Posted on 04/20/2005 7:15:10 PM PDT by Chieftain
BofZ Bank Of Zot!
I do recall. I spent a year in-country and another 8 months off the coast. We didn't lose militarily and never lost a major battle. We lost the war at home, defeated by a MSM and leftist cabal that convinced the American public that Tet was a major defeat for the US rather than for the VC/NVA.
But the fact remains that by the late 60's the VAST majority of Americans were opposed to it. So much so that liberal Lyndon chose not to run for reelection because that war and the lies he told the American people about it -- would result in his defeat.
I will argue that major public support was lost after TET, Feb 1968, which I remember quite well being in Danang at the time. The reason the VAST majority of Americans became disenchanted with the war was because of a vehement, despicable liberal cabal led by folks like Fonda and Kerry that spread all kinds of lies about what was happening there. We also didn't fight to win with Johnson micromanaging the war wasting resources and men. His policy of gradual escalation proved disastrous.
No I didn't serve in VietNam. But I didn't serve in the Civil War either -- but I know alot more about it than many who did. That's the advantage of historical hindsight!
The victors write history. Firsthand, contemperaneous knowledge is more reliable if you want the truth. If you want to read history, you should read General Giap's view of the war and how close they came to defeat. He hung on putting all his chips on the US antiwar movement. What are your sources about what happened in Vietnam? I suspect you are buying all the nonsense that guys like Halberstram and his ilk put out.
You may feel that 58,000 troops were worth the sacrifice but those are the historical facts.
I don't regret my service and honor those who gave their lives in defense of this country. They did no less than those who served in WWI, WWII, Korea, the first Gulf War, and now Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to American sacrifces, you forget the millions of South Vietnamese who lost their lives and their country in an effort to stop a Communist takeover. The US not only left, but also, cut off arms and funds to the South Vietnamese so they were no longer able to defend their country.
I suggest you read Kerry's Testimony before the Senate in 1971 and see what his prediction was about the aftermath of an American withdrawal. Vietnam served a useful purpose as long as we learned the right lessons. In the first Gulf War and now Iraq and Afghanistan, we were/are fighting to win and our military folks know that the only way the enemy can win is to convince the American public that we can't win. Some day, South Vietnam will be a free country and the sacrifice of American lives will be honored and not forgotten.
Bump for Vets
Spot-on. Thanks for your service and for teaching a well-intentioned but mis-informed fellow citizen some basic facts.
Total loser.
That's just blasphemous.
Yes. Sadly some dude thought the way to express his disagreement with he was to spit in her face.
Pretty disgusting. He landed in jail where he belongs.
That would be the shallow understanding, history shows these folks only continue usurpitous activity behind religious veils.
You have a weird sense of chivalry. You can defend that POS Fonda all you want. I have no problem spitting on a traitor whether it is a woman or a man.
Read Holzers' book "Aid and Comfort" and see how Fonda visited our POWs and then came back to the US to proclaim that they were being well treated. Read Fonda's radio broadcasts by Hanoi to our GIs in Vietnam spouting anti-US propaganda. Read how Fonda met on July 18, 1972 with seven captured American airmen, one of whom was visibly injured, and harangued them with pro-Communist, anti-American propaganda.
I guess if you are 5 ft 1 inch, you can only reach as high as someone's ass. My advice to you is to stop kissing Fonda's ass and defend the honor and memory of men and women who put their lives on the line for this country. Your outrage is sadly misplaced.
She hasn't aged to good.
She used to be good looking.
Anytime you want to test that theory, you just let me know, and we'll arrange something.
That's funny......a keeper !
Ignore my last comment. I didn't realize you were 62 years old. Some things are just wrong, and young men picking on old men is one of them. That even goes for instances like this one when the old guy has it coming.
Contemporeaneous knowledge is NEVER superior to the
collective wisdom and judgment of the past. I don't have
the time to go into the epistomology of history but you
could be in-country for eight years and not have the
slightest notion of why or toward what purpose -- other
than anecdotal knowledge which is not the essence of
historiography. Or, you could take the even easier way
out (the Hillary exit) and ascribe it all to a vast left
wing conspiracy.
I'm not fonda Jane, she hates our country plain, If she could, she'd break it's back, and revel in disdain....
You left out firsthand. In any event, the "collective wisdom and judgment of the past" must be based on something, i.e., the facts. You seem to believe that historians all agree on the "facts" and reach the same conclusions. Nothing can be further from the truth.
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth torpedoed the Kerry campaign by demonstrating that historian David Brinkley's account of what Kerry did in Vietnam was false. How did they do that? By providing firsthand, contemperaneous accounts of what happened almost 30 years ago along with documents.
The current prevailing conventional wisdom on Vietnam is not necessarily the truth. Read the Boston Manifesto and get a different perspective on what happened based on firsthand accounts and objective facts. Frankly, it is too early, just 30 years after the event, to write a truly objective account of Vietnam and what its historical impact was. Many who write the history of the Vietnam War have a political agenda, which is reflected in their writings.
Douglas Brinkley vice David Brinkley
That veteran is anything BUT disgusting. The target of the tobacco juice is the traitor who is disgusting beyond belief!
Hanoi Jane's actions in North Vietnam and her actions on the streets and TV news screens across this country were nothing short of aid and comfort to the enemy!
The veteran who spit tobacco juice at her acted out what many of us wish we had the opportunity to do!
He missed her by that much, although some of it spattered on her face and clothes. The 67 year old Vietnam vet said it was worth it after being charged with disorderly conduct.
I've heard a number of vets say they would pay his fine.
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