War is Rarely Good, But It is Essential

My father fought for the South Vietnamese rangers the “Biet Dong Quan” from1962 till he was wounded in action by enemy fire during the spring offensive in 1972. He was born in the North near Hanoi but he and his brother emigrated to the south to escape the subjugation of an oppressive government, which knew no meaning of freedom. In his endeavor to enjoy such a luxury, he left behind almost of all of his family. For him the price of freedom is never too great.

Time and time again, the South Vietnamese fought with honor, loyalty, and courage. But yet time and time again the VC and the NVA have shown none of the virtues as evidence during the ’68 Tet offensive when they unleashed their deadly attack on all of S. Vietnam in violation of the peace treaty in effect. Upon entering Hue, they wasted no time in rounding up hundreds of innocent civilians and executing them and then simply discarding the corpses in mass graves. Finally even in the last days of the war they show neither remorse nor sadness at their crimes against humanity as they raced towards Saigon. In some incidents they mined the highways that civilians used to flee the fighting. In the horrifying words of one choked up USMC (United States Marine Corps) Sergeant who witnessed the atrocity, “bodies just littered the roadside…” as a bus full of women and children hit a VC mine. I’m sorry if the Americans did not believe in our cause for our own separate democratic country, which took so many years to end, have cost so many lives and the loss of our beautiful homeland. It took 20 years to end the Indochina war but in order to defeat the greater evil; I would’ve gladly endured the brunt of the fighting for another 20 years whatever the cost.

America is the land of the free and the home of the brave, so how is it morally wrong for her to implement that view over seas? The Vietnamese communist regime does not deserve such a great country as Vietnam. I applaud the Americans’ substantiated efforts in trying to prevent such unfeeling callus butchers from taking power. I totally and unfalteringly support and respect all American war veterans (and Allied soldiers) whether it is from World War II on up to the Persian Gulf, those brave men fought hard and sacrificed dearly to uphold our sovereignty that we enjoy so much today. They did not fight for self gain but merely responded to the defense of our lady liberty. When you mobilize an army to fight a war, fight it with all the available resources to reach a desirable end result—a clear-cut victory for democracy. If you don’t think so then I suggest you pick up a weapon and man a post. My view and many other Vietnamese Americans who feel the same way may not reflect upon the popular perception of the conflict over here, but it is the right one. Anyone who feels other wise can get on a leaky fishing boat and sail back to Hanoi where people worship Ho Chi Minh the Vietnamese equivalent to Adolf Hitler.

Unfortunately the price for freedom is never fully understood or gratified until the divine right is threatened. In light of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon attacks by spineless cowards who stealthily conceal itself behind the dark shadows of terrorism, in fact during the ‘60s onto the early ‘70s the VC guerillas practiced the same criminal tactics to terrorize the local population into submission. A bomb explosion in down town Saigon or in any other major parts of the Vietnamese countryside was not an uncommon incident. I once again repeat myself, I’m sorry if Americans did/do not believe in our crusade for liberty but hopefully you can truly relate, understand and comprehend why the Vietnam War was fought.

My prayers go out to all our fighting men who are to be deployed to the troubled areas. May they return safe fully with a steadfast job accomplished and well done. Let freedom forever shine over evil and may the battle over oppression be won and may America never again experience such a terrible ordeal.