As I walked towards the entrance to
Tucson High this morning, I noticed that there was a flyer posted to the door
inviting students to take a trip this summer to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand
- which brought back memories of my college days.
I graduated from college in June of 1969,
which meant that I immediately lost my student deferment. At the
time, of course, the war in Vietnam was still in full swing, and people my age
were doing whatever they could to avoid being drafted. For me, that was a
special concern because I was required to take a draft physical in
Minneapolis shortly after I graduated.
My boss at the time had a relative in Iowa, so I and one of my co-workers drove to Iowa in an attempt to get into a guard unit there.
We were not successful.
I then went to every National Guard and Army Reserve unit in the Twin Cities, even though they all said that they were full. The first draft lottery was held in December of 1969, and I drew #167. Since the Army was taking 30 numbers a month, I potentially could have been drafted in May.
Fortunately, the guard unit at the downtown St. Paul
airport called me, and I was admitted. My MOS was going to be 67N20, which was
a helicopter repairman. I was sworn in in February of 1970, and was discharged
6 years later.
The early 1970's were a dramatic period of time for our
country
The Pentagon Papers were made public in 1971, and the Watergate hearings happened in 1973, which caused Nixon to resign in August of 1974. As a result, Gerald Ford became the president.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers
In order to promote healing in the country, he
gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon on September 9, 1974. Although he
eventually received the Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the pardon was a
contributing factor to his loss to Jimmy Carter in 1976. Before he left office,
Ford offered conditional clemency to the people who had violated Selective
Service laws. The clemency program was not successful due to its low
participation, so Jimmy Carter knew he had to do something different
One day after his inauguration in 1977, Carter issued Executive Order 11967, which granted a pardon to all Vietnam War draft dodgers, but it did not address the issue of deserters. His pardon was not well received by the public, since only it was supported by 20% of the public. It was the first of many such acts that Carter did during his presidency, because he believed in doing the right thing, even if it was not popular.
Formal relations with Vietnam started at the end of the 19th century, but soured after the United States did not support Vietnam after the invasion by the French.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93Vietnam_relations
During the Second World War, the U.S. covertly assisted the Viet Minh in fighting Japanese forces in French Indochina, though a formal alliance was not established. On 3 February 1950, the U.S. recognized the State of Vietnam, an independent country within the French Union. After the dissolution of French Indochina in 1954, the U.S. supported the capitalist South Vietnam as opposed to communist North Vietnam and fought North Vietnam directly during the Vietnam War.
After American withdrawal in 1973 and the subsequent fall
of South Vietnam in
1975, the U.S. applied a trade embargo and severed ties with Vietnam,
mostly out of concerns relating to Vietnamese boat people and
the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue.
Attempts at re-establishing relations went unfulfilled for decades, until U.S.
president Bill Clinton began
normalizing diplomatic relations in the 1990s. In 1994, the U.S. lifted its
30-year trade embargo on Vietnam, though other sanctions,
and calls for more of them from American politicians, on people and
organizations related to the Vietnamese government have remained in place after
that. The following year, both countries established embassies and consulates.
Relations between the two countries continued to improve into the 21st century.
Vietnam is now considered to be a potential ally of the
United States, especially in the geopolitical context of the territorial disputes in the South
China Sea and in the containment of Chinese expansionism. Vietnam,
one of the countries with the most favorable public opinion regarding the U.S.,
is the only communist country to have such a favorable view. Every U.S.
president since diplomatic normalization in 1995 has visited Vietnam at least
once, highlighting the importance of Vietnam in the U.S.'s growing pivot to Asia;
these visits have been welcomed by the Vietnamese populace despite political
differences
Over 2.1 million Vietnamese American are largely immigrants who moved to the United States
after the Vietnam War. They comprise nearly half of all overseas Vietnamese.
One of the ways that America tried to heal the wounds of the Vietnam War was the construction of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall.
https://www.vvmf.org/About-The-Wall/
There is another Thomas Brennan on the wall, as well as
a few relatives, neighbors, and classmates.
The
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund wanted, above all, for the memorial to have a
prominent site in a large, park-like area; thus, the western end of
Constitution Gardens was requested as the site. Subsequently, VVMF set four
major criteria for the design: (1) that it be reflective and contemplative in
character, (2) that it harmonizes with its surroundings, especially the
neighboring national memorials, (3) that it contains the names of all who died
or remain missing, and (4) that it makes no political statement about the war.
Maya Lin conceived her design
as creating a park within a park — a quiet protected place unto itself, yet
harmonious with the overall plan of Constitution Gardens. To achieve this
effect, she chose polished black granite for the walls. Its mirror-like surface
reflects the images of the surrounding trees, lawns and monuments. The
Memorial’s walls point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, thus
bringing the Memorial into the historical context of our country. The names are
inscribed in the chronological order of their dates of casualty, showing the war
as a series of individual human sacrifices and giving each name a special place
in history.
The
monument was dedicated in 1982 – and I have seen it in person.
About
5 years after the wall was dedicated, a movie titled “Good Morning, Vietnam”
was released. Starring Robin Williams, it described the career of a man named
Adrian Cronauer, who serve in Vietnam for about a year in the mid-1960’s. Here
is a clip from the movie:
Good Morning Vietnam BestScenes
Like
more military conflicts, the Vietnam war inspired dozens of songs, and LOTS of
movies. To be exact, there were a total of 50 movies released that were related
to the war The vast majority focused on the war and its aftermath, but only two
(Forest Gump and Good Morning, Vietnam!) mixed in humor with dramatic acting to
tell their story.
https://www.looper.com/1076956/best-vietnam-war-movies-of-all-time-ranked/
It would be difficult to pick the best of the 50, but
at least one source chose Apocalypse Now as the best movie.
Nominated at The Academy Awards for best
picture, best director, and best supporting actor (Duvall), critics have
regularly sung its praises. Roger Ebert, who listed the film as one of the
greatest movies of all time, perhaps put it best: "'Apocalypse Now' is the
best Vietnam film ... because it pushes beyond the others, into the dark places
of the soul. It is not about war so much as about how war reveals truths we
would be happy never to discover."
On this list, Good Morning, Vietnam is
ranked #38, but is still one of my favorite movies.
Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) is an
American radio DJ who arrives in Vietnam to take over as the voice for Armed
Forces Radio Service. While his comedic sensibility proves incredibly popular
among the troops, Cronauer routinely butts heads with his immediate superiors,
who dislike his unorthodox sense of humor.
"Good Morning, Vietnam" strikes
a great balance between laughs and a genuinely hard-hitting depiction of the
Vietnam War. Like some of the most poignant comedies, the film probes deeply
into the idea of comedy as a form of escape — a crutch we can all rely on when
reality becomes too grim and unbearable to stomach. In the lead role, Williams
injects a soft-sided humanity into his character, portraying him as the modern
equivalent of Hawkeye Pierce from "MASH." He's a character clearly
out of his element in the chaos of war, but who copes with his surroundings by
making incessant jokes to lighten the mood.
It's Williams' performance that most accounts for the film's success. In addition to the praise he garnered for the role, he received an Academy Award and BAFTA nomination for best actor, winning the Golden Globe in that same category. "Make no mistake about it: Mr. Williams's performance, though it's full of uproarious comedy, is the work of an accomplished actor. “'Good Morning, Vietnam' is one man's tour de force," said the New York Times' Vincent Canby.
Forrest Gump was ranked #6. It continues
to be one of the most celebrated films of the 1990s. The second
highest-grossing movie of 1994 (reported by Box Office Mojo), it won
practically every award it was nominated for, including the Academy Award for
best picture, best actor (Hanks), and best director. "The film has been
very well worked out on all levels, and manages the difficult feat of being an
intimate, even delicate tale played with an appealingly light touch against an
epic backdrop," said Variety's Todd McCarthy.
Just as important, it inspired Gary
Sinise (Captain Dan) to become an advocate for the men and women in the military.
His book “A Grateful American” is definitely worth reading.
These are stressful times. There are LOTS of people experiencing depression because of the November election.
Humor is
one of the best ways I can think of to deal with, so I would start by watching “Good
Morning, Vietnam!" one more time. he country was beginning to have more positive feelings toward
Vietnam veterans. Movies were dealing more realistically with their issues. And
Congress had declared a “Vietnam Veterans Week” for that April to honor those
who had returned home.
One film
that came out early that year, The
Deer Hunter, explored the effects of war on three friends,
their families and a tight-knit community. When Scruggs went to see the movie
in early 1979, it wasn’t the graphic war scenes that haunted him. It was the
reminder that the men who died in Vietnam all had faces and names, as well as
friends and families who loved them dearly. He could still picture the faces of
his 12 buddies, but the passing years were making it harder and harder to
remember their names.
That
bothered him. It seemed unconscionable that he–or anyone else–should be allowed
to forget. For weeks, he obsessed about the idea of building a memorial.
“It just
resonated,” he explained. “If all of the names could be in one place, these
names would have great power—a power to heal. It would have power for
individual veterans, but collectively, they would have even greater power to
show the enormity of the sacrifices that were made.”
His research
had proven that post-traumatic stress was real and had shone a light on the
challenges faced by a significant number of military veterans. The idea for a
memorial seemed like a natural extension of his work and his growing desire to
find a way to help veterans. He had studied the work of psychiatrist Carl
Jung, a student of Sigmund Freud, who wrote of shared societal values. As
Scruggs analyzed the concept of collective psychological states, he realized
that, just as veterans needed psychological healing, so too did the nation.
“The
Memorial had several purposes,” he explained. “It would help veterans
heal. Its mere existence would be societal recognition that their sacrifices
were honorable rather than dishonorable. Veterans needed this, and so did the
nation. Our country needed something symbolic to help heal our wounds.”
By 1979, the
country was beginning to have more positive feelings toward Vietnam veterans.
Movies were dealing more realistically with their issues. And Congress had
declared a “Vietnam Veterans Week” for that April to honor those who had
returned home.
One film
that came out early that year, The
Deer Hunter, explored the effects of war on three friends,
their families and a tight-knit community. When Scruggs went to see the movie
in early 1979, it wasn’t the graphic war scenes that haunted him. It was the
reminder that the men who died in Vietnam all had faces and names, as well as
friends and families who loved them dearly. He could still picture the faces of
his 12 buddies, but the passing years were making it harder and harder to
remember their names.
That
bothered him. It seemed unconscionable that he–or anyone else–should be allowed
to forget. For weeks, he obsessed about the idea of building a memorial.
“It just
resonated,” he explained. “If all of the names could be in one place, these
names would have great power—a power to heal. It would have power for
individual veterans, but collectively, they would have even greater power to
show the enormity of the sacrifices that were made.”
His research
had proven that post-traumatic stress was real and had shone a light on the
challenges faced by a significant number of military veterans. The idea for a
memorial seemed like a natural extension of his work and his growing desire to
find a way to help veterans. He had studied the work of psychiatrist Carl
Jung, a student of Sigmund Freud, who wrote of shared societal values. As
Scruggs analyzed the concept of collective psychological states, he realized
that, just as veterans needed psychological healing, so too did the nation.
“The
Memorial had several purposes,” he explained. “It would help veterans
heal. Its mere existence would be societal recognition that their sacrifices
were honorable rather than dishonorable. Veterans needed this, and so did the
nation. Our country needed something symbolic to help heal our wounds.”
By 1979, the
country was beginning to have more positive feelings toward Vietnam veterans.
Movies were dealing more realistically with their issues. And Congress had
declared a “Vietnam Veterans Week” for that April to honor those who had
returned home.
One film that came out early that year, The Deer Hunter, explored the effects of war on
