Call To Action: June 1st Day of Action in Support of Bradley Manning, Ft Meade, Md.

Join IVAW for the June 1st Day of Action in support of Bradley Manning

June 1 marks the beginning of Bradley Manning’s fourth year in military prison awaiting trial with many violations of due process.  Bradley’s conditions in prison have been described by Amnesty International and the United Nations as torturous.

Join IVAW and others in a show of support before Bradley's court martial.

Whistleblowing should not be a crime.

The U.S. government is attempting to make an example out of Manning, to intimidate anyone who might blow the whistle on government wrong-doing in the future.

But like many of our members who have had the courage to speak out against what our military has done in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bradley Manning was moved to take action due to a crisis of conscience.

The information he made public via WikiLeaks has been an important affirmation of IVAW's work by exposing the atrocities and misconduct of the Iraq war, and supports the eye-witness experiences of many of our members:

●     Bradley released the Collateral Murder video that depicts a U.S. Army helicopter intentionally and illegally targeting Iraqi civilians. IVAW member Ethan McCord was there that day, witnessed the killing, and helped save the lives of Iraqi children who were severely injured.

●     The Iraq War logs Bradley released provided civilian death counts that the U.S. government was withholding.

●     Bradley's leak exposed the corporate interests behind a variety of U.S. armed conflicts worldwide. 

We strongly believe that Bradley Manning’s whistleblowing contributed to the declining public support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like Daniel Ellsberg, famed Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Manning should be honored as a person of conscience.

Join us at Fort Meade, Maryland to stand up for Bradley and all whistleblowers.

On June 1, rally and march with the Bradley Manning Support Network, IVAW, Veterans For Peace, and others in defense of Manning and all past, present, and future whistleblowers.

Join Daniel Ellsberg, LGBT activist U.S. Army Lt. Dan Choi, former U.S. diplomat Army Col. Ann Wright (ret.), and former soldier Ethan McCord at Fort Meade.

Buses will be leaving from New York City; Washington, DC; Philadelphia; New Brunswick, NJ; and Baltimore on June 1.  You can find more information about those buses and buy tickets here.  Additional information about travel and lodging can be found here. You can also organize a bus from your own local area.

At Fort Meade, the June 1 day of action will begin with a 1:00 PM gathering on Reese Road and US 175, followed by a march and rally.

The trial, U.S.  v. BRADLEY MANNING, begins on June 3 at 9:00 AM and is expected to last 6-12 weeks.  Supporters are encouraged to attend as many days of this trial as possible.

Can’t make it to Fort Meade on Saturday, June 1st?  Help sponsor travel for others. Each $20 will cover a bus ticket for someone who otherwise wouldn’t be able to come. Please note "Bus Sponsor" in the comments field when making your tax-deductible donation.

Thank you for your continued support                                                                                                                                                          

In Solidarity,

Maggie, Matt, Amadee, and Elly                                                                                                             

Iraq Veterans Against The War Staff

www.VetSpeak.org

Two Soldiers, Four Wars, One Name

by NMguiniling

It’s Guiniling. Pronounced “Gah-Kneeling,” it is my husband’s maternal last name, which traces back to the highlands of the Philippines.

It’s not that I find my own given name particularly un-likeable.  As a child of the modern-day ‘blended family’ (and one in which my mother kept her maiden name in marriage), I’ve contemplated the idea of name-changing, hyphenating, and all manner of Onomastics since I was pretty young. For instance, my maiden name, Burton, is of English origin and refers to one “residing near a fort or garrison,” whereas my maternal last name, “Wenger” refers to one’s German place of residence, “on a grassy hill”. But Guiniling is the name my husband and I have chosen for its ability to tell an important chapter of our family history.

It is now only heresay that Inting Guinling, my late grandfather-in-law, was born in August of the year 1900. That date comes from an approximation on his U.S. Army enlistment papers, which were filed some 18 years later. On the paper, Inting’s middle name is listed as “Igorot”, (pronounced Eee-Goo-Root), which refers to the Guiniling family’s tribe—somewhat similar to “Cherokee” or “Navajo”.

At the dawn of World War I, it was to the U.S. Army’s advantage to recruit these highland tribes who had eluded both Spanish and American colonial campaigns. In addition to having had little to no contact with Westerners, this meant the Igorot and other mountain folk knew little to nothing of the effects of the Philippine War of Independence, which took the lives of 600,000 of their countrymen at the hands of both Conquistadores and later, U.S. Marines

 Inting was recruited to the Philippine Scout (PS) special forces unit of the U.S. Army in 1919, and served until the end of the war. He was called back into service for World War II, where he fought in the Bataan Region with the 42^nd and 45^th Infantry regiments against Japanese soldiers. Jon, my uncle-in-law, explained to my husband and I in a recent e-mail:

“When the [U.S. Army in the Philippines] surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, Inting refused to surrender. Instead, he escaped and went back to the mountains and joined the guerrillas fighting the Japanese. He always eluded capture, even after his… units surrendered (Writer’s note: this surrender led to what is known as the ‘Bataan Death March.’ More than half of the P.S. died in battle or as POW’s of the Japanese in WWII). He finally rejoined the U.S. Army in 1944 when Gen. Douglas MacArthur returned to liberate the Philippines from the imperial forces of Japan. When Japan surrendered in 1945, he escorted surrendering Japanese soldiers to Manila to be shipped back to Japan. He was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1946 after 27 years of honorable military service. He earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with a combat V, Asiatic Pacific Campaign, World War II Victory Medal and many more. He died on Dec. 21, 1968"

Despite all this, and General MacArthur’s comments in a 1942 Time Magazine article that the Igorots were an important part of the war effort, the Philippine Scouts are still considered “Forgotten Soldiers,” overlooked and under-recognized for their sacrifice. Perhaps Inting’s long list of honours are a true testament to just how incredible his actions were.

There is no doubt in any of our minds that Inting Guiniling is a hero. It was because of him that his entire family was granted U.S. citizenship. He is the reason his daughter, my mother-in-law, was able to attend university tuition-free. He is the reason my husband was born in the United States. He is a hero simply for these gifts that gave his family the chance to have a better life. My husband and I certainly wouldn’t have met and fallen in love without him. (Thanks, Grandpa Inting!)

But war—as many people are touching on this year, as we enter the 11^th round of the Global War on Terror—is about more than heroes and their valiant deeds

My husband’s uncle is the oldest of his mother’s siblings—old enough to remember the war stories, and more..

One morning in the family hut (still, at this time, in the highlands of Mountain Province), Uncle Jon as a child tried to wake his father. Grandpa Inting awoke in a panic, and proceeded to beat his son into the wall of the hut. He would apologize some time later, explaining to Uncle Jon that he didn’t recognize his son—or where he was.

And then there were the times, my husband told me, when his Lola (Grandma) had to flee into the forest with her children, in order to hide from her husband—who would slip into fits of rage, would grab his gun out of the blue and put himself on “guard duty” outside of their home, for indefinite periods of time.

These used to be the things that every military family had a story about, but no one was allowed to speak of. Paranoia, unpredictable rage and violence, and ‘hyper-vigilance’— a term described by post-trauma psychiatrist Kathleen Whip as, “When you’re in a constant state of readiness, even when you don’t have to be”—are all the symptoms we know today associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Certainly, the word didn’t exist in Inting’s day—some refuse to believe it exists in 2012.

It was in part the acknowledgement of PTSD’s existence that my husband refused a second deployment. After 15 months in Afghanistan, he was unwilling to return there or go to Iraq. From the Panjwai Massacre to the torture of Afghan detainees; from Abu Ghraib to White Phosphorus, it has become clear that this decision may have saved his sanity.

He didn’t qualify for C.O. Status (a Conscientious Objector in the U.S. Army must categorically oppose all forms of violence, including self defense). A request of transfer to a non-combat role was ripped up by his commanding officer. Isolated, depressed, exhausted, trapped, and clearly suffering from PTSD, my husband did what was best for his own self-preservation: he went to Canada. He separated himself from his trauma, and sought to understand it and come to terms with it. He did not, as his grandfather and countless others did before him, resign to it as a “necessary evil” of man, of war, of life.

Soldiers today have more information about PTSD than any generation before them. Should we still be thinking of war the same way? Should my husband, for instance, have committed himself regardless, like his grandfather did–despite his knowledge of PTSD and things like international law?

Soldiers who leave the army, as my husband has, face courts-martial and jail time for refusing to destroy themselves and other people in the process. A jail sentence of one day over a year will brand you a felon for the rest of your life. Felons, in exchange for their crimes, forsake the right to vote and bear arms in all but two U.S. states.

 Former U.S. soldier Robin Long served a 15 month sentence in2008-2009 for going AWOL to Canada, refusing to fight in the Iraq War 

Where two U.S. wars gave one Guiniling citizenship for his family, two other wars may be what takes it away. 

As the notoriously anti-war veteran and writer Kurt Vonnegut would have said, “So it goes”.

Canada, since Vietnam, has changed its tone on the subject of War Resisters and Draft Dodgers (there is no “draft’ per se, but Stop-Loss legislation in the U.S. is a de-facto draft of servicemen and women, and it has led many to re-deploy indefinately—not disconnected from the greatest suicide epidemic that the country has ever seen). Whereas Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals welcomed them in the 1970s, Harper’s Conservatives find the cacophony of PTSD claims and human rights abuses—all the natural bi-products of war—to be highly inconvenient in a time they are trying to re-brand of Canada as a Warrior Nation.

Come what may, “Guiniling” is more than a name for my my husband and me. It is the story of a legacy and a family, born of war and its plurality of meaning.

I remain optimistic. After all, ‘Nicole’ means “Victory of the People”.

NMG

Related Articles:

http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/robin-long-prisoner-of-conscience_17.html

http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/us-iraq-war-resister-kimberly-rivera.html

http://vetspeakblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/vfp-shout-out-yo-robin-long-supporters.html

Ed Note: This piece was originally published on November 10th on Nicole's Blog. She has agreed to share it  here on VetSpeak in support of our mutual mission to put a human face on the Toronto Resisters (49ers), as we work torwards Amnesty for all Resisters and Deported Veterans.

www.VetSpeak.org

Veterans Day 2012: Still at War

Ed Note:  Thanks to Mike Hearington of VFP for sharing this piece with us. WH

Thoughts on Veterans Day

By John Cory

November 11, 2012

Veterans Day—A national Hallmark Card for war inked with survivor's guilt.

We have numbered wars like SuperBowls (WWI and WWII), marked them by time (the Hundred Years' War and the Thirty Years' War), masked them with a gentle oxymoron (the Civil War) and fogged their battles in terms of weather (Rolling Thunder and Desert Storm). War is a lesson in geography like the Spanish-American War, the Mexican-American War and the Vietnam War or, as the Vietnamese call it, the American War. Modern war is waged on an "ism" like Communism or Terrorism.

We never run out of names, terms or reasons for war. And there is always an anniversary for war or a battle or its start, a day of  red poppies and marketing to ensure romantic remembrance of death and destruction.

That is war after all - a marriage of violence and glory "until death do us part."

War is a true never-ending story. And when the shooting stops, we file the body parts and memory fragments on a bookshelf for later reference when we write about war, searching for Kevlar words to protect the troops as we recon the thesaurus of emotions and memories for the building blocks that frame a new rationalization for more war.

And everyone wants a good war story to lead the six o'clock news or top the bestseller charts. It has to be heroic and noble, a tale of sacrifice for the greater good or better yet, a battle of reluctance turned into righteous annihilation of the enemy. It has to be a story about us versus the faceless and godless enemy that leads to triumph and victory, albeit a world-weary victory, thrust upon us. We didn't want to destroy the village but we had to destroy the village in order to save the village. Like that ominous voice of movie previews, we utter the words: In a world of kill or be killed, there can be no doubt.

Of course we don't tell real war stories. We write recruiting posters. We have perfected the perverted normalcy of war and made it a family affair

In the recent election cycle only 3 percent of voters listed war as a topic of concern when voting for a candidate. 

The thing they never tell you, the lie of all lies, is that you can go to war and then come home.

You can't.

www.VetSpeak.org

The Hypocrisy of a Killer

Chuck Palazzo
Agent Orange Editor
www.VetSpeak.org
Danang, VN
x
Hypocrisy is defined as “the act of persistently professing beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that are inconsistent with one’s actions. Hypocrisy is thus a lie”.
x
On April 18, 2010, The Dow Live Earth Run for Water took place. This is a series of 6km runs and walks that are to simultaneously take place over the course of 24 hours in 150 countries and according to its primary sponsor and namesake, Dow, “these activities will ignite a massive global movement to help solve the water crisis”.
x
Dow Chemical was one of several and the second largest producer of Agent Orange before and during the Vietnam War. According to a statement on their own website, “U.S. military research developed Agent Orange, and the product was formulated based on exacting military specifications.” They further go on to state, “Today, the scientific consensus is that when the collective human evidence is reviewed, it doesn’t show that Agent Orange caused veteran’s illnesses.” This lie and the placement of guilt remain today. The “concern” of this, one of the largest corporations in the world today, is in its own corporate earnings – they could care less about the victims of Agent Orange. They have done zero research to substantiate this outlandish claim. The last time this statement was update was on June 21, 2007 – almost 3 years ago.
x
http://www.dow.com/commitments/debates/agentorange/
x
What is an interesting and very disturbing observation from Dow’s so-called Sustainability statement I reference is, that there are 10 languages this statement is available in it– none of which is Vietnamese. It was Vietnam, whose country was sprayed with Agent Orange and the other so called rainbow herbicides which exposed 4.8 million Vietnamese people, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities PLUS over 500,000 children born with birth defects. During the Vietnam War, between 1962 and 1971, the United States military sprayed over 77,000,000 litres (20,000,000 gallons) of chemical defoliants in South Vietnam – 20 percent of South Vietnam’s jungles were sprayed over a 9 year period. 12% of the country.
x
In 1963, the United States (suspecting the negative effects) initiated a study on the health effects of Agent Orange that by 1967 confirmed that the chemical caused cancer, birth defects and other serious health problems. The outcome of the study had no affect whatsoever on the use of Agent Orange. The spraying continued, and the chemical companies, namely Dow and Monsanto, reaped millions upon millions of dollars in profits knowing that this chemical that they produced was killing, maiming and genetically altering human lives, for generations upon generations yet to come. In fact, Agent Orange was widely used by the US Military from the late 1940’s through the 1970’s in our own United States, Korea, Canada, Australia, and Brazil and throughout Southeast Asia. 
x
The American veteran and our offspring continue to die, have children who are adversely affected, and now, 3 generations after the war, continue to experience grossly negative effects from this poison. Yes, several lawsuits were filed against the companies responsible and yes a $180 million settlement was reached in 1984 – with most affected veterans receiving a one-time lump sum payment of $1,200. A slap in the face, a pittance – barely enough money to cover the travel back and forth to the DVA to file claims, receive medical attention, maintain some semblance to life. What is the value of a human life? $1,200? The Vietnamese have received nothing. On March 10, 2005, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against the chemical companies which produced the defoliants and herbicides.
x
The case was appealed and heard by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on June 18, 2007. The Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of the case stating that the herbicides used during the war were not intended to be used to poison humans and therefore did not violate international law.
x
On March 10, 2005, Judge Jack B. Weinstein - dismissed the suit which was filed on behalf of the Vietnamese victims, ruling that there was no legal basis for the plaintiffs' claims. The judge concluded that Agent Orange was not considered a poison under international law at the time of its use by the U.S.; that the U.S. was not prohibited from using it as an herbicide; and that the companies which produced the substance were not liable for the method of its use by the government. The U.S. government is not a party in the lawsuit, claiming sovereign immunity.
x
Sovereign immunity? Murderers – of our own US Veteran, victims of the other countries mentioned, and of course, the Vietnamese.
x
Dow and Monsanto are indeed 2 of, if not the worst of the world’s most irresponsible companies. Dow Chemical (along with Monsanto) will never escape the shadow of Agent Orange, the chemical used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War during the ‘Herbicidal Warfare’ program, which lead to 400,000 deaths and disabilities and 500,000 children born with birth defects. But even with this evil legacy – and that of Napalm, which it also produced – Dow is not contrite. This corporation continues to pollute the earth without apology.
x
Two rivers downstream of Dow’s plant in Midland, Michigan are polluted with chlorinated furans and dioxins from the company’s past operations. Despite the fact that these chemicals are linked to cancer and other health issues, Dow maintains that the contamination is not a public health threat and has been fighting with the EPA over cleanup for years. Many people in the area aren’t even aware of the extent of the dioxin contamination, and Dow has refused to put up warning signs. Just recently, Dow Chemical sponsored a fishing event in a waterway it polluted with dioxin, never even acknowledging the contamination and its possible effects.
x
Furthermore, following the purchase of Union Carbide – the company responsible for the Bhopal gas disaster which left nearly 20,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands disabled – Dow has refused to take responsibility for the health and environmental effects of the incident.
x
In Dow’s own words “Bhopal was a terrible tragedy that none of us will ever forget. However, it is important to note that Dow never owned or operated the plant, which today is under the control of the Madhya Pradesh state government.”
x
http://www.dow.com/commitments/debates/bhopal/
x
Dow and Monsanato Running for Water, really?  While supportive participants walk and run in this event; Dow, Monsanto and the others continue to run from their own responsibility from not only the ever present deadly pollution they created, but from the murders, birth defects and incredible agony the human race continues to have to endure – because of Dow’s and Monsanto’s profit seeking.
x
www.VetSpeak.org
x

Good Night Saigon...an account of the fall, 04-1975

The 35^th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon

By Chuck Palazzo

Vietnam Affairs & Agent Orange Editor

www.VetSpeak.org

Danang, Vietnam - What follows is a compilation from various sources as well as eye-witness accounts from friends, of what occurred during the days just prior to and the day of, The Fall of Saigon.  My comments and opinions are inserted as well.

On April 30^th, 2010, we commemorate two extraordinary events in United States as well as World history.  The first marks the capture of Saigon, then the capital of South Vietnam, by the North Vietnamese Army.  The end of the Vietnam War was realized and the transition leading to the reunification of Vietnam had begun. The second, a purported humanitarian undertaking - one which quickly ended in tragedy and proved once again that the United States is wrong in trying to influence its own power under the guise of humanity.

The final days of the Fall of Saigon began when the North Vietnamese forces commenced their final attack on April 29^th, 1975.  Heavy artillery bombardment ensued for most of that day and night.  On April 30^th, North Vietnamese Troops had occupied most strategic points of the city and finally overtook the South Vietnamese presidential palace.  In spite of various allied intelligence reports, including those from our own CIA that stated South Vietnam could not be taken by the North through the current dry season and well into 1976, the city had indeed fallen.  These reports were being sent to our Commander In Chief, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Ranked Command Officers as recently as March 5^th.  The strategy of the allied warring commanders was based on those reports.  The eventual fall of a Nation was based on those reports.  The United States and South Vietnam were defeated less than 60 days later – one would argue, the intelligence we were provided was inaccurate at best…perhaps purposely funneled, at worst.

Most Americans wanted to leave Saigon as did many South Vietnamese before the fall.  Many had indeed left prior to the fall.  The North had already started to push southward and the fall was imminent.  Evacuations during the end of March and throughout April had increased.  Flights from Tan Son Nhat International Airport were over-booked.  The Defense Attaché’s Office started to fly undocumented Vietnamese to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. 

Operation Babylift

On April 3, 1975, President Gerald Ford announced “Operation Babylift”.  Over 3,000 Vietnamese orphans would evacuate from the country.  The first C-5A involved in the operation crashed and killed 154 passengers – almost half of the adults and children who were aboard.  A mechanical problem was the official reason given for the crash.  The morale of the American staff was certainly being reduced, but in the last minute haste, this tragedy just added to the devastation of war which was about to end.  At least 2,700 children were flown to the United States and approximately 1,300 were flown to Canada, Europe and Australia. 

The Babylift was controversial, because not all children on the flights were bona fide orphans. Documentation was often inaccurate. In several cases, birth parents or other relatives who later immigrated to the United States from Vietnam requested custody of children already placed. The hasty evacuation in the final days of the war also led to debate over whether the rescue operations were in the best interest of the children.

Interesting, this last slap in the face to the Vietnamese on the very day the war ended. Stolen children under the guise of humanitarian concern, but it is fitting with the Western view that they have more to offer than the Vietnamese. I suppose a part of this tragic stealing of children had to do with the Americans believing their own propaganda. The old video documentaries that show American women talking Vietnamese mothers into allowing the children to be taken to America are fascinating since some of these very Americans were charged with baby selling in Danang many years after the war. It is not very popular to call Operation Babylift a war crime, but it was. 

The Final Days

The President of South Vietnam, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigned on April 21^st, 1975.  His departing words were particularly hard on the Americans, first for forcing South Vietnam to accede to the Paris Peace Accords, second for failing to support South Vietnam afterwards, and all the while asking South Vietnam "to do an impossible thing, like filling up the oceans with stones."  President Thieu went on to say "The United States did not keep its promise to help us fight for freedom and it was in the same fight that the United States lost 50,000 of its young men." The presidency was turned over to Vice President Tran Van Huong.  Thieu and his family fled Vietnam on April 25^th for Taiwan.  He later settled in England, and finally in Massachusetts where he died in 2001.

On April 27^th, the first NVA attack on Saigon had begun when three rockets hit the capital. (The evacuation of Saigon also had to compete for resources with the imminent evacuation of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, which fell on April 17^th). This was the first such attack on Saigon in almost 4 years. 

Before daybreak on April 29^th, Tan Son Nhat airport was hit by rockets and heavy artillery.  As a result, the US defense attaché in Saigon advised Ambassador Martin that the runways were unfit for use and that the emergency evacuation of Saigon must be completed by helicopter.  The original plan to evacuate Americans by fixed wing aircraft was further stymied when a South Vietnamese pilot decided to defect and jettisoned his ordinance along the only remaining runway that was intact.  The helicopter evacuation from Saigon was about to begin. 

After the Ambassador made a personal assessment of the airport, he sent his superior, Henry Kissinger, his report and his request to evacuate immediately. Roughly 3 minutes later, Secretary Kissinger granted permission.   The American radio station in Saigon began to play “White Christmas” on a regular basis which was the signal for American personnel to immediately move to their predesignated evacuation points. 

 

The first CH-53 landed at the DAO (Defense Attaché’s Office) compound in the afternoon, and by the evening, 395 Americans and more than 4,000 Vietnamese had been evacuated. By 23:00 the U.S. Marines who were providing security were withdrawing and arranging the demolition of the DAO office, American equipment, files, and cash.

The original evacuation plans had not called for a large-scale helicopter operation at the US Embassy in Saigon. Helicopters and buses were to shuttle people from the Embassy to the DAO Compound. However, in the course of the evacuation it turned out that a few thousand people were stranded at the embassy, including many Vietnamese. Additional Vietnamese civilians gathered outside the Embassy and scaled the walls, hoping to claim refugee status. Thunderstorms increased the difficulty of helicopter operations.

At 03:45 on the morning of April 30^th, the refugee evacuation was halted. Ambassador Martin had been ordering that South Vietnamese be flown out with Americans up to that point. Kissinger and Ford quickly ordered Martin to evacuate only Americans from that point forward.

Reluctantly, Martin announced that only Americans were to be flown out, due to worries that the North Vietnamese would soon take the city and the Ford administration's desire to announce the completion of the American evacuation.  Ambassador Martin was ordered by President Ford to board the evacuation helicopter.

The call sign of that helicopter was "Lady Ace 09", and the pilot carried direct orders from President Ford for Ambassador Martin to be on board. The pilot, Gerry Berry, had the orders written in grease-pencil on his kneepads. Ambassador Martin's wife, Dorothy, had already been evacuated by previous flights, and left behind her personal suitcase so a South Vietnamese woman might be able to squeeze on board with her.

"Lady Ace 09" from HMM-165 and piloted by Berry, took off around 05:00 - had Martin refused to leave, the Marines had a reserve order to arrest him and carry him away to ensure his safety.  The embassy evacuation had flown out 978 Americans and about 1,100 Vietnamese. The Marines who had been securing the Embassy followed at dawn, with the last aircraft leaving at 07:53.  A few hundred Vietnamese were left behind in the embassy compound, with an additional crowd gathered outside the walls.

Ambassador Martin was flown out to the USS Blue Ridge, where he pleaded for helicopters to return to the Embassy compound to pick up the few hundred remaining hopefuls waiting to be evacuated. Although his pleas were overruled by President Ford, Martin was able to convince the Seventh Fleet to remain on station for several days so any locals who could make their way to sea via boat or aircraft may be rescued by the waiting Americans.

                      Lessons Learned

It is estimated that between 2,495,000 and 5,020,000 human lives resulted in death between the years 1959 and 1975 in Vietnam.  These numbers include those who died as a result of combat, disease, famine and yes, murder.  Of these, over 58,000 Americans were killed.  What are not included are the victims of Agent Orange, PTSD, suicide, etc.  How about the offspring of those who were exposed and continue to suffer and die?  From both sides.

As a former US Marine, it is difficult for me to recount the War, think of fellow Marines who perished, consider the troops – all of us on both sides who were killed, maimed and continue to carry the guilt associated with such a gruesome time in our lives.  As a person who remains active in the fight against the evils of Agent Orange and against those responsible for creating it, selling it, using it and lying about its known affects on mankind as well as the environment, the struggle continues.  As a person who remains active in the fight against PTSD and the consequences so many of us has had to endure over the years, the struggle will, I am afraid, continue well past my departure from this world.  Collateral damage, some would argue – none should be subjected to the lie from our government.  None of us who risked our lives should have to look at the back of a Department of Veterans Affairs’ employee after our claims are rejected, only to die waiting for a resolution.

Walter Cronkite summed it up, in my opinion:

We shouldn't be arrogant about our power and the use of our power.

We should understand that there are attitudes, political positions being taken abroad, that are deeply seated in the culture of the countries involved, and that we should be very careful believing that what we think is right in America is necessarily right for the rest of the world.

We should be very cautious. We should be sure that we understand what we're getting into when we dabble in the affairs of other nations.

And that is particularly true when dabbling gets to the point of committing military forces.

I am afraid our arrogance continues and innocent people die each and every day.  People from America and people from other countries as well.  As recent as yesterday, the US Consulate in Pakistan was attacked, killing two security guards and at least six others.  Collateral damage? Each and every day, scores are killed in Iraq.  Let us not forget Afghanistan.  All, perhaps, as a result of our arrogance.  All, perhaps, as a result of the US not being sure that it understands what they are getting us involved in when we dabble in the affairs of other nations.  All, in my opinion, as a result of the lust the US has as a nation, for war.

Thanks to Billy Joel for Good Night Saigon

www.VetSpeak.org

After Action Report - Wash D.C., March 19-20, 2010

Ed Note: This letter was first posted on the VVAW Contact list serve, by Carol Rawert Trainer, VVAW Kentucky Contact.  I asked her if she would let us share it here on our pages, and she said, "of course...", so here it is...WH

WHAT A WEEK!!!!! A triple whammy!

I just wanted to let you know about our (Harold, aka Harry, and my) trip to DC. We have been here since 3/16 and leave tomorrow. Wow! What a weekend! We stopped by Cindy Sheehan's 'Camp Out Now' by the Washington Monument where they were busy planning the week's events and setting up a memorial of the casulties of the Iraq War, "Arlington West."  The 'cemetery' was very impressive and I have to hand it to those who did so much to make it happen. The group plans to have someone 'camp out' every night til the war is over.

On Saturday we represented the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace at the ANSWER coordinated anti war rally and march. We joined the various groups from around the country to bring an end to the wars. As usual it started very late but once we got going it was impressive. It was a bit disheartening that there were so many fewer people there this year than at past anniversary marches (about 5-8,000 instead of the 50,000 + in the past few years!) Cardboard 'caskets' draped in US and Iraqand Afghan flags were made and dropped off at various sites of prganizations who have had a hand in the war: The Washington Times, Halliburton, VA, and others. Then we returned to the front of the Whitehouse (where we started) and dropped off more caskets. Then about 8 people did civil disobedience by lying down on the sidewalk in front of theWhite House by the caskets. They were eventually handcuffed and taken away after ignoring the warnings that it was against the law. Cindy Sheehan was handcuffed and taken away early on.

Then today we decided to go to the Capitol to see what was happening on healthcare. There were a group of Tea Baggers but their number was dwarfed by the huge number of noisy (yeah!) Hispanics and supporters who assembled and were marching from all points of the Capitol to converge at t point below where the Tea Baggers were. While I was following one of their groups and taking pictures, Harry told me that he overheard that a group of Catholics for Healthcare were assembling across from the tea Baggers at the street where the Congress people were entering the Capitol from the street. So we joined them for 2 hours and were literally face to face and hand to hand with our Congress people. 

Many thanked us for being there to 'cover their backs.' They said they thought they had no support and only saw the teabaggers. They were very grateful for the support which unfortunately had not been planned but just a few days ahead of time. No one really knew about it, but it was great. Pax Christi seemed to be coordinating the effort. I did not know some but did recogize Barney Frank, Conyers, and others. Much news coverage and evenEugene Robinson came over to talk to us. Then a group of Dems came marching in the gate all at once with Nancy Pelosi at the middle and Harry told me to take a picture so I'm not sure who is on the picture yet. Haven't had time to go over it all yet. I called Sr. Miriam from there to tell her we were there and she told me about Maureen Dowd's excellent and much needed opinion column (New York Times, 3/21) about the Catholic nuns who spoke out against the Catholic Bishops' group to support healthcare. I tried to thank her but emails to the NYT had been closed down since she had received 429 comments so soon. Have to email her to thank her.

We wish you could all have been here and were thinking of you. I have a "gardner's tan since it was sunny and in the 70's. I'm calling it an "activist's tan" after this weekend. Better than the past few years here when it was freezing cold, breezy and raining. I'll take sun any day!!! I know your thoughts were with us for this  commemoration of the 7th year of war in the mid-east. Seeing those years stacked up on the courthouse steps is certainly shocking and memorable. Can you believe we have done this 7 years?????

It has been a rewarding week but a tiring one also and it will be good to get back and rest on the good KY soil!!!

And thanks to all the VVAW members who showed up to lend their support to end the wars. In particularly, thanks to the hard work of Ward Reilly and Bill Perry to make things happen! Wish I had their energy and total commitment to the cause.

 x

Carol

x

Photos: Bill Perry, VVAW

 x

www.VetSpeak.org

x