The truth about Viet Nam, and life there today.

Self Researched. | Oct 2002 | Exton

[Exton1]

The truth about Viet Nam, and life there today.

Exton

I have been to Viet Nam twice in the last two years. In fact I went with the son of someone who for a short period of time was the highest ranking representative of the South. The dirty truth is that we actually won the war MILITARILY and lost it due to politics and lies of the communist press here in the states. Walter Cronkite, a proclaimed communist, lied when he said after the “Tet Offensive” that we were in a quagmire. The truth is that we had just destroyed the Viet Cong. They spent several years and all they had at us, and we kicked their butts. In fact the communist were surprised that we did not declare victory then.

The US killed so many men during the war that women had to fight. Even today the ratio of women to men is about 5 to 1. (Many families sent their boys out of the country to work so they could send money home) In fact the country almost had mass starvation, due to the war and the stupidity of the Communist leadership. It was not until about 5 years ago that they have had enough rice and goods to export.

What happened is that the last leader of the South was a communist who basically gave the country to the North. The North Communist had estimated that it would take 3 to 5 years to take over the South. Because of the action of the South’s president, the Communists met little if any resistance and took the country in about 3 months. What is also not widely known is that Nixon’s Christmas bombing almost won the war. The communist leader in Hanoi, said that had the bombing continued for a day or two longer they WOULD HAVE GIVEN UP UNCONDITIONALLY.

In addition , the Wall Street Journal had an article about 8 years ago that talk brought up the “Domino Effect.” Because we fought the war for about 10 years, this gave surrounding countries the time they needed to become DEMOCRACIES. People in countries like Thailand, give us credit for wining the war and stopping the spread of communism.

The lesson of Viet Nam is that, you do not go to war with a country unless you plan to finish the job and win. Once we were committed we should have stayed and finished the job. And that we should always support our troops and explain to the public why we are fighting.

In addition, it has been pointed out that America ONLY spent about one or two hour total explaining to the GI’s why they were fighting. This compared to the Communist who spent nearly 4 hours a day, every day explaining to its solders why they were fighting. They told their soldiers that as poor as they were, the South was worse, because of US Imperialism the South did not even have bowls for their rice. That there was mass starvation and poverty. With stories like this many soldiers felt that their was great need to fight. So many were extremely surprised to find that it was all a lie, and that the South lived in luxury compared to them. Many said if they had known the truth they would have not fought or changed sides.

If you go to Viet Nam today you will find that the people love America and much of our culture. With the exception of the Government run War Museums, you will think the West won. Viet Nam has discos and night clubs where they sing American Songs, dress in American style clothes, and use cell phones. Although it always helps to be with someone who speaks the language, more people are learning English in Viet Nam then at any time in the past.

However, the county is very poor and change is slow because the old jungle fighters run the country, and they are extremely greedy. The average income is about $80.00 per month. When I was there I read a story about a family of four or five who got by on about $1,200 a year. The populace are fairly intelligent and realize that if they are to grow they have to get rid of Communist rule. Even though the government has repressed anti-government talk. It will only be a matter of time before even they ended up on the ash heap of history.

[Chu Gary]

"I was fotunate enough to have been stationed at Vung Tau....330th Transportation Co. Feb 1967 thru May 1968."

Still a decent place, pretty commercialized now and a real hot spot for HCMC folks on weekends. During the week, it's quiet, cheap and still has great, cheap seafood.

[leadpenny]

Ike's reaction to Kennedy choosing Johnson as his running mate was,

"He is not a big man. He is a small man. He hasn't got the depth of mind nor the breadth of vision to carry great responsibility."

---------------------------------------------------------

Ike sure nailed it.

[leadpenny]

I was fotunate enough to have been stationed at Vung Tau....330th Transportation Co. Feb 1967 thru May 1968.

The crews of A Co. 4th Avn Bn. (4th ID) were picking up their 25 UH-1Ds and flying them to Pleiku at about the time you arrived in Vung Tau. Most of us had already had a couple weeks of flying with other units while our birds made their way from Ft. Lewis by ship. We got to party a few days in Vung Tau before heading to the Highlands and the 'loss of innocence.'

Welcome Home, brother.

[Thumper1960]

"What "lies"? You are promoting the "truth" that we "really won" in Vietnam?
Sheesh, give it a rest.

"Militarily", pumpkin. Read the words and not the white background.

[leadpenny]

Thanks for helping to keep the Migs north of the DMZ, and welcome home.

[leadpenny]

There's a book called 'Khe Sanh', volume 5 in a series called 'The Illustrated History Of The Vietnam war' written by Michael Ewing. In that book he says that at Khe Sanh the north vietnamese had both heavy artillery deployed, the best from the soviet arsenal, and Migs.

Thanks. Must be that the pilots in the North knew that 'discretion was the better part of valor.' As far as I know, air from the North was never of any consequence in the South.

[lewislynn]

Most of us had already had a couple weeks of flying with other units while our birds made their way from Ft. Lewis by ship.

My first UH 1 flight was a test flight of one of those, possibly one of yours, that came by ship.

I actually experienced an auto-rotating (under no power) landing on that flight.

My company, though it was called a "transportation" company, did aircraft repair/maintenance.

[leadpenny]

We might not have won but we certainly did not lose! To use a football analogy, we pulled the first team out of the game at the end of the third quarter and then the US congress took away the helmets, shoulder pads and shoes from the guys remaining on the field. Our congress sold out the South Vietnamese in a way that caused our "allies" to question our commitments for decades. Our enemies are still testing our national resolve. ~RangerVetNam

Illbay, what RVN said . . In spades!

[leadpenny]

My first UH 1 flight was a test flight of one of those, possibly one of yours, that came by ship.

I actually experienced an auto-rotating (under no power) landing on that flight.

Great fun, eh? I came back to Vung Tau on my second tour while stationed at Hue, Phu Bai. The NETT (New Equipment Training Team) was there for the OH-58A Kiowa. Someone thought it would be a good idea for me to get checked out in that underpowered piece of junk. The factory team was good and after a week of autos and other stuff I ferried a new one to Phu Bai.

[lewislynn]

OH-58A Kiowa.

The only OH designation I recall was the (Hughes?) OH-13.

[leadpenny]

This is another part of the LBJ legacy. I never flew the Hughes LOH-6 but it replaced the Bell OH-13's and Hiller OH-23's early on. In the middle of the war the Pentagon switched horses. They dropped the contract with Hughes and went with Bell for the OH-58 Bell Jet Ranger. Surprise, surprise. Bell is in Texas and the Johnson family had interest. If you ever talk to guys who flew the LOH-6 and then had to switch to the OH-58, they may tell you they felt like they had been issued a death warrant. The Loach (LOH6) was a perfect man/machine machine from every account I have ever heard or read.

BTW, between tours I flew TH-13T's at Rucker. I think the civilian designation is Bell 47G. It is a souped up OH-13 and a fine aircraft. Every Army jock back then flew the TH-13T for their Instrument Training in flight school.

[lewislynn]

It's been several yrs. When I posted OH-13 I had the (Hughes) OH-6 in mind. For some reason, we had one sitting in our hanger the full duration of my 15 month tour.

[Khurkris]

I truly mean you no disrespect, but what you are posting is not anything new. What are you rying to say here? People who have actually seen/lived/researched the VN War have come to the same conclusion. Westminster, CA, home of "Little Saigon", is full of Viet's who will testify to the facts you point out. What is the reason for this post?

[Khurkris]

Do your simplistic straw man posts make you feel knowledgable?

[Khurkris]

You sir, have no 'facts'.

[Khurkris]

damn...we were young once....

[rockfish59]

I don't know if the perimeter was lined with 105's. I didn't go to Viet-Nam because I was 4-F. I just like to post the pics of my brother. I also had a brother in the Navy on the Ranger (2 tours) and one in the Merchant Marines, + 2 nephews in the Army there in '68 (Tet) and '69.

To show what a small world it is, I recently had some photographs framed in town. The owner of the shop asked me if I was in Viet-Nam and I said no, but my brother was at Cu-Chi. His eyes lit up and he said he was also there and during the same time my brother was (they didn't know each other), but he asked if my brother was in the 'Wolfhounds' and I said yep, he sure was. He then said that they were some BAD ASS MOFOS!! (He's a black guy)
He was in the artillery and told me about firing point blank with flechettes at the pith helmeted bastards as they attacked the perimeter.

My brother (with helmet) taking a break from barbed wire duty!