I met refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia during the time I was studying at Cal State. It was then I realized that the American military presence in Southeast Asia was the only thing standing between innocent civilians and outer darkness.
When the American military withdrew, those poor people were at the mercy of savage communists who murdered millions.
Anybody who possibly questions our presence there in this day and age is a fool. A low information, uneducated fool.
"I met refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia during the time I was studying at Cal State. It was then I realized that the American military presence in Southeast Asia was the only thing standing between innocent civilians and outer darkness."
I've attached a picture of the monument that stands at Camp Talega which is the northern most camp on Marine base Camp Pendleton. It commemorates the thousands of Vietnamese refugees that were temporarily housed there at the end of the war. I wonder if Jane ever went there and visited, doubt it. Let's also keep in mind that when Jane did this, she wasn't a dumb kid, she was a 35 year old woman. Old enough to know what propaganda is.
The left poo poohed the domino theory which in fact happened after the fall of South Vietnam. Formerly free Laos and Cambodia fell to communism (as well as South Vietnam) and we had hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people get killed. I point this out to my leftist friends and they have no answer.
I worked with a medical equipment repair guy who I absolutely hated. He was a very slight guy, Asian, and he spoke English so poorly that it was a teeth gritting experience to speak with him. He and I were at odds, we didn’t get along, and all of our interactions raised my blood pressure.
I had to work side by side with him for nearly a full day to address an issue, and much of the time, there was nothing to do (we had to wait until a specific condition was met...so we waited)
We began talking, and I found out about him.
He had been a junior officer in the ARVN, and when the North took over, he was put into a “Re-education Camp” in the middle of the jungle. He spent several years there, until he finally escaped, made his way to the coast, and stole a boat.
I recall he spent nearly two weeks in a open boat by himself in the South China Sea, had to escape from pirates, and was eventually found and taken to Thailand, to Australia, and then to the USA over the course of about a year.
When I asked him what it was like in the Re-education Camp, he got a very far away look in his eyes and said almost inaudibly: “The things I had to do...” and said no more.
Funny. You go through life, interact with people, like or respect some, dislike or disrespect some, and then you find out, you simply didn’t know that person, didn’t know the paths they took in life, the things they had been through...and your feelings towards that person change.
We became very friendly and cordial after that. Whenever I saw him, we would stop and chat, and when we parted, we shook hands. I have lost contact with him and haven’t seen him in over ten years...but I think of him often.
I feel much the same way you do.