Free Republic

Could it be that two generations from now our grandchildren are going to be watching a documentary about the consequences of America’s retreat in the Middle East? That’s the question I am pondering this week on the 40th anniversary of the communist conquest of Indochina. The event is being marked by the broadcast on PBS of Rory Kennedy’s documentary “Last Days in Vietnam.”

The jungles of Viet Nam were the reality for over 54,000 deaths of America’s soldiers, but the Nam war also may be the epitome of stupidity for politicians who turned a US victory into an agonizing defeat! An important book appearing on bookshelves of an American legion post details just what went wrong and it was written by the son of John H. Richardson, Sr., the senior CIA station chief in Saigon. Much maligned after news stories popped up in homeland newspapers, written by real fly-by reporters, the Saigon headquarters of the CIA chief became the boiling point for palace...

The public rarely hears about interactions between military personnel and unexplained aircraft -- especially during wartime. As time goes on, however, UFO stories stuck behind red tape begin to see the light of day. The Vietnam War saw its share of UFO activity in the 1960s. One close encounter, in 1968, involved the crew of an American patrol boat that reported two glowing circular craft following them in the demilitarized zone that separated North and South Vietnam (see depiction below). The crew aboard a second patrol boat later reported seeing the UFOs over the first boat and a flash of...

The annual Veterans Reunion is upon us at Wickham Park in Melbourne Florida. See this link for the flyer and the main web site for agenda, etc. Opening ceremonies start tonight, 20 April, at 6PM with the wreath presentation ceremony.

Forty years ago this April, our nation lost the Vietnam War – a war that America could easily have won, and should have. South Vietnam had been invaded by North Vietnam, although the conflict was portrayed by communist apologists as a “civil war.” The Viet Cong did fight, but the primary enemy of the South Vietnam was North Vietnam. The SEATO alliance pledged France, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan and America to come to the aid of South Vietnam if that nation was attacked by another nation. The moral obligation of France, the colonial power that held...

In what was described as the first occasion of its kind in the country, a memorial to the Southeast Asian forces who fought as allies of the U.S. during the Vietnam War era was dedicated at Fort Snelling on Saturday. The plaque, in the cemetery's Airborne Circle, memorializes the Hmong, Laotian and Khmer special forces units that served in Cambodia and Laos. "I believe that this is probably the first time that they have been recognized specifically in a place like this," Trudell Guerue, president of the Chapter XV 173rd Airborne Brigade Association, said during the dedication ceremony. For Khoa...

It’s is a vividly accurate, cutting-edge film about one of the most shockingly misunderstood wars in American history – and it took Westminster, California, by storm when it premiered there this month, selling more than $30,000 in tickets in just three days during its limited release at a single movie theater. Overall, the film brought in $50,923 in a week of showings at the Regency Westminster 10 theater from March 27 to April 2. The film profits will support four charities: Semper Fi Fund, Agape International Missions, Field of Dreams and Allegiant Giving. “I’ve been waiting 40 years for this...

The City of Hoquiam last night voted against committee recommendation and renamed a portion of Queets Avenue to McQuade in honor of a fallen Vietnam veteran who’s chopper was shot down while searching for missing soldiers under fire. “On June 11th, 1972 the 23 year old pilot from Hoquiam Washington, [his gunner] and the copter was right above their leader’s chopper when it was shot down itself.” Dan Discher grew up on Queets Avenue with James McQuade, he told the council last night that McQuade left the Harbor to become a 1st Lieutenant in the Army, and flew for the...

Total Absorption and Breakthrough I am drawing you deeper into My Spirit then ever before for I AM your Wellspring of Life and so now as I call and you answer I will feed you from The Tree of Life great and mighty things. First you will delve into and devour My very Virtue for without this nothing exists so you must come into and completely walk in My Worthiness for "HOLY" is My Name "Yeah" even the angels cry out unrelentingly My Truth . Second I will cause you to drink in My love and this door opens to...

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A photographer named Matthew Munson took several photos during a recent visit to Washington, D.C., and one in particular is stirring up conversation about American history, parenting, and respect. Munson shared his photos to Facebook, and there's some standard DC fare—that obelisk called the Washington Monument, some military memorials. But one of Munson's memorial photos speaks volumes without making a sound. It's an image of the Vietnam Women's Memorial, which serves to honor the women who served during the U.S. war with Vietnam, from 1955 to 1975. Atop this statue is a young girl using it like playground equipment. On...

Raul as a youth, was a dangerous, violent person who was ready to explode at any moment. This video chronicles the miraculous transformation of a person who was on a road to destruction to a man of God. This is the personal testimony of Raul Ries and how God demonstrates His grace, His love and His mercy. From Christiancinema.com: The true story of Raul Ries finds a young man full of hate and fight, lies and deception, and anger beyond control. This story focuses on Raul's high school days, martial arts experiences, and early years of his marriage. With everything...

Vietnamese civil servants holding positions at levels of ministerial bureaus and departments or higher should be banned from depositing money or assets abroad or owning property overseas, according to a research group’s proposal aimed at preventing corruption and improving the recovery of losses in corruption case. Such a proposed prohibition is one of many solutions that have been raised in a study on “recovery of property from corruption cases – the practice in Vietnam and international experience” conducted by a group of researchers under the Vietnam Party Central Committee's Commission for Internal Affairs. The suggested ban was voiced by Vu...

Most hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City have confirmed that they have sufficient facilities so that their in-patients are no longer sharing a bed with two to three other patients, according to Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the Health Department of Ho Chi Minh City. However, two central hospitals, the Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopaedics and the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, have not met this condition. Each hospital currently has 140-180 in-patients over their 100 single bed capacity. The announcement was made during a meeting yesterday between Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and officials from the HCMC...

Colonel Le The Mau, a senior military official at the country's Military Strategy Institute, told Sputnik Việt Nam that the United States' demand that Vietnam stop allowing Russian refueling planes to land at Cam Ranh airbase amounts to interference in the country's affairs.

March 8, 1965 -- The first Stockholm Conference on Vietnam is held in Stockholm, Sweden. The conference is the creation of Romesh Chandra, chairman of the KGB-funded World Peace Council. Former Soviet bloc spy chief Ion Mihai Pacepa will later describe it as "a permanent international organization to aid or to conduct operations to help Americans dodge the draft or defect, to demoralize its army with anti-American propaganda, to conduct protests, demonstrations, and boycotts, and to sanction anyone connected with the war." The operation is staffed by undercover intelligence officers and funded to the tune of about $15 million per...

Secretary of State John Kerry spent five minutes of a Senate hearing excoriating a group of 47 Republicans who sent a highly unusual letter to the government of Iran warning that Congress could modify the terms of any nuclear deal it negotiates with the White House. 'This letter raises questions of judgment and policy,' he insisted, before Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker cut him off and scolded him for delivering 'a well-written speech.' 'It's not a speech! This is not a speech!' Kerry erupted. 'This is a statement about the impact of this irresponsible letter. The letter does not have...

On February 7, 1965, a company of 300 Vietcong guerrillas armed with AK-47s, mortars and rifle grenades attacked an American helicopter base named Camp Holloway in the town of Pleiku, located in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. The raid, which came just a few hours after the end of a weeklong cease fire for the Tet holiday, lasted only five minutes; but it produced the highest single number of U.S. casualties in the war: Eight Americans were killed and more than 120 wounded. President Lyndon Johnson ordered an immediate military reprisal. Within 14 hours, U.S. jets were flying bombing...

Jane Fonda said she hoped for an open dialogue with veterans after about 50 former military members and supporters protested the actress’s appearance Friday evening at the Weinberg Center for the Arts. “Whenever possible I try to sit down with vets and talk with them, because I understand and it makes me sad,” Fonda told a relatively full theater, responding to a submitted question. “It hurts me and it will to my grave that I made a huge, huge mistake that made a lot of people think I was against the soldiers.” In 1972 Fonda visited Hanoi, North Vietnam, where...

The rise of violent extremism represents the pre-eminent challenge of the young 21st century. Military force is a rational and often necessary response to the wanton slaughters of children, mass kidnappings of schoolgirls, and beheading of innocents. But military force alone won’t achieve victory. In the long term, this war will be won only by deploying a broader, far more creative arsenal. A safer and more prosperous future requires us to recognize that violent extremism can’t be justified by resorting to religion. No legitimate religious interpretation teaches adherents to commit unspeakable atrocities, such as razing villages or turning children into...