I was sure I'd read every post on this blog -- I guess I missed a few, huh?
Thank you, Mike - for EVERYTHING you have done in your life.
I too have done some - OK, MANY - things in my life of which I am sorely ashamed. I've harmed a number of people in ways that probably still hurt them decades later.
Yet, I have no regrets.
How can I be ashamed but lack regret?
SIMPLE.
Had I not been the person I was then, I could not have become the person I am now. As a book I read by Richard Bach postulated
"You gave your entire life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?"
For me it was. I try to never miss an opportunity to help someone now. No - they're not the people I harmed, but they're much like them - and I've already lived long enough to see the fruits of my labor benefit even 3 generations of a family.
I'm no saint - I deserve to burn in hell - but Christ promised me redemption. You too, Bro!
My meager contributions to my fellow man are but dust compared to yours my friend - and if there's ever been a man who earned the right to be proud of himself despite his youthful mistakes, it is YOU.
I always say I trust a business MORE after a mistake - even a big one - provided they do what they can to make it right.
This applies to individuals in spades.
As others have said, I'd sleep like a baby knowing you were watching my six. Those who point fingers of derision for decades-old mistakes, ESPECIALLY in light of more recent contribution, are the ones who cannot be trusted -- for they are hiding more than you have revealed.
Thank you, my learned and honorable Brother, from the bottom of my shriveled, black little heart!
Vietnam was my old country and I remember that exodus well. I was 11 years old when Saigon fell in April of '75. The oldest of 3 children. My mother fortunately had made preparations for our family including my father who was an ARVN Ranger to escape the communists' grip before that fateful day. Years later, here in California, when I asked her she said that she had envisioned better lives for her children and to live under communism was not a choice.
We were lucky as most people who were stuck ended up in gulags or re-education camps. Worse still those who tried to make their escape later, the wave of refugees commonly called the "boat people" usually have to run the communists' gauntlet and pirates to find freedom.
Typical as in most history, people's memories are short and lost through time, especially when they found so much peace here in America. In my eyes, over the period of 30 odd years, the visions of the Vietnamese people that had settled here became clouded. When I mention how dire the current situation is, they would more likely dismiss such thoughts thinking that America is such a powerful nation... and that "it can't happen here."
California Vietnamese communities have become complacent and the only communism that they choose to confront is the one across the Pacific in their old place of origin while here at home socialist forces are forming in their adopted state and country. In the lives that they lead, they are complicit, living off the system from handouts by by government looking no different than the collectivist system that they fled from.
Perhaps true awakening is not far off but until that happens I'm holding on to my 2nd Amendment rights to bear arms as that is the only deterrence from another April 30th.
Great post and you are sadly 100% correct. It wasn't like this after the fall though, as I saw Vietnamese ladies chase some Communists out of a meeting in Little Saigon with their umbrellas brandished! I have five half Vietnamese daughters, and have spent about ten years in your country which I obviously am fond of. You may enjoy this that I just sent out
April 30, 1975 In Memoriam Saigon NVA/VC Rocket Attack http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=356
105's, Just In From The States http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=351
Nguyen, Thank you for standing in defense of OUR (yours and mine) country. I was born and raised here, the grandson of immigrants. Some came from the Soviet Union, and a grand-uncle, I think, was found by the KGB and told to return or his family, wife and kids, would be imprisoned. None of them were heard from again. Even though I can only imagine what it'd be like to live under such a system, I'll never doubt the stories of people who have. I will do everything I can to make sure my kids don't have to tell their grandkids stories like you'll be telling yours.
We will fight the good fight, together in spirit if not in person.
My mother watched the casualty reports for years, praying that the war would be over before I came of age. When I read this I wept for the same reason I wept when I read our "leaders" betrayal of the Cuban Freedom Fighters. Then I sent it to my Indochinese neighbors, hoping that A&M will have special meaning.
Dittos to what Dedicated Dad said:
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
I always thought the phrase was "In war, truth is the first casualty" - Aeschylus (later attributed to Sen. Hiram Johnson in 1918), but it's probably true of BOTH, for innocence is surely lost by many young men in their first battle, and truth is often hidden by Generals and politicians. The fall of Saigon and South Viet Nam had many repercussions on the world, not all of them bad. Nguyen's post, for example, reminds me I am grateful the artist Nguyen Cao Nguyen was one of those who came to the US, and was blessed to be a student of his for a time. Still, the whole story of Viet Nam and our 'involvement' is a sad one, but because the truth is hidden, many young men and women never knew the REAL reasons we were fighting and dying, both there and at home. From much study, and listening to old (and often cynical) warriors, the truth can be gleaned, so it came as no surprise when a retired weapons engineer from General Dynamics told me why, and when, the decision was made to pull out of Viet Nam. The truth would piss off a LOT of people, if they knew (and probably generate a lot of hate email, so I won't elaborate here). But the questions nobody seems to ask are:
1. Why was the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin in the first place, and the TWO incidents used as justification for deployment of regular troops to SE Asia - and open warfare against North Viet Nam. (Hint: US warships have been in SE Asia ever since warships have been using oil for fuel - protecting Standard Oil's resources).
2. Why was the DMZ the DMZ? What was there that military operations would jeopardize?
3. Why were certain 'marked' helicopters that flew back and forth between Saigon and Hanoi NOT to be fired at by North Viet Namese forces?
4. Why was the CIA setting up or working with certain military leaders (i.e. General Khun Sa) in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Burma, etc.?
The answers are the SAME answers to why we are in the Middle East now.
Thank you all for your posts, especially yours, Ngyuen. Your mother was right.
Horse shit, anon. I think I have a decent grasp of history, US in particular. The middle eastr and all that was going on, on top of the war-weariness of Viet Nam why we abandonded SE asia, to our discredit. I have read quite a bit, but never heard of anything like what you're saying. I want to know stuff. 1) Yes warships were always there. Projecting power or corporate intersts, why attack thwm? 2)The DMZ was dm because of absurd ROE and treaty. Right? 3) Never heard of those helicopters. 4)CIA always fomented relationships. I'm not calling yuou wrong, but questioning the info.
9 comments:
"The first casualty of war is innocence."
I wonder if we'll see similar evacuations if this all breaks down?
I was sure I'd read every post on this blog -- I guess I missed a few, huh?
Thank you, Mike - for EVERYTHING you have done in your life.
I too have done some - OK, MANY - things in my life of which I am sorely ashamed. I've harmed a number of people in ways that probably still hurt them decades later.
Yet, I have no regrets.
How can I be ashamed but lack regret?
SIMPLE.
Had I not been the person I was then, I could not have become the person I am now. As a book I read by Richard Bach postulated
"You gave your entire life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?"
For me it was. I try to never miss an opportunity to help someone now. No - they're not the people I harmed, but they're much like them - and I've already lived long enough to see the fruits of my labor benefit even 3 generations of a family.
I'm no saint - I deserve to burn in hell - but Christ promised me redemption. You too, Bro!
My meager contributions to my fellow man are but dust compared to yours my friend - and if there's ever been a man who earned the right to be proud of himself despite his youthful mistakes, it is YOU.
I always say I trust a business MORE after a mistake - even a big one - provided they do what they can to make it right.
This applies to individuals in spades.
As others have said, I'd sleep like a baby knowing you were watching my six. Those who point fingers of derision for decades-old mistakes, ESPECIALLY in light of more recent contribution, are the ones who cannot be trusted -- for they are hiding more than you have revealed.
Thank you, my learned and honorable Brother, from the bottom of my shriveled, black little heart!
Sincerely,
DD
Thanks. My RVN flag is flying.
--------
"You Only Die Once"
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=302
The Fall of Saigon Slideshow-Powerful
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/sets/72157621997665628/show/
http://tinyurl.com/2u62wpv
Vietnam was my old country and I remember that exodus well. I was 11 years old when Saigon fell in April of '75. The oldest of 3 children. My mother fortunately had made preparations for our family including my father who was an ARVN Ranger to escape the communists' grip before that fateful day. Years later, here in California, when I asked her she said that she had envisioned better lives for her children and to live under communism was not a choice.
We were lucky as most people who were stuck ended up in gulags or re-education camps. Worse still those who tried to make their escape later, the wave of refugees commonly called the "boat people" usually have to run the communists' gauntlet and pirates to find freedom.
Typical as in most history, people's memories are short and lost through time, especially when they found so much peace here in America. In my eyes, over the period of 30 odd years, the visions of the Vietnamese people that had settled here became clouded. When I mention how dire the current situation is, they would more likely dismiss such thoughts thinking that America is such a powerful nation... and that "it can't happen here."
California Vietnamese communities have become complacent and the only communism that they choose to confront is the one across the Pacific in their old place of origin while here at home socialist forces are forming in their adopted state and country. In the lives that they lead, they are complicit, living off the system from handouts by by government looking no different than the collectivist system that they fled from.
Perhaps true awakening is not far off but until that happens I'm holding on to my 2nd Amendment rights to bear arms as that is the only deterrence from another April 30th.
Nguyen
III
Nguyen
III
Great post and you are sadly 100% correct. It wasn't like this after the fall though, as I saw Vietnamese ladies chase some Communists out of a meeting in Little Saigon with their umbrellas brandished! I have five half Vietnamese daughters, and have spent about ten years in your country which I obviously am fond of. You may enjoy this that I just sent out
April 30, 1975 In Memoriam
Saigon NVA/VC Rocket Attack
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=356
105's, Just In From The States
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=351
Evacuation
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=274
VC Dead & VNCH Graves
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=355
April 1, 1975
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=239
Disgraceful!
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=222
THE SUICIDES ON APRIL 30, 1975
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=21
“Better To Die Than Be Caught,” Father Dom
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=2145
I Have Committed The Mistake Of Believing In Americans
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=852
Vietnam Babylift, My Story
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=20
Nguyen, Thank you for standing in defense of OUR (yours and mine) country.
I was born and raised here, the grandson of immigrants. Some came from the Soviet Union, and a grand-uncle, I think, was found by the KGB and told to return or his family, wife and kids, would be imprisoned.
None of them were heard from again.
Even though I can only imagine what it'd be like to live under such a system, I'll never doubt the stories of people who have.
I will do everything I can to make sure my kids don't have to tell their grandkids stories like you'll be telling yours.
We will fight the good fight, together in spirit if not in person.
III
My mother watched the casualty reports for years, praying that the war would be over before I came of age. When I read this I wept for the same reason I wept when I read our "leaders" betrayal of the Cuban Freedom Fighters. Then I sent it to my Indochinese neighbors, hoping that A&M will have special meaning.
Dittos to what Dedicated Dad said:
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
I always thought the phrase was "In war, truth is the first casualty" - Aeschylus (later attributed to Sen. Hiram Johnson in 1918), but it's probably true of BOTH, for innocence is surely lost by many young men in their first battle, and truth is often hidden by Generals and politicians. The fall of Saigon and South Viet Nam had many repercussions on the world, not all of them bad. Nguyen's post, for example, reminds me I am grateful the artist Nguyen Cao Nguyen was one of those who came to the US, and was blessed to be a student of his for a time. Still, the whole story of Viet Nam and our 'involvement' is a sad one, but because the truth is hidden, many young men and women never knew the REAL reasons we were fighting and dying, both there and at home. From much study, and listening to old (and often cynical) warriors, the truth can be gleaned, so it came as no surprise when a retired weapons engineer from General Dynamics told me why, and when, the decision was made to pull out of Viet Nam. The truth would piss off a LOT of people, if they knew (and probably generate a lot of hate email, so I won't elaborate here). But the questions nobody seems to ask are:
1. Why was the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin in the first place, and the TWO incidents used as justification for deployment of regular troops to SE Asia - and open warfare against North Viet Nam. (Hint: US warships have been in SE Asia ever since warships have been using oil for fuel - protecting Standard Oil's resources).
2. Why was the DMZ the DMZ? What was there that military operations would jeopardize?
3. Why were certain 'marked' helicopters that flew back and forth between Saigon and Hanoi NOT to be fired at by North Viet Namese forces?
4. Why was the CIA setting up or working with certain military leaders (i.e. General Khun Sa) in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Burma, etc.?
The answers are the SAME answers to why we are in the Middle East now.
Thank you all for your posts, especially yours, Ngyuen. Your mother was right.
(better left anon. this time)
III
Horse shit, anon.
I think I have a decent grasp of history, US in particular.
The middle eastr and all that was going on, on top of the war-weariness of Viet Nam why we abandonded SE asia, to our discredit.
I have read quite a bit, but never heard of anything like what you're saying. I want to know stuff.
1) Yes warships were always there. Projecting power or corporate intersts, why attack thwm?
2)The DMZ was dm because of absurd ROE and treaty. Right?
3) Never heard of those helicopters.
4)CIA always fomented relationships.
I'm not calling yuou wrong, but questioning the info.
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