What happens when America leaves? Just ask S. Vietnamese

Minneapolis Star Tribune ^ | October 10, 2007 | Katherine Kersten

[Caleb1411]

The day Saigon fell -- April 30, 1975 -- Lt. Col. Lam Tran gathered his stunned and despondent soldiers and distributed his little money among them. "My heart broke down," says Tran, who now lives in the Twin Cities. "I told them, 'Go home to your families. Now we must all fend for ourselves.'"

Minutes later, a bone-shattering explosion shook a nearby house. Twenty of his men had detonated their grenades inside and blown themselves to oblivion. "They were so ashamed," recalls Tran. "They knew it didn't have to be this way."

Tran, who led airborne assaults in jungle fighting, had worked closely with U.S. soldiers since the mid-1960s. (Tran asked that his real name be withheld to prevent reprisals against family members still in Vietnam).

But in 1973, the United States withdrew nearly all of its troops from Vietnam, and in December 1974 Congress cut off vital military aid. Five months later, Communist forces overran the country.

Today, Tran watches the U.S. debate over Iraq with an eerie sense of familiarity. Like many of his countrymen here, Tran says he fears for Iraqis if America abandons them -- as it did his nation -- before they are self-sufficient.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis have tied their fate to us as soldiers, police officers, translators, security guards or government officials.

While North Vietnam's victory brought fear and privation across the country, South Vietnamese who had worked or cooperated with Americans suffered most. The Hanoi regime imprisoned 1 million people in "re-education camps," where about 165,000 died of malnutrition, abuse or execution.

[LouAvul]

I knew refugees from SE Asia who had come to kalifornia. Listening to their stories broke my heart. One lady, a nurse, said that her husband had been rounded up by the communists and shipped to a re-education camp. She never saw him again.

It was then I realized that America needed to be there, and that we allowed the scum hippies and commie politicians to hijack our efforts.

We were the only thing standing between S Vietnam and Outer Darkness, and we let some whore like Joan Baez talk us out of it.

[omega4179]

I met a former RVN soldier and in broken english he conveyed re-education camps, oppression, and misery he was lucky to make it out and get asylum here. Yet they are grateful that America tried. If we fail in Iraq, it will mean beheadings of uncovered women, religious minorities, "collaborators" and intersect war.

[IronJack]

How is it that these stories are conveniently overlooked whenever the Left compares Iraq to Vietnam? It's the same cut-and-run crowd today that it was back then. Why are those people not held accountable for the blood on their hands? How could they have ANY credibility after the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, the bloodbath in Vietnam ...? EVERYTHING THE RIGHT SAID CAME TRUE!!!!! Now, a scant 40 years later, we're about to let history repeat itself, to gamble with the lives of millions of Iraqis?????

Are we fool enough to let that happen?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

John f’n Kerry said nothing happened after we left. The MSM takes its cue from there and conveniently erases history.

[Red6]

Tonight is international night at my daughter’s school. Interestingly, a booth last year as well as this year will be set up representing the Republic of Vietnam (1954-1976). For a bunch of people who were stated as not supporting freedom or this republic, leaders that were all corrupt (according to the MSM of the time), there sure still are a lot of Vietnamese people believing in the notion of “freedom” and their former republic.

Sad how we threw these people under the bus because it became “fashionable” to be against a conflict.

[-=SoylentSquirrel=-]

"...The Hanoi regime imprisoned 1 million people in "re-education camps," where about 165,000 died of malnutrition, abuse or execution..."

I posit that way more than 165,000 people were murdered by the communists after the takeover. Way more. Closer to 1 million total.

[IronJack]

The MSM takes its cue from there and conveniently erases history.

An act not unprecedented in leftist circles. Joe Stalin was an expert at it. But in today's world, where every frame of history is recorded by a dozen lenses, it would seem to be more difficult. We KNOW what happened in Vietnam and Laos and Cambodia and Thailand after the running dogs forced us out. No amount of sugar-coating or selective memory is going to change that. We need to deliver that message loud and clear -- with pictures, testimonials, and sworn affidavits if necessary.

We cannot simply sit idly by and let these cowards drive several million more people into hell's gaping maw. Politics aside, it would be tantamount to genocide.

[george76]

If we run from Iraq, then the terrorists will will move to Afghanistan and millions of Iraqis will move here ?

[davisfh]

"We were the only thing standing between S Vietnam and Outer Darkness, and we let some whore like Joan Baez talk us out of it."

I agree with your sentiments completely.

Before I retired, I worked with a female compouter science major who escaped from Viet Nam when it all ended. For privacy reasons, I'll simply refer to her as "Thieu."

Thieu told me her story. They were all very frightened and that is putting it mildly. She was just a young girl when the end came and was fortunate enough to have a rather affluent uncle who possessed a cabin cruiser. Most of the uncle's family and extended family boarded the cruiser and motored out to waiting U.S. ships. I asked Thieu what happened to the cruiser. She smiled and said, "We let him go."

Thieu was one of the lucky ones. More than three million others were only lucky in that they died very soon. "Thank you and those who adore you, Ms Baez."

[kabar]

I posit that way more than 165,000 people were murdered by the communists after the takeover. Way more. Closer to 1 million total.

And many millions more live under the oppressive heel of a Communist totalitarian government to this very day. i.e., for more than 32 years.

[The Great RJ]

Gee, didn’t John Kerry recently tell us that these “reeducation camps” in Viet Nam weren’t such a bad thing...kind of like a Club Med with cheaper accommodations?

[Monterrosa-24]

“...It was then I realized that America needed to be there, and that we allowed the scum hippies and commie politicians to hijack our efforts...”

Well said! The Joan Baez types would have a tough time facing the South Vietnamese students who demanded that the ARVN flag fly at their US school instead of the communist flag. The school had a tradition of flying many flags representing every student’s ethnic roots. The Vietnamese students were offended that the school flew the NVA flag.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

KERRYTHINK*
To know and not to know...

[woerm]

IIRC,

about 500K South Vietnamese, were directly executed.
about 2 million Cambodians, and God only knows how many Laotians

on the boat people/refugees remember for each one that got out about 3 died inroute (pirates, starvation, exposure etc) the South China Sea is not a pleasant place to yacht. even today.

I can’t find the linky but those were what was listed in teh 90’s on a refugee/Red Butchery listing I ran across

r

but per JFKERRY ‘nothing happened’

[VR-21]

"While North Vietnam's victory brought fear and privation across the country, South Vietnamese who had worked or cooperated with Americans suffered most. The Hanoi regime imprisoned 1 million people in "re-education camps," where about 165,000 died of malnutrition, abuse or execution."

I sure we can count on this being told to the students in our public schools.

[syriacus]

Schoolchildren of Da Nang
"celebrate" the anniversary of the fall of Saigon
Vietnam Conflict Remembered,
Sunday, 2 April, 2000, BBC

[syriacus]

Truman withdrew TOO many American troops, TOO soon, from a young and unstable S Korea in 1949. (We had freed S. Korea from Japan in 1945.)

The results which followed from this mistake were
1) an invasion by N Korea in 1950 and
2) the start of the Korean War, during which 30,000 Americans died in 30 months.

In 1950, on some days, 600-700 Americans died in Korea, while bravely RE-WINNING freedom for S Korea.

[Cacique]

btt