| Historical Reflections: the VIETNAM War revisited by CAPT. Marshall Hanson, USNR It has been 25 years since the United States withdrew from South Vietnam. Some individuals, in both the media and in in politics, have questioned why, after such a long period of time, Vietnam Veterans can not let the war slide into the past. The irony is that the veterans from the the era are not allowed to forget. With the anniversary, on April 30th, of the fall of Saigon, news agencies covered the "American loss" and the celebrations of Vietnam's freed people. Talking heads discussed the subject in Sunday discourse. Public Television, Arts and Entertainment, and the History Channel continually broadcast an analysis of this "conflict". The media continues to beat the drum of contrition into the ears of the Vietnam Vet. This presentation by the press and Hollywood is factually and historically incorrect. The Vietnam Conflict" has been presented by many members in the media as a war of liberation for Vietnam, where the U.S. soldier, marine, sailor, or airman was the aggressor. It has also trumpeted by these elements that Vietnam was the first war lost by the United States. This is a rewrite of actual events. To truly understand how the Vietnam War should be actually viewed, perhaps we should seek sources outside the United States. I was on a flight from Singapore to Madras, India in May 1981, where I read an article by an English author in the Sigapore Airlines' Flight Magazine. The author stated that "the United States won the War in Vietnam." As a Vietnam Vet, this article caught my attention. My only regret today, is that I can not give the author the credit due, as my copy of this article has since been lost. The author's position was that the United States attained its national security objectives in Vietnam. In the 10 years that we fought "in country", the U.S. weakened the military strength of North Vietnam, and we delayed its domination over the Saigon Government. During this period, the United States bought time that was precious to Thailand, Indonesia, and other surrounding nations. These governments had a chance to stabilize and strengthen themselves enough economically to reproach any North Vietnam aggression. During our time in Vietnam, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) became a regional alliance between six independent nations. It provided an economic coalition that contained North Vietnam. ASEAN denied membership to Vietnam while the Vietnamise continued military offensiveness. In the late 1980's and early 1990's ASEAN plyed an important role mediating the civil war in Cambodia. While the premise echoes of the old domino theory, which former Secretary of Defense MacNamara still tries to discount, the position of the article's author is not invalid. While the motivation may not have been a worldwide monolithic communism, the domino theory in South East Asia is still valid. North Vietnam had the ambition to expand beyond its borders. Their invasion into Cambodia and Laos is evident, with Thai soldiers becoming involved in skirmishes along the western border of Cambodia. The author's point is positive reinforcement that many others don;t share with what is put on the air by American media. I personally take pride in our accomplishments in Vietnam. While the generals may not have been allowed to correctly fight the war, the soldiers in the field did their jobs well. The United States never lost a battle in Vietnam. Even the Tet Offensive was a United States' victory, despite media presentation otherwise. At Tet, the Viet Cong were broken as an organization. The war then shifted to an adversarial force dominated by the North Vietnamese. If the left wing cannot acknowledge the U. S. victories in Vietnam, they should not credit victory to the North. If anything, the Vietnam War was a lose/lose situation. While the U. S. carries psychological scars, Vietnam's economy has been stifled for twenty five years. The losers of WWII have done far better than the "victor" in Vietnam. The economic strength in Vietnam has centered around Saigon, where black marketeers continue to practice the U. S. legacy of capitalism. The Communist North still is pocked with the damages of the war. Ironically, Vietnam's economy is only now improving with the injection of Western investments, including venture from the United States. Wgat was wrong in Vietnam was that the war was micro-managed by politicians. From this experience, the military has even learned. The mistakes made in Vietnam have been studied over and over. Curriculums at military schools, like the Naval War College, were revamped to train the current and the future leadership of all four commissioned services. The lessons learned from this political war benefited the veterans in Desert Storm and are being used as standards in further conflicts. The Vietnam Veteran can take pride in his or her accomplishments, and in the sacrifices made by friends and colleagues. While certain individuals still claim that the United Staes did not send its "Best or its Brightest", the Vietnam Vet championed our nation in war, changed the course of history, and left a lesson and endowment to the leadership of the United States Military. It's a shame that some of our politicians and many in the media haven't learned the lesson, and begrudge the military veteran any credit of accomplishment. While the "brightest" may have avoided duty to their country, and squirreled their way into business, media, and goernment management, the BEST of that era did military service; many volunteering for duty in Vietnam. |
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