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If you think about it..........it takes quite a while to wrap your head around the idea that the north Vietnamese were actually going to fight to the last man. or woman. or child.
That's true. I'm reminded of what a captured Viet Cong officer had to say.
"You Americans are killing us 10 to 1. But you know what? It doesn't matter. You could kill 50 to 1 and it still won't matter. We are willing to die to the last man for our country. That one man we kill means more to you and the American people than the 50 you kill of ours and that's why you will lose."
I can see both sides, too. It's complicated. If you served, you would be driven to believe it meant something when you were there and still when you came back and now. It did mean something and still does. Lots of courage and bravery in fighting a war. It's more than 99.9 % of people probably ever have.
But, it's not mutually exclusive to know it meant something and still does, yet some of the politics of the war, in the way it was fought.. were not congruent in what they wanted the outcome to be or to achieve there. You can have the "right" ideals and vision and still the thing can go wrong or when you look back could be "wrong" now, in retrospect--at least part of it maybe.
I saw that about 1968, MLK and Bobby Kennedy assassinated, along w/a lot of racial tensions and some one said the "most divisive America" since the Civil War. The year w/ the most casualties, too, I think?
Just speaking for myself and the others in my platoon, no one believed this was a winnable war with all the ground rules. Most of us were trying to survive, you don't win wars by sending a small fraction of the population on one year tours of duty. That does not discount the the tremendous bravery by every soldier but the main goal for most wasn't winning.
The Vietnamese were fighting for their country, we were fighting to return home.
Just speaking for myself and the others in my platoon, no one believed this was a winnable war with all the ground rules. Most of us were trying to survive, you don't win wars by sending a small fraction of the population on one year tours of duty. That does not discount the the tremendous bravery by every soldier but the main goal for most wasn't winning.
The Vietnamese were fighting for their country, we were fighting to return home.
That's true. I'm reminded of what a captured Viet Cong officer had to say.
"You Americans are killing us 10 to 1. But you know what? It doesn't matter. You could kill 50 to 1 and it still won't matter. We are willing to die to the last man for our country. That one man we kill means more to you and the American people than the 50 you kill of ours and that's why you will lose."
He was right as rain.
I never heard anybody quoting the enemy against our troops like a sense of pride. Hitler said something similar about our troops.
............We lost at the end, not because of our military, it was because our government didn't fight North Vietnam like we fought WW 2.....if we had, North Vietnam would be a parking lot today.
The Vietnamese were fighting for their country, we were fighting to return home.
and the Vietnamese in South Vietnam were also fighting for their country and not fall under communism aggression......at least you return home to freedom, the millions of people in South Vietnam weren't as lucky as you. Our government sealed their fate and left them hanging in the wind when we refuse to give them aid for defense and left.
I am 1/2 way through the 1st episode and have noticed while ken is telling "his" version of the facts going back in time, EVERY time he goes forward and shows someone who served or knows someone who served it is ALWAYS a negative remark.
As I stated a while back, I know ken and he is very liberal and donates to dems ONLY.
P.S. I did 2 tours in NAM.
I don't know if I can stand much more of his very slanted documentary.
No one is forcing you to watch it but give it a few more episodes, I didn't feel the negativity to our soldiers that you did. If anything only more admiration than ever. You were all very brave. Thank you.
I never heard anybody quoting the enemy against our troops like a sense of pride. Hitler said something similar about our troops.
............We lost at the end, not because of our military, it was because our government didn't fight North Vietnam like we fought WW 2.....if we had, North Vietnam would be a parking lot today.
Are you actually implying that I'm saying I'm quoting an enemy combatant I fought for 4 consecutive tours in Vietnam, 63-68, with a sense of pride?
If you are, it's the most disgusting comment I've ever had directed at me concerning my service.
Are you actually implying that I'm saying I'm quoting an enemy combatant I fought for 4 consecutive tours in Vietnam, 63-68, with a sense of pride?
If you are, it's the most disgusting comment I've ever had directed at me concerning my service.
I never question your service....I don't even know you and that's not the topic.
if you served in Vietnam like my father did you know what were the real problems and it had nothing to do with our enemy or whatever made them get up and die for their cause and everything to do it how our politicians decided to fight the war and never took the fight to them in North Vietnam with the excuse that they didn't want to escalate the war with China and the Soviet Union. We were fighting with 1 hand tied behind our backs and on defense, thanks to our government.......my father and many Vietnam vets told me that in person.
It had nothing to do with what a POW VC told you or you read in what made them fight. Because the people of South Vietnam had the same feelings to defend their side.
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