000 soldiers in Iraq, well over half of the lives lost during the entire Vietnam war and the casualties resulting from the Iraq war will be staggering. America has spent over $500 billion and the cost continues at millions per day. I am from a generation that lived through nightly newscasts of the deaths from war in Vietnam, had friends who were drafted and some who volunteered to serve in what we came to believe was the worst fiasco in American history. We were wrong. President Bush and his cronies have managed to surpass all of their predecessors when it comes to making bad decisions. Let's not compound this horror by electing John McCain who has vowed to continue the war for "as long it takes". Don't be deceived into believing that being a veteran gives a candidate qualification to lead our nation. Clearly, McCain did not learn the lessons of history in spite of his great sacrifice to serve our county. "

Michael wrote on Apr 29, 2008 11:15 AM:

" America has lost over 29,000 in Iraq? What is your source? We just went over the 4000 mark. In fact with no war we loose over 2000 a year in accidents alone. Get your facts straight. "

To Michael wrote on Apr 29, 2008 1:39 PM:

" My apologies, the 29,000 statistic is indeed the number of casualties and you are correct that the number of deaths is over 4,000. However, I'm sure that for the loved ones of those 4,000 soldiers, statistics are cold comfort and the facts remain that we are running up a huge financial debt as well. If you want to toss out figures, try this one, in 2004 there were over 32,000 deaths from suicide in the US. (National Institute of Mental Health)and in 2005, there were over 6,000 suicide deaths of US Veterans with the highest proportion occurring in veterans of Iraq & Afghanistan. No matter what other data you look at, that's a huge number. By the way, where did you get your facts? According to the Centers for Disease Control, there were over 112,000 deaths from unintentional injuries in 2004. Better check your facts again. "

Yankeestation wrote on Apr 29, 2008 11:20 PM:

" I was ona ship that went to many Viet Nam ports. Our cargo was the problem for us. We shipped and handled agent orange , now many of us are dead or very sick.
We may have gone into a atom bomb illegal test site , but we were never told. The ship was used as a target a few years ago, some willknow which ship I am talking about when I say THE ORIENT EXPRESS.
Viet Nam is still hell to many, my body attests to that fact. "

Hide Behind wrote on Apr 30, 2008 11:11 PM:

" Vietnam was only a battle in our constant state of war that has not lessened since Korean conflict and is now being carried on in over 15 countries to this day not counting the corporate supported military and state intelligence people we got wandering around Latin American trying to get elected officials killed.The only time you hear of our combat spec ops in Phillipines is when they rape one too many local women and no one seems to care how many female children are being shipped to pleasure houses for our GI's in Yeman and african areas. Vietnam is a heros glory patch today for many who served there; you even have a local teacher saying no drugs were in nam and almost all the homeless afterwards who claimed they were vets were liars.When we were not at war in nam we were killing in Latin America or training arming militias to kill union or anyone who complained about our dictatorial frineds in high places. No nam has not ended it just moved to another, and then another country and now we are moving it to Syria, Iran, and the African Continent. What is odd is that the names on tombstones change but not the names, corporations nor the politcal hacks and the mindset of those who love to play at war. Same war, same excuses, just a different skin color dying and much more profitable to the leadership than the last ground we ruined. "

Hide Behind wrote on Apr 30, 2008 11:28 PM:

" Over 200 vets a month are committing suicide, they are dead due to that war.
By the VA's own figures we now have over 300,000 vets since our last invasion added to the 220,000 from the first invasion under their care as casualties of Iraq war. These are the facts put out by the US government; Get them streight? All this BS trying to hide how completly imbecilic and decietfull along with unnecessary this war has been since its beginning has made this nation one sick puppy. Vietnams wounds to nation never healed because ther were always so damn many who loved the war no matter right or wrong of it, just loved war and they keep those wounds always festering because they won't admit they are the sick ones; the diseased ones who infect others while hiding behind the smoke of false patriotism. So diseased that those they infect cannot tell the truth of why they are ill and dying even after leaving war zones in order to get cured of their wounds from Viet era until todays Iraq era. "

You jerks that defend this stupid war wrote on May 1, 2008 11:23 AM:

" Comparing it to car accidents is down right subhuman. I don't care how many have died; THEY ALL DIED FOR NOTHING. It was the same in Vietnam. Why should we do for the Iraqis or Vietnamese what they refused to do for themselves? Kissinger is advising Ratface on this war and he thinks the lesson of Vietnam was to stay forever, to show fortitude. The lesson my friends was to never go in the first place. "

Re-Jerks wrote on May 2, 2008 9:13 AM:

" I don't care how many have died. While I can agree with some of the things you have said That sentence I can not accept. Throughout the history of our nation people like you have made this same remark yet you sit there free and are allowed to spew your stupidity because others have sacraficed to give you that right.Thats why your insignificant and they are held in high esteem. This is virtual. When I'm finished I will go do something constructive today. Soldiers on the otherhand take lives and thats a reality they cannot escape. Its a life long process of trying to justify it.

Hate the war but support the troops. "

Re You jerks wrote on May 2, 2008 12:29 PM:

" The only subhuman thoughts on here is yours and the lamebrain who claimed 29,000 deaths of US soldiers in Iraq when the total is 4,000. There is no comparison to between Vietnam and Iraq. There was no intent to secure democracy in South Vietnam. The Kennedy-LBJ War Democrats put 500,000 U.S. troop on the ground before 1968. They instituted a draft. Iraq is a conflict and occupation, not a war. Only in the minds of the Liberal Democrats is this a war. War is daily combat. Building a democracy is a long process, but progress is being made. Ask the Kurds is they feel safer today with Saddam. Ask the Syrians if they like the US military camped on its borders, which is why Syria ended two decades of illegal control of Lebanon. It is also the only reason Syria, the Palestinians and Israel are as close to a peace agreement as they are. We have always known it was going to take US troops to secure peace in the Middle East. It might be possible now. As for Vietnam what did we have to show for 58,000 lives lost? Thanks LBJ, you and your fellow Democrats like the two hawks from Washington -- Jackson and Magnuson -- tried to destroy a generations of Americans. As for the dollar cost, if you took into account inflation since Vietnam, you would realize that we haven't even come close to matching the dollars spent there. "

Support the troops wrote on May 2, 2008 1:38 PM:

" How about support the troops by using them wisely. How about not wasting their lives for nothing. Another Vietnam parallel is that this war will resolve it self when we leave and that could be next year or in 100 years, the the outcome will be the same. We are just delaying the eventual strongman that will come to power, it's the only form of government these countries seem to understand. Bill Buckley, George Will, bright conservatives, thought this was a stupid idea to go into Iraq, like Obama did. Anyone that knew the British history there in Iraq realized this was a mistake and would require a protracted occupation. What happened was the administration believed what they wanted to believe. Greeted as liberaters, cake walk, slam dunk, how about pure BS. They have a faith based foreign policy and that is because this is the most stupid president in our history and the people who choose to still support him are pretty damn stupid as well. "

Thought wrote on May 2, 2008 1:58 PM:

" There is a solution to this debate. Bring back the draft and see how many pack their bags and head for Canada. I have only 0ne vote and I will use it wisely. You do the same and then except the outcome. Not everyone will agree on anything thats what makes America great.

Beware of MY vote thought!! My lone vote elected Nixon. lol "

Citizen wrote on May 3, 2008 9:44 AM:

" This is the most cogent description of what is going on in America today, and for the last 50 years. The wealth of our nation has been spent on destruction instead of building an infrastructure and transportation mode that COULD have been a gleaming beautiful thing to see. We have nothing to be proud of. We destroy the best of our young people with this idea of WAR. HIDE BEHIND said it best. It bears repeating and I can't resist, "" Vietnam was only a battle in our constant state of war that has not lessened since Korean conflict and is now being carried on in over 15 countries to this day not counting the corporate supported military and state intelligence people we got wandering around Latin American trying to get elected officials killed.The only time you hear of our combat spec ops in Phillipines is when they rape one too many local women and no one seems to care how many female children are being shipped to pleasure houses for our GI's in Yeman and african areas. Vietnam is a heros glory patch today for many who served there; you even have a local teacher saying no drugs were in nam and almost all the homeless afterwards who claimed they were vets were liars.When we were not at war in nam we were killing in Latin America or training arming militias to kill union or anyone who complained about our dictatorial frineds in high places. No nam has not ended it just moved to another, and then another country and now we are moving it to Syria, Iran, and the African Continent. What is odd is that the names on tombstones change but not the names, corporations nor the politcal hacks and the mindset of those who love to play at war. Same war, same excuses, just a different skin color dying and much more profitable to the leadership than the last ground we ruined. " "

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