The Vietnam war – also known as the American War in Vietnam, Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict – took place from the year 1959 all the way through to 1975. The war ended with a North Vietnamese victory some decade and a half later. The human cost of the war in Vietnam will never fade. Over one million military personnel and over one million civilians died. The war was between North Vietnam and South Vietnam – with the US backing the South. In the end the US withdrew, the Republic of Vietnam lost and both North and South ended up under the control of the communist government.
The United States government, and allied forces, opted to deploy a number of troops to South Vietnam following the First Indochina war, in 1954, all the way through to 1973. US military advisers had played a role in Vietnam since 1950, firstly helping French colonial forces. By 1956, these US advisers were responsible for training the South Vietnam armed forces. The number of US troops in Vietnam grew from the days of John F Kennedy, who was responsible for sending 16,000, to a more significant deployment under the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. While almost all of the armed forces departed following the Paris Peace Accords, the last troops left in April 1975.
During the Vietnam conflict, clashes took place in many different forms. Vietnam industry and infrastructure became a prime target during the conflict, which military tacticians generally target as a means of weakening their opponent and dampening morale – this was largely completed by US aircraft performing aerial bombings. Chemical Defoliants were also deployed as a means of reducing the ability for troops to seek cover in the mountains and jungles which were leveraged by North Vietnamese troops to initiate guerilla attacks. When the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, fell the war came to an end culminating in a North Vietnamese victory.
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Posted by Walt as US History, US Military, Veteran Issues, Vietnam at 7:58 PM EDT
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(WASHINGTON, DC) – “The annual exercise of debating the merits of the President’s proposed budget is flawed,” said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America, before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “Medical Center directors should not be held in limbo as Congress adjusts this budget and misses, yet again, the start of the fiscal year.
“These public servants can be more effective and efficient managers if they are able to properly plan for the funding needed to care for their patients. We ask that you consider an immediate alternative to the broken system we currently have,” Rowan said.
Rowan characterized as “inadequate” the FY’09 request for $2.34 billion more than the FY’08 appropriation. This “barely keeps up with inflation” and “will not allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue enhancing its physical and mental health care services for returning veterans, restore needed long-term care programs for aging veterans, or allow working-class veterans to return to their health care system.”
To accommodate these goals, Rowan said, VVA recommends an increase of $5.24 billion over FY’08. Of this amount, $1.3 billion should be dedicated to restoring access to Priority 8 veterans who were “temporarily” barred from entering the system five years ago.
Rowan condemned the proposed budget for again attempting to tax “higher income” veterans with an annual fee and for nearly doubling the co-payment for prescription drugs. “This is further evidence,” Rowan said, “of the attempt to rid the system of as many ‘higher income’ veterans as possible.”
Rowan was skeptical that the President’s budget will provide resources “to virtually eliminate the patient waiting list by the end of 2009.” He voiced concern that the budget will provide adequate resources “to deal with the flood of troops and veterans returning to our shores and presenting with a range of mental health issues.”
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA's founding principle is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”
Posted by Walt as US Military, Veteran Issues at 10:24 PM EST
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 /Standard Newswire/ — The following text is of remarks by President Bush on Veterans Day:
Arlington National Cemetery
11:39 A.M. EST
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you. Thanks for coming. Secretary Nicholson, thank you for your kind words and for your leadership. Members of the Cabinet, Members of Congress, members of the United State military, all veterans, all volunteers who have sworn to uphold the security of the United States, I thank your families for being here and I thank our veterans. I am proud to join you on this day of honor.
On this day, in this month, at this hour, our nation remembers the moment when the guns of World War I went silent — and we recognize the service and the sacrifice of our nation’s veterans. From Valley Forge to Vietnam, from Kuwait to Kandahar, from Berlin to Baghdad, our veterans have borne the costs of America’s wars — and they have stood watch over America’s peace. The American people are grateful to the veterans and all who have fought for our freedom.
Since the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, the National Cemetery has reminded our citizens of the cost of liberty. The simple white markers testify to honor fulfilled and duty served. Most of these markers stand over graves of Americans who came home to enjoy the peace they earned. Too many stand over the graves of those who gave their lives to protect that peace. This day is dedicated to all who answered the call to service — whether they live in honor among us, or sleep in valor beneath this sacred ground.
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Posted by Walt as General Commentary, Veteran Issues at 1:38 AM EST
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(Washington, D.C. ) – Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) today announced a new Internet web site, in collaboration with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that will help veterans to register and vote in the upcoming elections: http://vetsvoteamerica.org/
“This is an important step forward in pushing for even greater voter participation by veterans,” VVA National President John Rowan said, “and to make sure that their fellow citizens know they are veterans.”
Recently the Secretary of Veterans Affairs launched a “Veterans’ Pride” program to encourage all veterans to wear their medals and campaign ribbons on Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July as a way of visibly taking pride in their service.
“While Vietnam Veterans of America believes the Veterans’ Pride program is a good idea,” Rowan said, “it is even more important for veterans to wear their medals and campaign ribbons, or anything else that identifies them as a veteran or a veteran’s family member, when going to the polls on Election Day.
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Posted by Walt as U.S. Political Issues, US Military, Veteran Issues at 7:00 AM EST
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Newly opened files from the National Archives have disclosed that Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told Premier Chou Nelia of China in 1972 that the United States was willing to “live with a communist government” in Vietnam. At that very time, American forces were fighting and dying in Vietnam under rules of engagement denying them a victory they could have achieved. Those rules of engagement, published in 1985 by Senator Barry Goldwater, forbade our forces from bombing missile sites, destroying enemy aircraft on the ground, or even attacking supply ships on the way to North Vietnam’s Haiphong harbor.
The war ended in 1973 when American forces were ordered to withdraw by our own government. More than 50,000 Americans were sacrificed in the war; more than 200,000 suffered serious wounds.
Kissinger’s role as a prime shaper of U.S. policy also included his commitment to craft a series of sovereignty-destroying agreements among nations (often referred to as a “new world order”). Having delivered Vietnam to the communist regime in Hanoi, he shifted his energy to making millions by steering American business to Communist China. Like so many others who are portrayed as great patriotic diplomats, Kissinger should be repudiated by all who love freedom.
Posted by Walt as Veteran Issues, Vietnam at 4:39 PM EDT
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Sharon Hughes
The Center for Changing Worldviews
Every time Memorial Day and Veterans Day comes around my minds goes to the many times I've attended parades and special observances put on by the cities in our area and the various veterans organizations. Several of those times my husband, Duane, participated in the events as a candidate for State Assembly and U.S. Congress. As a decorated Vietnam Vet he always received a warm welcome. Well, except for a couple of the very left-coast towns.
When our sons were growing up we would get out the picture albums of Duane's time in the Army, read together about why we observed these holidays in America out of the encyclopedia, and after dinner, which was usually a bar-be-que, we'd sit down and watch a movie or documentary on one of the wars our Armed Forces have fought in.
Some will think what we did was to indoctrinate our sons in a pro-war mindset. But, actually we were educating them in the realities of war. We wanted to instill in them an appreciation for those who laid their lives on the line to protect the rest of us, and the freedoms we enjoy, during times of war. We also wanted to make sure they had no romantic ideas about war as boys can have. If the time ever came for them to go to war it would be with their eyes wide open and the cost counted.
There is no glamour in war. War is hell. But, even the Bible states there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is, unfortunately, part of life on planet earth. While we debate and work and pray for peace, wars still rage. And while I understand the reasons some chose a passivist position, passivity never brings peace, only the rule of aggressive, totalitarian governments and leaders.
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Posted by Walt as Patriotism, Veteran Issues at 7:33 AM EDT
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