May 7, 2000

Myths Obscure Facts of American Success in Vietnam

Sen. John McCain, Vietnam’s most famous prisoner of war, went there for the seventh time on the eve of the 25th anniversary of communist “victory” to seek reconciliation.

In the spirit of Straight Talk Express, McCain offended his host by asserting: “The wrong guys won the war.” The Vietnam foreign minister responded by accusing the United States of “bringing the war upon the Vietnamese “– notwithstanding the initial slaughter of a million Christian Vietnamese by godless communists.

McCain sub-consciously fell into the principal myth concocted by media liberals – that the United States “lost” the war.

We could have won easily, with fewer casualties on both sides, by dropping a small atom bomb on the right place. Our restraint was self imposed, a giant in the Land of Lilliput. The fact is, we fought to an agreed stalemate.

The World Almanac reminds us that a peace agreement was signed in Paris on Jan. 27, 1973 by the U.S., North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the Vietcong. It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitations on all Vietnam forces and peaceful reunification of Vietnam.

Peace lasted only until the last American troops departed March 29, 1973. Thereafter, North Vietnam resumed attacks on South Vietnam. Saigon surrendered April 30, 1975 – two years after the Americans had left.

It is myth that U.S. military and embassy personnel “bugged out” as Saigon was overrun by the Vietcong. The assertion by U.S. liberals -- and their media friends -- was buttressed by an unrelated photo. It supposedly showed frantic Marines and diplomatic workers on the U.S. embassy roof fighting for space on a U.S. helicopter.

In fact, the helicopter was that of the civilian Air America company. The roof was that of the Pittman Apartments building. The evacuees were Vietnamese. The photo was taken for United Press International by an Englishman, Hugh Van Ess.

Another myth is that most U.S. soldiers were drafted from the poor, uneducated and blacks. Combat Area Casualty Files at the National Archives prove otherwise.

Two-thirds of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. This compares to the two-thirds who were drafted in World War II. Seventy percent of those killed n Vietnam were volunteers.

Vietnam soldiers were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. Seventy-nine percent had a high school education or better. Of the men who died in Vietnam, 86 percent were caucasian, 12.5 percent black, and 1.5 percent other races. These figures are exactly proportional to the U.S. population.

While anti-war protesters were creating myths about the Vietnam War, they also were creating criminal mischief at home through the colleges.

Particularly active was a loosely organized movement called Students For A Democratic Society. Draft dodging, pot smoking, sex indulgence and rebellion against authority were primary tenets. Trashing college administration buildings was a favorite.

Even Kent State (Ohio) University students – normally well behaved – got caught up in radical fever. Campus riots throughout the country erupted when President Richard Nixon announced April 30, 1970 that he was sending soldiers into Cambodia to neutralize Vietcong sanctuaries.

Big trouble began with a down-town riot by Kent students whooping it up in the bars. Demonstrations continued over the weekend. On Monday, a crowd gathered on campus to set the ROTC building afire and cut hoses of firemen attempting to quench the blaze.

Kent Mayor Leroy Satrom declared an emergency, closed the bars and asked Gov. James Rhodes for National Guard assistance. Help quickly came.

On May 4, seventy or so Guardsmen attempted to disperse about 500 student protesters torching the ROTC building. Another thousand students cheered and rang a football Victory Bell nearby. The protesters taunted and threw rocks at the Guardsmen who retreated into a fenced area.

When the Guardsmen discovered they were trapped, they leveled their rifles and began advancing. Someone fired a pistol – who is unknown. Suddenly 28 Guardsmen knelt and fired 65 rounds at their tormentors. Four students were killed, nine others wounded.

Another famous photo outraged the public. It showed Mary Vecchio, ostensibly a Kent State student, screaming over the body of Jeffery Miller. In fact, Mary was a 14-year-old runaway from another state. The photograph was snapped by John Filo, a Kent State photography major who won a Pulitzer Prize that year.

Unfortunately the myths of a turbulent era have obscured the success of the Vietnam War – that American military resolve, and the lives of 58,000 brave men, halted the spread of communism.

PARTING SHOTS

President Clinton wowed the White House correspondents’ banquet with a comic video of his idle time and Congressional investigations. For an encore, he plans to run the country.

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Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince.

Lindsey Williams is a Sun-Herald columnist and can be reached at linwms@lindseywilliams.org