Reflections.
As I travel back to the United States from Vietnam, I took
some time to reflect on the meaning of it all.
I mentioned at the beginning of my blog that I wanted an adventure that
had some historical significance to me.
I will explain. I am a proud son and
nephew of Vietnam veterans (Navy, Marines, Army and Air Force). Also importantly, there is Corporal Thomas M.
Phillips, USMC. Tom and his family lived
in Healdsburg, California where I also grew up. He became a Marine, went to Vietnam and was
killed there, in Quang Tri Province, in 1968. He was
20 years old. My train passed through
Quang Tri on February 9th last week (see blog), two days before what would have
been his 68th birthday. The
town of Healdsburg lost six men in Vietnam, from all four branches of the
service. They are all buried in Oak
Mound Cemetery, right next to our old football field. In Tom’s honor, his father would do something
each year to raise money to provide a scholarship for a graduate of Healdsburg
High School. I received one of those scholarships.
 |
| Corporal Thomas M. Phillips, USMC |
During the year leading up to my graduation in 1983, I saw
an older, quiet gentleman driving around in an early model restored car,
painted a light green color, with a sign on it.
I didn't pay much attention. Later
I found out that it was Mr. Phillips, and he was raffling off that car in order
to raise money to fund the scholarship. I
don't know exactly why I was the recipient. The sponsor for the Aviation Explorer club I
was the President of said he recommended me since he knew (more than I did) how
much college cost, and that I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay for it. I was surprised when I received the award
during a school graduation event. At the
time I didn't know the foundation of the scholarship. Mr. Phillips, while he may have been in the
audience, wasn't even the one who handed me the check. It was $1,500 that year--a lot of money to me
at age 17 in 1983. I made sure to visit
with him at his home days later, where I found out the origin of the
scholarship. The scholarship would come
in handy, and it would also help change the course of my life later on.
I had started flying lessons in Healdsburg my junior year in
high school. I was close to my private
pilot license, but it was slow going due to the cost. When I told my flight instructor, Louie
Robinson about the scholarship, and asked if it would be OK to use some of it
for the lessons and the FAA evaluation, he said of course it would be. So with some of that scholarship money, I was
able to finish my training and become a licensed pilot at the age of 17. That paid off later while in college when I
applied to be an officer and pilot in the Air Force. It was a very competitive process, and I
didn't have the most competitive grades at the time. But I scored well on the Air Force aptitude
exams, and having that private pilot license on my application won me a
commission in the Air Force, and a chance to attend Air Force pilot training. I did well there and flew the mighty A-10
Warthog, and other aircraft, for many years after training.
I joined the Marine Corps myself in 1984 while I was still in
college, and became a Corporal also, before transferring to the Air Force as an
officer later on. I have Mr. Phillips
and his son, Corporal Thomas Phillips, to thank. I wish there was a way I could do just that. I live a life of gratitude, partly because of
them. I am a 30 year retired military
veteran, Marines and Air Force, and currently fly for United Airlines.
So it was with meaning that I wanted to visit Vietnam. The purpose of my trip was not to visit
battlefields (although I did do some of that) or to visit their museums and endure
the Vietnamese spin on what they call “The American War” (I'll have my own spin
on that later). I am very familiar with
the history of it. But I did want to see
the country, and perhaps symbolically, I wanted to start from the south at the
Mekong Delta, and make it all the way to Hanoi. I wanted to meet the people, make friends, see
with my own eyes some of the places I had only read about in books, and
generally try to see some of what other Americans saw in that country 40 to 50
years ago. As my blog illustrates, I did
just that. And I seem to have put some
of the pieces together in my mind: why we were there, what it was worth, and the
legacy.
It is my opinion that the war in Vietnam was not a war by
itself. You can't talk about that
conflict without putting it in context with a longer struggle. I consider America’s Vietnam War a continuation,
and ultimately the beginning of the end of the bitter conflicts we had with Soviet
communism. Those conflicts pre-dated
even World War 2. Of course, during WW2
we allied ourselves with the communist Russians out of necessity. Once victory was gained in Europe, there was a
mad dash there, the West vs East (Russia), to either free or secure land and
populations, in the name of democracy or communism, free market vs. not. It's how we ended up with NATO and the Warsaw
Pact (now defunct). What many people don't realize though, is that the chess
game after victory in Europe was just part of the outcome--Asia was somewhat
ignored by western history. In the
months leading up to the defeat of Japan, which the USA played a major part in
and sacrificed so much for (Russia didn't even declare war on Japan until a month prior to the Japanese surrender), there was a land grab going on in East and Southeast
Asia. China, Korea, and Vietnam among
them.
For America, WW2 lasted only 4 years, and was costly in
terms of both lives and our economy. Politically, however, the battles continued
in Europe, and this time it was East vs. West. For East Asia, deals were made to stop the
advancement of Russian sponsored communism, and to limit conflict in the short
term. Countries were arbitrarily divided
and lines were drawn on maps, without much consideration of cultural histories
or even political leanings in some areas. After the heinous brutality brought by the
Japanese to Asia in the 20s, 30s and 40s, many Asian countries were left in
devastation, poverty and disorganization. Some order was offered through pragmatic
leadership, religion, state sponsored communism and democracy, and the
assistance those sponsors provided to Asian governments. How all of that fit into history is the point
here.
In Vietnam, the French were there, trying to defend their colonial
presence against the Viet Minh and the entrenching communist politico. The French were not nice to the Vietnamese,
before or after WW2. (I'll save my opinion of their role in Vietnam). In any case, even with US aid the French could
not prevail, and they left, but not without some cultural influence in Vietnam,
and a lot of hurt feelings.
Enter the United States. By the 1960s, there was an established North
and South Vietnam (not their official names), divided at the Ben Hai River (see
blog post 9 Feb). The North Vietnamese,
led by Ho Chi Minh (who we supported during WW2 but didn’t later on) and with
Russian and Chinese support, wanted to unify Vietnam. That meant make it all communist—in other
words, take over the south. South
Vietnam was already attempting a democracy, but they sucked at it, and some
would say their democratic government wasn’t even legitimate. They feared the North, and rightfully so. The North was already known for its own
brutality toward the south, and at the time, the communists in general were
known for that same type of brutality, in Europe as well as Asia. Re-education camps, mass executions,
corruption, power mongering. We entered
Vietnam to defend democracy and America’s idea of freedom, to try and stop the
spread of communism, and to help the South Vietnamese, pure and simple. We fought there as a strategic defense of the
South, not as invaders of the North. But
the war failed strategically, politically and socially. Fresh in our minds at the time was the Korean
War, where we also tried to contain communist expansion—our forces making it to
the Chinese border at the Yalu River. Chinese intervention there resulted in a
stalemate where it had all begun, and that conflict still persists to this day.
America’s war in Vietnam went on for almost 10 years. President Nixon began US withdrawal and got us
out. Deals were made in Paris—Vietnamization,
‘peace with honor.’ By the end of 1973
we were mostly out of there, leaving the South Vietnamese to defend their own
country, with a promise of almost carte blanche military equipment support from
the US. But ultimately the US Congress
wouldn't support funding the South’s effort to defend itself against Northern
aggression, and that promise was broken.
Nixon threatened the North—if they violated the Paris peace accords, we
would bomb them. The North feared that. When Nixon resigned, there was no more threat,
and the North rolled right into the South and dominated. Before 1975 was over, there was no longer a
South Vietnam. A million South
Vietnamese were put into re-education camps west of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh
City). More than 250,000 did not
survive. More brutality took place in
other areas.
But the losers (the South Vietnamese) don't get to write the
history. And you won't find any of that
information in any Vietnamese museum these days. Quite the opposite. I know, because I went to one, and it was made
very clear to me what they want their ‘history’ to be. 1975 wasn’t the end of anything for
Vietnam. In 1978, they were compelled to
battle the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia leading to occupation, which resulted in the
Chinese coming across the Vietnamese border for three weeks of battle. Vietnam occupied Cambodia for another 10
years. The economic toll was tremendous,
Vietnam was starving. After Glasnost and
Perestroika (openness and restructuring) was initiated by Gorbachev in Russia,
and the collapsing Soviet Union, Vietnam eventually left Cambodia and followed
suit. Uncle Ho wouldn’t recognize the Vietnam
of today. Two US Presidents, Bill and
George W have since visited Hanoi.
At its peak, we had over a half-million servicemen in
Vietnam at one time. By the time we left
Vietnam, over 50,000 Americans were killed, and many more scarred, physically
and emotionally, because of what is endured and witnessed in war. The fierce battles on the ground and in the
air were intense--as much, or more so than previous conflicts. Not only that, but never before or since have individual
U.S. servicemen been subjected to such continuous and frequent battle for such
long periods during their tours. Toward
the end of the war, many of those who served with so much courage (voluntarily
or not), fought well, faithfully supported their brothers, lost friends and
witnessed so much sacrifice, came home and were forced to shed the pride they
earned and bury their wounds down deep, after being met with scorn and shame from
some of their own countrymen once they arrived. Shame on those who let that happen. I am thankful that even the demonstrators I
have seen organized at the main gate to the military base I worked at never
looked at me with hatred or distaste. And the few I accidentally met off duty made
their point, but not with offense toward me or the military. I respect them for that, even if I disagreed
with their cause. I think they felt the
same way. Americans have a greater
appreciation for the military charged to protect us, regardless of the
circumstances. Even if the cause is in
dispute, there is no lack of moral support for the sacrifices of those who
serve. We should take pride in our servicemen
and women. Some day we just might need them—maybe a whole lot of them.
Vietnam was a hot spot for the Cold War effort. I believe we went there as part of that
effort. Not many people in America remember nuke drills in the classroom. I do. Real or perceived, America was under a threat
during the Cold War, and I'm sure Russians felt the same way. Vietnam was a
place where we wanted to take a stand against that threat, and we did. Ultimately, communism, as it existed prior to
the 1990s, failed. Diplomacy and new Western
military and economic power, brought to bear in the late 70s and in the 80s, caused
one of the world’s superpowers to break down enough to let a little free
western light shine in. That light
spread all over Asia and Europe. Russia
could compete technologically and militarily, but they couldn't afford it. Their Warsaw Pact crumbled. What exists today are many more first-world
countries in Asia with a hybrid, global economy, mostly free markets and open
societies, regardless of the political infrastructure. Parts of the Middle-East and Africa are still
behind the times.
In 1975 President Ford said in a speech, “Today America can
regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war
that is finished as far as America is concerned.” A week later, Saigon fell. I know what he was trying to achieve, and it was a great, positive speech of hope and pride, but I
do not agree with those words. The long
fight for Vietnam and the consequences it brought were pivotal in the reorganization
of our military and led up to the end of the Cold War. Technology, equipment, communications,
tactics, techniques, intelligence, strategy, America’s awareness of military
sacrifice, the all volunteer force—all of it changed because of that war, and
became very useful in the years ahead. We
were far better prepared and better equipped going forward. I was a benefactor of those changes. For our Nation’s military, our newfound battle
rhythms, leadership, equipment and tactics saved countless American lives
during future conflicts. Diplomacy often
prevailed, and conflicts were shorter for the most part (or not entered into in
the first place), and in any case fought more smartly, with servicemen and
women supported by their homeland—servicemen bent on living up to the courage
and sacrifices made by their fathers and uncles who fought in Vietnam--and driven to defend the honor
of those veterans.
The courage that our servicemen have always displayed, and
our capabilities—ground, sea and air, did not go unnoticed by the world,
although they are sometimes forgotten. Recent
events tend to remind us of them. I
believe that for America, the important outcomes described above will be a
lasting legacy of the Vietnam War, a legacy provided by those who served there.
I felt it when I enlisted in 1984 and
continued to serve--many of my instructors and senior leaders throughout the
beginning of my military career served in Vietnam. Eventually, their influence and hard won
lessons (and those of our political leaders) became entrenched in our
military’s ethos. Americans who served
in Vietnam should remain proud of their contributions, courage and sacrifices. They led our nation forward, were noble, and should
be recognized for the final outcome. The
same is true for any other veteran of America's wars.
Today, Vietnam is a beautiful country. I spent time in several areas of Vietnam,
tourist and non-tourist. Enough to recognize
some of the regional differences in that country. Since many of the Vietnamese speak English, I
was able to make conversation easily. While
I could detect some unease at times when they found out I was from America, I
think it was more or less a general awkwardness. I did not see one American flag anywhere, but posted
some in appropriate locations, which will probably never be found. One of them will pass through Quang Tri
several times a week. While I didn't
care for some of the habits (motorbikes on sidewalks, pollution, litter in the
South), I really enjoyed their customs (food, celebrations, work ethic, agriculture). Except for crossing the street, I never felt
at risk or nervous about traveling. I
was amazed at the hospitality the Vietnamese offer, and not just in the hotels
or restaurants. Random people I met
offered me gum, chips, cookies, a book to read, a conversation. “It is in our culture,” as one of my guides on
the jungle trek explained to me when I asked if Vietnamese people ever tire of
the tourists. He said that Vietnamese
hospitality applies not only among the Vietnamese citizens, but to foreigners
as well, “even to Americans” he said. I
didn’t like how he put it, but he was right.
To anyone who served in Vietnam--thank you. I was only there for two weeks, but I will
never forget the experience. It is a special
place and one I would like to go back to--there's more to see, and it is now a
welcoming and somewhat free country, as it always should have been. To Corporal Tom Phillips, if you're out there
somewhere: your life touched mine, thank you for everything--I made it home OK. I wish you did too. Semper Fi.
Best reference to Vietnam Veterans Killed in Action is
at:
Search by name, hometown, etc.
