Of all the places to go to war for, I think I’d be allies with the Vietnamese first. Their government may be communist, but their people are friendly and truly love Americans.
I served in Vietnam from 1969 through 1972.
There was one incident where we were fired on by some VC and wound up killing most of them. There was one young woman who I shot (3 rounds to the chest). After taking her AK47 from her, we managed to get the bleeding under control and got her to a hospital. Six weeks later my CO got a letter from the women’s POW camp in Qui Nhon from the woman. She wanted to meet the GIs who saved her life and thank them. Two of us drove over to the POW compound and met her. She thanked us (Thank God I could speak Vietnamese). She asked if we would take a picture with her, and she was so thankful. She even gave me a kiss on the cheek just before we left. There was no animosity at all between former enemies.
Yeah, I’d be allies with the Vietnamese.
I don’t strongly favor renewed ties to Viet nam but there is a reality
This from their embassy web site:
http://vietnamembassy-usa.org/relations/vietnam-bright-future-us-businesses-draws-top-us-groups
“VIETNAM - A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR US BUSINESSES” DRAWS TOP US GROUPS
A delegation of 18 leading groups in the US will come to Vietnam to seek investment opportunities on May 3-4, 2007. US_groups.bmp
Around 35 senior managers of 18 leading groups including Boeing, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, IBM, Time Warner, Abbott, Ford Motor, and General Electric will come to Hanoi to take part in the “Vietnam - a bright future for US businesses” forum, which is being co-organised by the US-ASEAN Trade Council and the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry.
This is the biggest delegation of US businesses to come to Vietnam since Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) was approved and Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in January 2007.
The Vietnamise who were repatriated to the USA (legally!) are, for the most part, hard working Americans and love to share their culture in an American context.