Seems like only yesterday...

[cebeu]

Vietnam celebrates 35th anniversary of war's end (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hqR8ZHgs3II5UYTPK4EODOe1xIkgD9FDBDSO0)
SOURCE: AP, 4/30/10

While I was just a youngster, I remember "the end" vividly, as if it were only yesterday. TV images capturing the fall of Saigon, the last chopper rescues carrying refugees and Americans out of harms way...

I remember the hollowness I felt, even as a child, having come from a multi-generational military family (to include immediate family - the war was "very real" for us) I had a hard time understanding and accepting what felt like "a loss" in my house, that "stink" lingered for a long-time, I still smell it occasionally to this day.

Here's to the soldiers and hero's of that time, and to my dad; "thank you!"

[BigBear]

My dad had a friend (rest his soul) who was a tunnel rat in 'Nam. Some of the stories he would tell would chill you to the bone. He used to always keep the windows open for the breeze because he could swear that he "could still smell the burning flesh of those (racial slur)... we needed more napalm."

True American heroes RIP.

[Hoosier]

I wasn't alive then. To someone who was, why did we lose it? Was it that we didn't commit sufficient forces and hamstrung the ones we did commit preventing them from doing things like bombing the enemy capital?

My aunt and uncle met in Vietnam -- the only other gun owners in my family.

H.

[BigBear]

I wasn't alive then. To someone who was, why did we lose it? Was it that we didn't commit sufficient forces and hamstrung the ones we did commit preventing them from doing things like bombing the enemy capital?

My aunt and uncle met in Vietnam -- the only other gun owners in my family.

H.

There's a whole war to open up with those questions. Some claim we won, others that we lost.

Cheesy site with lots of pop-ups, but decent "unbiased" info that can help explain some of it: http://www.vietnam-war.0catch.com/ WIKIpedia also has some good info.

[Mtn.man]

Was a sadtime. We were not welcome at home and not there either.
We did nothing to win over the people till it was too late. And the damn hippies here sucked ass.

Wach on the History Channel and the Military Channel comes on alot probably more than 12 hurs of footage interviews dialogue etc.

[Ridge]

Maybe this is why Rambo First Blood and PtII have been playing on AMC all week...

[HBARleatherneck]

we didnt lose.

but if we did lose. the reason, I believe, is America is allways held to a higher standard. We also are tied politically by our relationships with other countries and the UN. If we fought the battles with all Americas might, we would never lose. But, we allways fight with one arm tied behind our backs. The enemy doesnt have to play by the rules. But, America must. And the rules are continually changing on us.

hopefully this statement didnt offend anyone.

[jake]

My dad had a friend (rest his soul) who was a tunnel rat in 'Nam. Some of the stories he would tell would chill you to the bone. He used to always keep the windows open for the breeze because he could swear that he "could still smell the burning flesh of those (racial slur)... we needed more napalm."

True American heroes RIP.
Seconded. One of my favorite books about the war is The Tunnels of Cu Chi. Just reading about what the tunnel rats faced when they would go into a tunnel is frightening.

[StagLefty]

we didnt lose.

but if we did lose. the reason, I believe, is America is allways held to a higher standard. We also are tied politically by our relationships with other countries and the UN. If we fought the battles with all Americas might, we would never lose. But, we allways fight with one arm tied behind our backs. The enemy doesnt have to play by the rules. But, America must. And the rules are continually changing on us.

hopefully this statement didnt offend anyone.

^ Same reason Iraq is taking so long. [Bang]

[theGinsue]

We lost. And we lost because our politicians "fought" the conflict (Not officially a "war"...while I don't want to take anything away from those who served, the U.S. never officially declared war on Vietnam). It was our soldiers (soldiers/sailors/Marines/airmen) who fought the battles, but only the battles that they were allowed to fight.

We would lose lots of lives "taking" a hill, only to back off at night allowing the VC to re-take the hill. Come the next morning, our soldiers were directed to re-take the hill. This scenario often repeated over and over throughout the conflict.

[Hoosier]

Here's how you can know we lost Vietnam: go to DC and look at that big ass wall. I don't care what the outcome was, there are a lot of names on that wall.

I also heard that it was because we kept it limited and didn't go balls deep. How related are the lessons from Vietnam to our current (seemingly endless) wars. At least this time around people are welcoming or at least civil to the soldiers who are returning. I can't believe what people did to soldiers coming back from Vietnam, especially considering many were drafted.

One good thing about this last election is that it is (hopefully) the last election directly connected to Vietnam. Whoever runs for the GOP in 2012 will likely have been too young to serve. No more accusations of staying in the ANG or 8 years in college or draft dodging or faked purple hearts.

H.

[funkfool]

Thread title made me think of this:

Seems like only yesterday
We would sit and talk of dreams all night
Dreams of youth
And simple truths
Now we're so involved
So involved with life