30 Years Later

The United States withdrew from Viet Nam 30 years ago. To
commemorate the anniversary Utne.com offers the following
links.

Laurel Wamsley, the daughter of a Viet Nam veteran, went to
Southeast Asia in search of forgiveness and was surprised to find
herself welcomed.
Her
story, originally published in Common Dreams, was
featured in the January/February 2005 issue of Utne
magazine.

In the same issue of Utne,
Ed
Tick writes about his experiences as a psychotherapist who
leads reconciliation trips for war veterans and examines the
continued effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people.

Created and written by Suel D. Jones, the
‘End of
the War in Vietnam, 30th Anniversary Message, Petition to U.S.
Citizens and Veterans of Vietnam War,’ commemorates the end of
the war with a formal apology to Viet Nam. The petition explains
that ‘while Vietnam has never demanded an apology from the U.S. for
our massive armed intervention in Vietnam’s internal affairs, we
nonetheless wish to take this opportunity to express our
recognition of America’s role in causing tremendous devastation of
natural resources, economic dislocation, loss of life, and pain and
suffering for millions of people.’

In August of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson, prompted by alleged
attacks against American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin,
announced retaliatory action against the North Vietnamese. In 1994,
30 years after the Tonkin incident,
Norman Solomon
wrote that ‘by reporting official claims as absolute truths,
American journalism opened the floodgates for the bloody Vietnam
War.’

Some Viet Nam veterans plan to mark the anniversary by
protesting their post-war treatment. ‘We believe that April 30, the
30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, is the right time
to call attention to the fact that 30 years after the end of that
war, veterans of all eras are still battling to preserve the
benefits they have and assure adequate funding for veterans health
care,’ Thomas H. Corey, National President of Viet Nam Veterans of
America, says in a
press
release. The group is planning a rally April 30 for veterans’
health care on Capitol Hill.

Go there >>
The
Fog of Peace

Go there too >>
Fallen
Leaves, Broken Lives

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