The "Accord" was signed less than a year after I had returned home (from being a part of our "Vietnamization" of the war). And yes, it did provide a momentary illusion, though without the substance or backing to give it credibility. Mr. Kissinger called it "an elegant bug-out". The Accord bought the release of some of our POW's - the others, including some known to have been alive, are still unaccounted for. The Accord bought nothing for the Vietnamese people. The war was lost - over there, and in Washington and the Press - but not by the Vietnamese or the Americans who were there. What followed is well-described in books such as "For the Love of Vietnam" and "Peace and Prisoners of War" (among others). Yes, I remember. Let us never forget, or allow a repeat.
Remembering - and learning from it - is essential if we dare hope to move on and try to make this world a better place.
Oh, Gary, I'd never read that some soldiers were left there, "known to have been alive" and still unaccounted for. It is heartbreaking. It seems the echoes of that war never end. As you said, we can't forget. I find strength to keep writing in that imperative: the continuing stories of Vietnam keep the subject alive, and even the harshest truths--or perhaps, especially the harshest truths--give us the opportunity to make this world a better place. Thank you for your comment and the reminder.
I was living in Brooklyn in January 1973, two and a half years since I had left Vietnam. I was still corresponding with the Vietnamese women who had worked for me in the Cam Ranh and Nha Trang libraries. I had zero trust in Nixon and Kissinger. I knew the Vietnamese were being sold down the river so that the Americans could get out and pretend it was a dignified exit—kicking the can down a very bad road. As you say, the release of the POWs was the only bright spot.
Oh my, Ann, it must have been so hard to witness it from a distance in real time—especially with the connection of someone who was still there in the shadow of so much danger.
The "Accord" was signed less than a year after I had returned home (from being a part of our "Vietnamization" of the war). And yes, it did provide a momentary illusion, though without the substance or backing to give it credibility. Mr. Kissinger called it "an elegant bug-out". The Accord bought the release of some of our POW's - the others, including some known to have been alive, are still unaccounted for. The Accord bought nothing for the Vietnamese people. The war was lost - over there, and in Washington and the Press - but not by the Vietnamese or the Americans who were there. What followed is well-described in books such as "For the Love of Vietnam" and "Peace and Prisoners of War" (among others). Yes, I remember. Let us never forget, or allow a repeat.
Remembering - and learning from it - is essential if we dare hope to move on and try to make this world a better place.
Oh, Gary, I'd never read that some soldiers were left there, "known to have been alive" and still unaccounted for. It is heartbreaking. It seems the echoes of that war never end. As you said, we can't forget. I find strength to keep writing in that imperative: the continuing stories of Vietnam keep the subject alive, and even the harshest truths--or perhaps, especially the harshest truths--give us the opportunity to make this world a better place. Thank you for your comment and the reminder.
I was living in Brooklyn in January 1973, two and a half years since I had left Vietnam. I was still corresponding with the Vietnamese women who had worked for me in the Cam Ranh and Nha Trang libraries. I had zero trust in Nixon and Kissinger. I knew the Vietnamese were being sold down the river so that the Americans could get out and pretend it was a dignified exit—kicking the can down a very bad road. As you say, the release of the POWs was the only bright spot.
Oh my, Ann, it must have been so hard to witness it from a distance in real time—especially with the connection of someone who was still there in the shadow of so much danger.