Interesting Story
Jigsaw1695
efforts:
Unique homecoming to Vietnam for US commander
– U.S.Navy Cmdr. Hung Ba Le is seen in front of his ship USS Lassen,
off the Tien Sa Port in Danang, Vietnam, … By BEN STOCKING, Associated
Press Writer Ben Stocking, Associated Press Writer – Sat Nov 7, 8:47
am ET
DANANG, Vietnam – On the day his side lost the Vietnam War, Hung Ba Le
fled his homeland at the age of 5 in a fishing trawler crammed with
400 refugees. Thirty-four years later, he made an unlikely homecoming
— as the commander of a U.S. Navy destroyer.
Le piloted the USS Lassen on Saturday into Danang, home of China
Beach, where U.S. troops frequently headed for R&R during the war,
which ended on April 30, 1975, when the southern city of Saigon was
taken by communist troops from North Vietnam.
That was the day Le and his family embarked on an uncertain journey in
a fishing boat piloted by Le's father, who was a commander in the
South Vietnamese navy. They were rescued at sea by the USS Barbour
County, taken to a U.S. base in the Philippines, a refugee camp in
California and finally to northern Virginia, where they rebuilt their
lives.
Le returned on the Lassen, an $800 million, 509-foot destroyer
equipped with Tomahawk missiles and a crew of 300. The ship and the
USS Blue Ridge, the command vessel for the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet, are
making the latest in a series of goodwill visits to Vietnam, which
began in 2003 when the USS Vandergriff paid a port call to Ho Chi Minh
City, the former Saigon.
"I thought that one day I would return but I really didn't expect to
be returning as the commander of a Navy warship," Le said after
stepping ashore Saturday. "It's an incredible personal honor."
"I'm proud to be an American, but I'm also very proud of my Vietnamese
heritage," said Le, who spoke a few halting words in Vietnamese.
The ship visits represent the efforts of both the United States and
Vietnam to develop their relationship as a balance to Chinese power in
the region, without antagonizing Vietnam's massive northern neighbor.
Directly east of Danang are the Paracel Islands, where China and
Vietnam are engaged in a sensitive territorial dispute over the
archipelago, from which the Chinese drove out South Vietnamese troops
in 1974. They are also wrangling over the Spratlys, another island
chain believed to contain valuable oil and gas reserves.
Le grew up in Hue, a city on the central coast about 65 miles (105
kilometers) north of Danang where he still has relatives. He returned
to a country that is vastly changed from the days of the Vietnam War.
Along the Danang coastline where U.S. troops used to swim and surf,
luxury hotels such as Hyatt and Marriott are springing up. Tourists
are flocking to the region, where they can shoot a few rounds at a
course designed by professional golf star Colin Montgomerie.
The relationship between the United States and communist Vietnam has
also changed dramatically since the former foes normalized relations
in 1995. Trade has boomed, and diplomatic and military ties have grown
closer.
One vivid symbol of their changing relationship can be found not far
from where Le stepped ashore, at a former U.S. air base where American
troops used to store, mix and load the herbicide Agent Orange onto
planes. U.S. forces sprayed Agent Orange, which includes the highly
toxic chemical dioxin, to deprive Vietnamese troops of ground cover.
The two countries are working together to rid the site of dioxin,
which remains in the soil for decades.
But in an indication of remaining hurdles, Saturday's welcoming
ceremony for the Americans was delayed for two hours while the two
sides discussed how to display their flags aboard the Blue Ridge.
Public affairs officer Cdr. Jeff Davis from the U.S. 7th Fleet said
the Americans wanted the flags on the quarter-deck, while the
Vietnamese wanted to fly them from the mast. In the end, they flew
them from the mast.
When Le fled in 1975, only four of the eight children in his family
made it out of the country. The others stayed in Vietnam until 1983,
when the family was reunited.
Le has few memories of his three-day journey on the fishing trawler,
which ended just as they were running out of food, water and fuel.
But he has vivid memories of the example set by his father, Thong Ba
Le, who is now 69 and has never returned to Vietnam. After the family
settled in northern Virginia, he took a job in a supermarket, where he
worked his way up from bag boy to manager.
"I always wanted to be like my dad," Le said. "He persevered and
overcame many challenges."
Earl Evleth
aa3fdfba-1364-4822...@v25g2000yqk.googlegroups.com,
"Jigsaw1695" <Jigsa...@aol.com> wrote:
> Ah... the American Dream is still alive and well despite Obamas best
> efforts:
>
>
> Unique homecoming to Vietnam for US commander
Strange you should post about a war lost, where
thousands of Americans died in vane.
The irony now is that the two nations are not
at war and that Vietnam is not that bad off.
One wonders what the South would be if the
Americans had won? Worse or better off.
There is no answer to that question, all we
know is that Americans who died there died
in vain. Nothing was accomplished and
the dominos did not fall because of that.
Mitchell Holman
c132fc...@v25g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:
>
>
> The relationship between the United States and communist Vietnam has
> also changed dramatically since the former foes normalized relations
> in 1995. Trade has boomed, and diplomatic and military ties have grown
> closer.
And yet we still maintain an embargo on Cuba because
they - like China and Vietnam - have communist governments.
Why?
PJ O'Donovan
> Jigsaw1695 <Jigsaw1...@aol.com> wrote in news:aa3fdfba-1364-4822-b9f2-
> c132fc340...@v25g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:
>
>
>
> > The relationship between the United States and communist Vietnam has
> > also changed dramatically since the former foes normalized relations
> > in 1995. Trade has boomed, and diplomatic and military ties have grown
> > closer.
>
> And yet we still maintain an embargo on Cuba because
> they - like China and Vietnam - have communist governments.
>
> Why?
<And yet we still maintain an embargo on Cuba because
they - like China and Vietnam - have communist governments.
Holeman>
The former is about 90 miles from our shores while the latter are half
way around the world from our shores.
If brains were material Holeman, you wouldn't have enough for a flea's
jock strap
John Rennie
PJ O'Donovan
>
> "Jigsaw1695" <Jigsaw1...@aol.com> wrote:
> > Ah... the American Dream is still alive and well despite Obamas best
> > efforts:
>
> > Unique homecoming to Vietnam for US commander
>
> Strange you should post about a war lost, where
> thousands of Americans died in vane.
>
> know is that Americans who died there died
More hogwash from a quinteesential useful idiot of Leftism from that
era
For a reality check check out Michael Lind's book, "Vietnam: The
Necessary
War" in which he described the useful idots on the anti-war left of
that era as ant-anti-communists.
Comments/reviews on Michael Linds book;Vietnam: The Necessary War
:
"...the antiwar left, which swallowed much of Ho Chi Minh's
propaganda....
Lind's arguments, if not always persuasive, are always provocative.
His
book, with its intelligent analysis of U.S. intervention in Kosovo
and
other current foreign policy quandaries, is likely to shift the
debate
on Vietnam and to color future debates" about U.S. military
intervention abroad. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist:
"Will provoke much debate about a war that even thirty years later
has
a second life
as a symbol in American politics"
From The Washington Post Book World:
"Polemic, provocative, engaging and infuriating...it blows up some
old
myths that need deflating.."
From Library Journal:
"...this is still one of the best short historical analyses of the
Cold
War in recent years.
The New York Times Book Review:
"...a substantial, challenging, even visionary work of a kind
increasingly rare in contemporary political writing.."
The New York Times:
"...it is unlikely that Lind will change many minds with this book.
Nonetheless, it is a forceful and fresh look at the conflict,"
From Kirkus Reviews:
"..an examination of regional and ethnic influences in the antiwar
movement are well researched, backed up with solid sources, and
convincingly argued.
From Dan Rather (yes, Dan Rather believe it or not)
Michael is one of the smartest and most gifted writers I know of. He
is also one of the bravest, unafraid to tackle the most controversial
subjects. Now he turns his formidable attentions to the Vietnam War,
and the results will dazzle you..."
Review
"Fareed Zakaria managing editor, Foreign Affairs A quarter century
after its bitter end, Vietnam remains America's most controversial
war
and Michael Lind's book is sure to set off new sparks about it.
Looking
at the war from the heights of grand strategy and the inner reaches
of
domestic politics, Lind makes a fresh, highly intelligent, and
passionate case for rethinking the conventional wisdom.."
The New York Times has written of Michael Lind that he "defies the
usual political categories of left and right, liberal and
conservative." And in an era when the United States so often finds
itself embroiled in prolonged and difficult conflicts -- in Kosovo,
Bosnia, and Iraq -- Lind offers a sobering cautionary tale to Am
ericans
of all political viewpoints.
From Simon and Schuster:
"Michael Lind demolishes the state orthodoxies of the left and the
right and puts the Vietnam War in its proper context - as part of the
global conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States..."
Stopped search due to other time priorities.
About the Author
Michael Lind is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and the
Washington editor of Harper's Magazine. He is also the author of five
previous books, including The Next American Nation and Up from
Conservatism. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington
Post, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, The New
Republic, and other publications. He holds a master's degree in
international relations from Yale University and a law degree from
the
University of Texas. He lives in Washington, DC..
Mitchell Holman
213dbf...@v25g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:
Cuba is third world basket case barely able to feed itself
and PJ thinks the worlds only superpower should be afraid of it.
Amazing..............
Mitchell Holman
news:E6qdnfBhPpksTmvX...@giganews.com:
The Miami Malcontents.
Jigsaw1695
> "PJ O'Donovan" <pjdnvn...@gmail.com> wrote in news:abe0a819-b27d-4d0e-8e1e-
> 213dbf52a...@v25g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:
>
> - Show quoted text -
Well son, why dont you ask the democrats why they placed an embargo on
Cuba in the first place.
Jigsaw
Earl Evleth
6922ec35-594c-47b2...@a32g2000yqm.googlegroups.com,
"Jigsaw1695" <Jigsa...@aol.com> wrote:
> Well son, why dont you ask the democrats why they placed an embargo on
> Cuba in the first place.
It out lived its usefulness when nobody paid any attention to it.
Embargos are tough to impose. The US will try this with Iran, possibly
in collaboration with most of the Western nations. But Iran is next
door to Russia and if Russia does not go along that is the end
of the effectiveness of the Embargo. If the US decides to blockade
Iranian ports, that is an act of war and one presumes the Iran
will make trouble in the gulf if that happened.
As for Cuba, during my visits there and having inspected several
labs I found that their equipment was purchases from Japan
and Taiwan. Some of the items was American in name but manufactured
in Asia. They could not get IBM workstation computers but competitive
workstations were available from the east. The US has a policy of
punishing those who trade with Cuba, IF they can find them.
But one can wipe out the paper trails of these sales through
3rd parties.
Basically, the ability of the US to push around other countries
has progressively diminished. We currently have the clown
Chavez thumbing his nose at us.
Mitchell Holman
news:6922ec35-594c-47b2...@a32g2000yqm.googlegroups.com:
Is that the best defense of the Cuban Embargo you have?
Sad................
Earl Evleth
Xns9CBDD565E9A16...@216.196.97.130, "Mitchell Holman"
<noe...@comcast.net> wrote:
>> Well son, why dont you ask the democrats why they placed an embargo on
>> Cuba in the first place.
>
>
> Is that the best defense of the Cuban Embargo you have?
>
> Sad................
Normal for Jiggy. He is overly influenced by the Miami
Cubans.
I have communicated with a number of the years
and my wife and I are probably the only people
on this group to have visited Cuba and still
have people there we know.
The basic truth is that after a person is in any
country for more than a few years they will mostly
not "go home". The Florida Cubans I know said they will
not, life in the US is better.
A large portion of those who did come from Cuba are
the upper and middle classes and the Cuban revolution
treated them harshly, favoring the peasants who were
exploited by the land owners. The revolution gave
them better medical care, better housing and
better education. The upper class Cubans in Havana suffered
from loss of property. The fine single residence
homes at the edge of town were confiscated and
subdivided into small apartments for the poorer
Cubans. And the upkeep is poor. Most of Havana has
not had a needed paint job since the revolution.`
Those that lost property and living in Florida, dream
of getting it back but not moving back. If the regime
does change radically allowing that to happen there
will be trouble. The poor are trained in militias
and will kill some of those trying, a kind of civil
war will occur. The situation will not develop as it
did with the self-liberation of East Germany. Cuba will moved
towards some sort of anarchy. The main change will be
in the increase of poverty and the transition to
a consumer society. That some local Cubans will like that,
and the young will like the freedom that a free society
provides. But there is no prediction how this will
work out in the long run. Nobody 30 years ago
would have predicted the Vietnam or the China of
today in which economic freedom has developed but
political freedom has not. American academic experts
had not correctly predicted the evolution of Russian
society after the fall of the USSR. Even the best
and the brightest of us failed to see the future very
far.
Kurt Nicklas
> "PJ O'Donovan" <pjdnvn...@gmail.com> wrote in news:abe0a819-b27d-4d0e-8e1e-
> 213dbf52a...@v25g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:
>
>
>
>
>
> >> Jigsaw1695 <Jigsaw1...@aol.com> wrote in news:aa3fdfba-1364-4822-b9f2-
> >> c132fc340...@v25g2000yqk.googlegroups.com:
>
> >> > The relationship between the United States and communist Vietnam has
> >> > also changed dramatically since the former foes normalized relations
> >> > in 1995. Trade has boomed, and diplomatic and military ties have grown
> >> > closer.
>
> >> And yet we still maintain an embargo on Cuba because
> >> they - like China and Vietnam - have communist governments.
>
> >> Why?
>
> > <And yet we still maintain an embargo on Cuba because
> > they - like China and Vietnam - have communist governments.
>
> > Holeman>
>
> > The former is about 90 miles from our shores while the latter are half
> > way around the world from our shores.
>
> Cuba is third world basket case barely able to feed itself
> and PJ thinks the worlds only superpower should be afraid of it.
>
> Amazing............
Sez the loon who's terrified of Billy Graham and James Dobson.
Sheesh........