Upon the 40th Anniversary of the Wall
Letter to a retired foreign service officer and college classmate, followed by a letter from the president of the Vietnam Veterans of America:
Ah, Sharon, I can still remember you taking your lunch break at the State Department to walk me through Capitol Hill and point me in the direction of the Wall. I had to walk around the perimeter three times (by coincidence, a propitious number in Christianity and Buddhism) before I could work up the courage to walk on down and seek out the names of fallen neighbors and high school classmates whose names appeared there and which haunt me and fellow classmates to this day.
And yet, as tragic as the loss of almost 60,000 American lives might have been, the loss of three million Asian lives haunts me more, because no one in the US seems to care.
Ironically, after bearing witness from 1970-71 to the death and destruction wrought by the 8th Tactical Fighter all over Southeast Asia, especially over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in supposedly neutral Laos, I became a pacifist. Yet now, watching the Russian buildup around Ukraine for months and watching the Biden administration act like pip-squeak Neville Chamberlains, I have become a pragmatist. If the might of the USAF we deployed in Southeast Asia (ten tactical fighter wings plus SAC B-52 wings in Guam and Utapao, Thailand) were deployed to Eastern NATO and Ukraine, Russia never would have set a boot outside their borders. Denying Ukraine 30 MiG-29s from Poland? Obscene.
Don’t get me started about Ukraine LOL–except I keep turning on CNN for five minutes and seeing another child or volunteer soldier or UASAID worker killed in this senseless war. And watching the Western World tremble when Biden truthfully says that Putin has to go.
In any case, thanks for pointing me towards the Wall forty some years ago. I never want to forget the lost cause the US fought in SEA a generation earlier, and I find comfort knowing the entire nation has a fitting reminder.
With warm regards–
Terry
—– Forwarded Message —–
From: Vietnam Veterans of America <admin@vva.org>
To: Terence Harkin <taharkin@taharkin
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 12:53:29 PM GMT+7
Subject: 40th Anniversary of The Wall
| Visit vva.org today. “Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., appreciates the range of powerful emotions evoked by The Wall. Reflection. Awe. Respect. A sense of sadness, grief, and mourning at the sight of nearly 60,000 names etched into the polished black granite. 60,000 names. Each one a son or a daughter; a brother or sister; an American who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Public memorials hold an important place in the hearts of my generation of veterans, along with all others who have served. Memorials offer a chance for reflection, and, perhaps more importantly, they honor a shared commitment: To treat all those who have been sent to war with respect and dignity when they come home. Each year, on March 29, our country observes National Vietnam War Veterans Day—commemorating the day the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam—and, this year, we are also observing the 40th Anniversary of The Wall.” –Jack McManus VVA National President Watch the Ceremony PS: Like many of you, I’m profoundly aware that VVA has built a legacy of veterans working for veterans who honor and memorialize their service. Learn how to create your Lasting Legacy with a bequest to VVA. Thank You VVA relies on the generosity of Americans like you—caring, compassionate people who believe in helping those who sacrifice so much—to serve the needs of countless veterans. www.vva.org Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another. FOLLOW US |
Curmudgeon in the Land of Smiles 