SwiftVets.com

[SCHUTZHUND]

And now a word from the 'dominoes'

By MICHAEL P. TREMOGLIE


DURING THE Vietnam War, John Kerry testified before a Senate Foreign
Relations Committee panel that an investigation conducted by Kerry and his
group, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, revealed that U.S. soldiers
committed atrocities in Vietnam. The investigation was called Winter
Soldier.

Now that Kerry wants to be president, some of his former military colleagues
say they still resent his allegations. They believe that Kerry slandered his
colleagues as war criminals merely as a pretext for gaining support for the
withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. They believe he was pandering to those
who said the "domino theory" was not valid, that the Vietnamese communists
were nationalists, not terrorists.

One way to try to resolve those conflicting views is asking those affected
most by the war - the South Vietnamese. Philadelphia has a large Vietnamese
community composed mostly of Vietnamese refugees. Some were "boat people"
who fled the horror of communist Vietnam on rafts, boats and pieces of
driftwood, risking their lives. Others are more recent arrivals. All fled
the utopia that Vietnam was supposed to become, according to Kerry and his
anti-war colleagues.

Quyen V. Ngo was a boat person. He was rescued by an U.S. merchant ship
after three nights at sea. Born near Haiphong, his parents fled communist
North Vietnam for the South in 1953.

A captain in the South Vietnamese army (ARVN), Ngo says he never saw any
atrocities by U.S. soldiers, nor did he hear of any. He said he did not
believe Kerry's tales about U.S. troops systematically committing war
crimes. He thinks Kerry fabricated them. And testimony like Kerry's, Ngo
believes, encouraged the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong communists to kill
more Vietnamese and U.S. soldiers.

Ngo believes to this day that those Americans who opposed the war did not
see the truth about it and the communists. Thuoc Nguyen was an ARVN soldier.
Captured in June 1975 by the communists, he was imprisoned until October
1984. His only crime, he says, was that he was a soldier. He never saw or
heard of any atrocities by U.S. soldiers.

Be Hua was an ARVN colonel. He was sent north to a re-education camp for
eight years, he says, simply because he was an ex-soldier. He, too, says he
was not aware of any atrocities by American soldiers. He said that he "only
read about it in communist newspapers after the war."

Quang Nguyen was an officer in the South Vietnamese navy. He worked closely
with the Swift boats. He was not aware of any atrocities - and he served 15
years in the navy.

Tran-Van-Ca was an ARVN major. He served 12 years, 10 months, 7 days in
re-education camps simply because he was a former ARVN soldier. While there,
he witnessed the execution of 20 of his colleagues because the communists
wanted to show the populace, during an election, that they must do what the
government says. They executed his friend during election season because
"they want to show people that this will happen to you if you don't do what
told to do."

Mary Ray is a leader of Philadelphia's Vietnamese community. She came to the
United States because of what she calls the horror of communist rule. She
said the Vietnamese community in Philadelphia is enthusiastic about
President Bush, and think of him as a strong leader.

She was incensed about the criticism of Bush's National Guard service. "This
man served in the Army," she said, starting to point to people around the
table. "This one in the Navy. This one was a police officer. They all served
their country. Does it really matter how they served?"

The folks I talked to say they believe George W. Bush is the candidate to
lead the war on terror. They believe John Kerry will be too equivocal. They
believe he proved he was incapable of guiding American foreign policy
because of his anti-war protests.

They also believe he is incapable of guiding U.S. foreign policy because of
his Senate opposition to GOP policies and his overall hostility to the CIA.
And they should know.


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Michael P. Tremoglie is a local writer.
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/9924032.htm?1c

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[Tacan70UDN]

Compare this Vietnamese story to that on Nightline. What a difference! I hope this gets good play, but I doubt it. It might mess up MSM's image of themselves.

[Barbie2004]

Who would know better? Fabulous article!

[ashter]

This was a great article. Perhaps more discussions and interviews of the Vietnamese needs to occur on national TV. The left think Kerry was only trying to stop the war and end the violence...how wrong they were, and still are.

[buffman]

The Viet Americans in Philly registered to vote?
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Never Ever Give Up
America First

[God and Country]

The Vietnamese-American who change my car oil asked me last week.

"Who are you going to vote for," he asked.

I told him it is a no brainer, President Bush is the man. I also told him that a vote for traitor kerry is a vote for the communist.

He said, "Sir, President Bush is my man too."

God bless America and the Vietnamese-Americans.


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Conservative and proud