Free Republic

Rainer Zitelmann's book, How Nations Escape Poverty, is particularly interesting for American veterans who served as G.I.s in Vietnam or for those who may have lost their fathers or family members in the conflict. The irony of history is that the communists initially won — however, upon establishing their socialist regime across Vietnam, they came to realize what a huge mistake they had made. Today, young Vietnamese in particular admire the USA and capitalism, as Zitelmann’s book shows. He asked the Vietnamese which economic systems they admire and which they reject. According to the survey data, people in Vietnam have...

Ukraine will be a “humiliating fiasco” for America like Vietnam if Washington continues its muddied involvement, a Russian official said Sunday. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued the scathing comment a day after US lawmakers in the House of Representatives green-lit a long-delayed $60 billion aid bill for Ukraine that will help the war-weary nation buy more advanced weapons and defense systems. “Washington’s deeper and deeper immersion in the hybrid war against Russia will turn into a loud and humiliating fiasco for the United States, such as Vietnam and Afghanistan,” Zakharova said, adding that it’s become clear the US...

Its been 56 years and yet just the sound of these birds can get the adrenaline going and the pulse quickening. Slick driversIf you've never sat on the floor of a Huey holding on to the pilot seat frame as your slick was running balls out a hundred feet above the jungle headed into a hot firefight, door guns, mini guns and rocket pods blazing. Well, then at 18 years old you just never experienced one of the most intense adrenaline dumping events in your short life.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced Thursday to death by a court in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam in the country’s largest financial fraud case ever, state media Vietnam Net said. The 67-year-old chair of the real estate company Van Thinh Phat was formally charged with fraud amounting to $12.5 billion — nearly 3% of the country’s 2022 GDP. Lan illegally controlled Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank between 2012 and 2022 and allowed 2,500 loans that resulted in losses of $27 billion to the bank, reported state media VnExpress. The court asked...

Tucker Carlson criticizes the United States foreign policy and the persecution of Christians in the world: TUCKER CARLSON: A consistent but almost never noted theme of American foreign policy is that it is always the Christians who suffer. When there's a war abroad that the United States is funding, it is Christians who tend to die disproportionately. And this goes back a long way, 60 years, really, to Vietnam, where Catholics in that country were massacred. But it's accelerated. So, for example, during the more than a decade the US government spent occupying Iraq, the Christian the ancient Christian community...

It is the most spectacular trial ever held in Vietnam, befitting one of the greatest bank frauds the world has ever seen. Behind the stately yellow portico of the colonial-era courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City, a 67-year-old property developer stands accused of looting one of Vietnam's largest banks over a period of 11 years. The numbers involved are dizzying. Truong My Lan is charged with taking out $44bn (£35bn) in loans from the Saigon Commercial Bank. Prosecutors say $27bn may never be recovered. The habitually secretive communist authorities have been uncharacteristically forthright about this case, going into minute detail...

During an interview with Univision that took place last Wednesday and aired on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that he hopes his legacy is that he kept his word and did what he said he would do and that the reason he ran for office “was to help the life of ordinary people and reduce the prospect of war and — because of Vietnam.” Interviewer Enrique Acevedo asked, “Do you think a lot about legacy, because we’re talking about over 50 years of public service, and, regardless of the outcome, this might be your last political campaign, you’ve done a...

Life in the Old Corps - but likely the same as the New Corps too

The company that will operate HCMC’s metro line No.1 said in its newest plan that seven out of 17 trains on the line will enter service this July instead of waiting until the fourth quarter. The Urban Railway Company Limited No.1 HCMC, which was established by the city’s authorities in 2015 to operate line No.1, said Monday that the seven trains would be put into use from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, as part to the first operational phase of the line from July 1 to Sept. 30. Each train will depart 10 minutes apart, according to Giao...

Eight-year-old Phung Xuan Vu and his 10-year-old brother were responsible for fetching food for their family, which was in the constant grip of hunger. They were living in Vietnam in the 1980, so this required ration cards. One of the family's most important possessions was a booklet of vouchers for food. As the older child, Vu's brother took care of the booklet, knowing that if he lost it, the family would have nothing to eat. The vouchers inside were printed on waxy yellow tissue paper. They meant the difference between going hungry and having something to eat, although it was...

Vietnam Veterans’ Day is annually observed on March 29. It commemorates the hardships suffered and sacrifices made by nine million Americans during the Vietnam War, and their families who supported them before, during, and after. Through the years I’ve done a great deal of research and introspection about the war, to understand the war’s pathology from beginning to end. I’ve returned to Vietnam twice for visits and research, and Vietnamese and American friends and veterans have provided their perspectives. The net result of these efforts yielded an unequivocal verdict: the war was a grave self-inflicted injury on our nation on...

A few notes from the many articles.Commemorative events like wreath-laying ceremonies, speeches, and luncheons are held to mark the occasion at venues that include the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, war veteran medical facilities, and military cemeteries.ALLEGHANY COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - National Vietnam War Veterans’ Day is March 29. It’s been celebrated every year since 2017, when the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act was signed into law. WDBJ7 unpacks the importance of honoring those vets and how our hometowns are supporting them.Wesley Womelsdorf is a Vietnam veteran who said the war was a significant time in his life.Womelsdorf said...

The South China Sea has once again become a focal point of international attention following sudden clashes between coast guard vessels of the Philippines and China. As tensions rise, the involvement of global powers like the US and Japan adds further complexity to the situation, potentially pushing more nations to align against Beijing. Amid these escalating tensions, it becomes imperative for China to reconsider its assertive stance and respect the existing global order to avoid further international backlash The South China Sea (SCS) has once again come into focus following sudden skirmishes between the coast guard vessels of the Philippines...

Australia has offered the Malaysian government support for a renewed search for the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, on the 10-year anniversary of the aircraft’s disappearance. On Friday, Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, and transport minister, Catherine King, said the government’s “sincere sympathies” remained with the loved ones of those who were onboard. “Despite coordinated efforts to locate the missing plane over the last decade, those who lost loved ones have not had the answers they seek. We recognise their ongoing heartache and grief,” the ministers said in a statement. “Australia coordinated what was one of the biggest search...

Legendary U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper Charles Benjamin “Chuck” Mawhinney died at the age of 75 after an incredible life, both in the military and after. Mawhinney is famous for over 100 confirmed kills as a sniper in Vietnam. “I’m just a simple person, and in Vietnam, I was just doing my job.” Mawhinney once said. His famous quote represents just how humble he was. Mawhinney worked for the U.S. Forest Service after his time in the Marines, retiring after 27 years, and for most of his life, no one knew just how legendary he was.

Conor MacNessa (Tom Mitchell) will be laid to his final rest at Arlington National Cemetery April 10. Unfortunately it takes that long to be scheduled with full appropriate honors. I will be there, and invite any Freepers in the DC/VA/MD area who may have known and respected Tom to participate. PM me for more details. God love Tom, God Bless and comfort his family, and God Bless you all. 'Til Valhallah, Brother

This video is one of many in a series created from an interview conducted by Edward C. Ezell with Eugene Stoner in 1988 at ARES Inc. in Port Clinton, Ohio. All the footage is courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives. All I have done is cut some of the waiting time between tapes out and tried to fix the audio. Otherwise, what you are seeing is entirely unadulterated. Feel free to ask any questions about the various topics of the video in the comments. I will do my best to answer them.

HONG KONG—For months now, I’ve been told that Hong Kong’s protests would end soon. They’ll end when school starts, I heard during the summer. School did start, but the protests wore on, only now I saw high-school students in crisp school uniforms joining the protesters’ ranks. Next, the mask ban of early October was supposed to slow protesters down, but the very first day after that ban, I watched streams of protesters in masks and helmets make their way to their usual haunts on Hong Kong Island. The government shut down many of the subway lines that day, a practice...

VinFast will unveil the entry-level VF 3 SUV at January’s CES 2024 event in Las Vegas, together with a new concept. … VinFast recently revealed that U.S. dealers have expressed plenty of interest in the VF 3, in part because it could hit the market for less than $20,000 and that’s before the $7,500 EV tax credit when leased. CES will be the first time that Americans can see the VF 3 in the flesh. It is just 122.5 inches (3,114 mm) long and while it only has two doors, it claims it has enough interior space for five occupants....

I think that some of our members were somewhere in Vietnam 50 plus years ago and couldn't imagine where they would be in this 21st century year of 2023, on Christmas Day. CCR - Run Through The Jungle (Vietnam footage) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3tvaSSJoyI