Recognition
for the veterans who fought and won the war is still MIA - By Phillip Jennings -
On
March 29, commander in chief of the armed forces (and President) Obama signed a
presidential proclamation designating March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day. I found out by accident and have yet
to talk to a Vietnam vet since that date who
was aware of the honor bestowed upon him. Even the 50th Anniversary of the
Vietnam War Commemoration website (the commemoration commission has been
functioning at least two years) failed to carry the proclamation.
It
may be that National Dill Pickle Day or Take Your Hamster to Work Day knocked
the news off the front page and left no precious time on national news
stations. For the record, the Vietnam War was fought about four decades ago;
hundreds of thousands of Americans and millions of Vietnamese were casualties;
and many considered the war somewhat controversial. (Yes, this is sarcasm.)
A
number of states also have proclaimed a Vietnam Veterans Day - some March 29, some March 30, some
seemingly picked randomly, perhaps adjusted to fit holiday weekend preferences.
Actually, the end of the war is marked and historically noted, but proclaiming
it publicly could take the president (or others of the liberal persuasion) into
an uncomfortable area. American combat involvement in the Vietnam War began in
1962 and ended in March 1973 with an overwhelming defeat of the communist
forces, a peace treaty, the return of
It
may be that President Obama honestly and sincerely meant to say thanks to the Vietnam
veteran. But a nagging point hovers like a hornet - the question as to whether
the obviously untrumpeted proclamation has anything
to do with friends of the president and, in particular, his early mentor and
sometimes adviser Bill Ayers. Let me include the Ayers Wikipedia entry so I
won’t be accused of trying to make his biography sound even more
anti-American than it is:
“William Charles 'Bill' Ayers (born
Mr.
Ayers, by the way, most recently was seen angrily protesting the fact that
uniformed
My
fear is that Mr. Ayers might have filled his young protege’s
noggin with the most radical and horrific myths that have been perpetrated
about the war these past 40 or 50 years. That might prevent the president from
truly commemorating the Vietnam War veteran by simply speaking the truth about
the war - that it was a noble cause fought and won
against a treacherous communist regime but was then thrown away. Vets I know
care nothing about a parade or even a thanks. Those who matter thanked most of
us long ago. We want the truth known.
Which brings us to the Commission for the 50th Commemoration of
the Vietnam War. I admire those laboring on the commission. I thank them for their
efforts. They are good and honorable men and women. They have and seemingly
will accomplish little if anything that truly addresses and honors the veterans
of the Vietnam War. Isn’t it fair to ask why? Why after two years of
existence is there no plan, no advisory board, no statement, no decent website,
no activities announced - nothing? Given little evidence to the contrary, my
belief is that there is a connection between a lukewarm (at best) proclamation
and a stuck-in-the-mud commission, one run by the Pentagon. My suspicions are
broad-based, but an example might illuminate.
In
2011, the commission was contacted by a vice president of an organization
purporting to represent
The
nation asked much from its young men during the Vietnam War. The Army responded
brilliantly over the life of the war. It seems a small thing to ask the nation
to drop “controversial” as a qualifier, to ignore
“quagmire” as a description and to clearly define the history of
the
The
commemoration the Vietnam veterans deserve is true recognition of their
accomplishment - the most significant combat victory in the Cold War.
Phillip Jennings was a Marine Corps captain in Vietnam.
He is author of “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Vietnam
War” (Regnery, 2010).