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| Map of Vietnam |
Yeah, we hated Charles Victor, and he hated us. Were we REALLY there to stop Communism? If you still believe that, then you haven't been paying attention to the conflicts this country has been involved in since.
The historical truth is, Kennedy backed out on an arms deal with the Red Chinese, and pissed them off, so they started supplying arms to the North Vietnamese.
Then Johnson became President, and the First Lady had major interests in the rubber plantation business in South Vietnam, so he increased the troops there to protect her interests. Ever heard the saying, "Michelin Tires have such a smooth ride, because they're cushioned by 58,000 souls"? Where do you think that saying came from?
Maybe the leaders on both sides were corrupt. Regardless of the reason we were there, we, as soldiers were not bad, even if the reasons our government had us there were rotten and self serving.
Charley was defending his country, not promoting Communism. Wouldn't we, if our country was invaded? Charley was the tool of his government, just as we were the tool of ours. And he was a damned good tool.
And don't think I feel this way cuz I was a remf, well the last few months I was, but I held one of my buddies in my arms as the last of his life drained out, and I swore vengeance, and got enough of it that I started to feel sick from the person I became.
I finally realized why the Vietnamese started hating us so much, and I'll share it whether you wanna hear it or not.
Papa san just wanted to be able to walk out into his rice paddy to grow food to feed his family, without getting his leg blown off by a mine. He didn't care what kinda government was in power. They were, and still are a farming culture.
I finally realized why the Vietnamese started hating us so much, and I'll share it whether you wanna hear it or not.
Papa san just wanted to be able to walk out into his rice paddy to grow food to feed his family, without getting his leg blown off by a mine. He didn't care what kinda government was in power. They were, and still are a farming culture.
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| Vietnam |
And I said it then, and I'll say it now, the sky is the deepest blue with the whitest clouds I've ever seen, with a backdrop of a beautiful green jungle.
Perfect resort acreage, and I hear the people are friendly now.
Hating them is keeping you sick, and giving your PTSD power to make you more sick.
Hate me too, if you want, for saying this: if I've helped even one other Vietnam Vet deal with a part of his PTSD by making him think instead of blindly hating, then it was worth all the hatred I probably generated by posting this.
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| Lawrence "WarHippy" Blouir |
Peace Brothers,
WarHippy (MONGOLS mc)
1st Cavalry Division (AIRMOBILE)
Vietnam ’69, ’70, ‘71
The First Team
Other Articles by Lawrence “WarHippy” Blouir:
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
Sorry, that is not the stories I have been told by the Vietnamese that escaped to the US, every one said thank you and seemed grateful. The rubber story has been told for years and I am still not buying into it. Nice perspective.
ReplyDeleteWhen you only talk to people who decided they wanted to be Americans, of course they're gonna say thank you. Their life got an upgrade. How many Vietnamese farmers did you talk to while you were in-country? Any? And, if you did, you were in-country very early in the build up. The Vietnamese people hadn't spent that much time with westerners yet. I was there a few years later, after those people had interfaced with Americans for a longer time, been abused, raped, pushed around, beaten, killed, and yes, blown right out of their rice paddies as they worked to feed their families. If you look at any farming culture, theres not alot of interest in what kind of government is in charge, only that the government allows them to feed their families and live in peace. Go to Vietnam today and ask around if they would rather fight a war to have the right to vote. Papa san would laugh at you and call you dinky dau because his country has been at peace ever since the Americans left their country. I'm afraid you assume a government is bad, just because it's not a mirror copy of America. Personally, I'm not too proud of the leaders in our country who think they deserve more money and the people less rights. Papa san can go out into his rice paddie today and grow food for his family, and come back home with both legs, and he's as tickled as a dung beetle. And please, "stories about rubber plantations"? Vietnam was full of rubber plantations. Why were the French interested in Vietnam? They wanted rubber. And years later, why would an industrial giant Like America be interest in a little farming culture? They wouldn't, unless it had a commodity that is in demand all over the industrialized world. A cheap source of rubber, in a country that didn't find rubber very useful to plant rice. If you do your homework, you'll learn, the United States of America originally supported the north. But how can that be true if we were trying to stop Communism? It can't, and we werent there because of Communism, we were there to make money off another country's resourses, that wasn't important to them anyway.Yes, the Michelin story has been around for years. Clear back to when we were in Vietnam, protecting those plantations. Because you don't buy a story, isn't a very good argument against the validity of the story, and talking to people who wanted the good life in America, isn't a valid way to determine what the people who didn't want to leave their country believed. My story was based on my experience while I was there. I'm sorry to say, you're disbelief is based only on immigrant opinion and a personal belief based on nothing but personal belief. If you werent able to learn about the Vietnamese culture while you were there, try picking up a few books and reading facts, and maybe you won't be so inclined to disagree with facts out of lack of knowledge. But, thank you for your comments, it was fun picking them apart. Welcome Home Brother
ReplyDeleteThe gospel according to WarHippy, gfy
DeleteGFY Anonymous Dick !! War Hippy Is A True Vietnam Vet !!
DeleteWhen you only talk to people who decided they wanted to be Americans, of course they're gonna say thank you. Their life got an upgrade. How many Vietnamese farmers did you talk to while you were in-country? Any? And, if you did, you were in-country very early in the build up. The Vietnamese people hadn't spent that much time with westerners yet. I was there a few years later, after those people had interfaced with Americans for a longer time, been abused, raped, pushed around, beaten, killed, and yes, blown right out of their rice paddies as they worked to feed their families. If you look at any farming culture, theres not alot of interest in what kind of government is in charge, only that the government allows them to feed their families and live in peace. Go to Vietnam today and ask around if they would rather fight a war to have the right to vote. Papa san would laugh at you and call you dinky dau because his country has been at peace ever since the Americans left their country. I'm afraid you assume a government is bad, just because it's not a mirror copy of America. Personally, I'm not too proud of the leaders in our country who think they deserve more money and the people less rights. Papa san can go out into his rice paddie today and grow food for his family, and come back home with both legs, and he's as tickled as a dung beetle. And please, "stories about rubber plantations"? Vietnam was full of rubber plantations. Why were the French interested in Vietnam? They wanted rubber. And years later, why would an industrial giant Like America be interest in a little farming culture? They wouldn't, unless it had a commodity that is in demand all over the industrialized world. A cheap source of rubber, in a country that didn't find rubber very useful to plant rice. If you do your homework, you'll learn, the United States of America originally supported the north. But how can that be true if we were trying to stop Communism? It can't, and we werent there because of Communism, we were there to make money off another country's resourses, that wasn't important to them anyway.Yes, the Michelin story has been around for years. Clear back to when we were in Vietnam, protecting those plantations. Because you don't buy a story, isn't a very good argument against the validity of the story, and talking to people who wanted the good life in America, isn't a valid way to determine what the people who didn't want to leave their country believed. My story was based on my experience while I was there. I'm sorry to say, you're disbelief is based only on immigrant opinion and a personal belief based on nothing but personal belief. If you werent able to learn about the Vietnamese culture while you were there, try picking up a few books and reading facts, and maybe you won't be so inclined to disagree with facts out of lack of knowledge. But, thank you for your comments, it was fun picking them apart. Welcome Home Brother
ReplyDeleteI was there in 69/70 as an airborne French/English interpreter with the FACs. I remember going downtown Saigon and Bien Hoa and mixing with the French speaking population and what I got out of it is exactly what WarHippy says, they didn't care much if the Americans or the Communists won, they had been at war for several generations and all they wanted was for it to stop and be able to LIVE. I also met an old French couple in a park once, they had come back to live in Saigon after the colonial war, I quote " The Americans will never win this war, like your civil war, the north and south are both Vietnamese"
ReplyDeleteMike
Larry passed away his services were held on April 3, 2015. He died from cancer caused by Agent Orange . He is missed !!
ReplyDeleteLarry WarHippy passed away March 22
ReplyDelete2015
From cancer caused by Agent Orange.