University of Nebraska Kearney - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Kearney, NE)

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Vie tn a m continued which were mountainous — pleasant during the day but rather cool at night. Vietnam differed from World War II because of the introduction of the heli-’ copter, on location news media and modern telecommunications and the 12- month tour for the soldier, he said. Q £ he United States could have certainly defeated North Viet- nam had the military been granted to annihilate them. ” — Hamilton If a soldier were severely wounded during combat in the deep jungle, a heli- copter could be radioed to fly in, pick up the wounded soldier and fly him back to a hospital for treatment, he explained. The total time from when the soldier was injured until he reached the hospital could be 15-20 minutes, and his life was saved. Hamilton said the same injured soldier in World War II would have died because he could not have received the proper medical attention. Hamilton blames the military struc- ture for the fall of Saigon. “South Viet- namese armies and air forces didn't do their job, he said. “They fell back and allowed the communists to gain the up- per hand. Panic set in and all the people wanted to do was flee the North Viet- namese. The military discipline broke down and there were more desertions on the South Vietnamese side, so the communists took over in an unhindered, reasonably easy fashion. He believes the communist take- over could not have been prevented. The South Vietnamese people were ru- ral people, unable to stand against an or- ganized, concerted movement from the North Vietnamese. The United States only prolonged the takeover about 15 years, Hamilton said. The United States could have cer- tainly defeated North Vietnam, had the military been granted to annihilate them,” he said. “The American soldier and his machinery were far superior to the North Vietnamese soldier, his weap- onry and his army.” Even though the South Vietnamese wanted to maintain their freedom, they were not industrialized enough nor the type of people who were ready to stand up and win the conflict, he said. “They believed in what we were try- ing to do for them but it was an effort in vain because they weren't ready to han- dle it when we gave the conflict back to them, he continued. “The only way to win was to take the war out of South Vietnam and move it into North Vietnam. We kept the war in South Vietnam and only made occasional bombings in North Vietnam. The Chinese told the United States not to invade North Vietnam or they would enter the war in a big way, he said. Because we had the same prob- lem in the Korean conflict, and because it was unpopular with the American pub- lic, the United States chose not to invade and demolish North Vietnam. In Hamilton's opinion, when the United States withdrew from South Viet- nam, they pulled the plug and left the South Vietnam- ese to be washed down the drain. Myself and all the other offi- cers who left dur- ing that time- frame agreed that within one to two years, South Vietnam would dissolve,” he concluded. “The South Vietnamese military wasn't prepared to defend the country without the United States because the civilians were not much of a force to stop the North Viet- namese. The U.S. political leadership knew very well they were pulling the plug on the country. There is no doubt in Hamilton's mind that the Vietnam Conflict could have been won had the American public and its government fully supported the effort. Hamilton: Yankees' Homecoming Some fled to Canada. Others at- tended college. Johnny went to war! Little 18-year-old Johnny Jones from Anytown, USA might have been the only kid in his neighborhood to go to Vietnam because some divided up and went to Canada while others went to col- lege, Hamilton said. “When Johnny came back, he was alienated from his hometown and soci- ety because he had experienced tre- mendous things that were different from what his friends had experienced, he said. “His eyes had been opened to other cultures and places in the world, he added. “He was better educated in the school of hard knocks, real experiences and was a better-rounded person. John- ny had a better perspective on how life and death really are in the world, and what’s important in life. “None of Johnny's buddies had those perspectives. He found himself not sharing the same things in common with his friends and he may have been gone only a brief year or two. Johnny had lost many of his friends just due to a brief split in their directions, Hamilton said. The Vietnam Conflict drafted some people while it left others untouched, he said. People got away with fleeing the country and evading the draft. Large numbers had deferments and the ser- vice ended up with a poor cross sec- tion. He explained that the primary ene- my was the lack of public support from the United States. “It was de- moralizing to the soldiers in Viet- nam to be told that they were serving in what was considered a worthless cause, Hamilton said. The country wasn’t committed to the effort, he continued. It wasn't be- hind its sons and daughters over there. The Vietnam veteran became the object of public scorn because of the war. The veteran of World War II was a hero; he met his country's call and had the total nation behind him. The country supported rationing and everything that went along with the war effort here at home. Those guys did their best and were welcomed home as heroes. Hamilton said the news media had a dramatic effect on the public’s attitude toward the Vietnam Conflict. The media can be viewed from two perspectives. One view is that the media did its job and did it reasonably well by reporting what was happening so the American public could make up Its own mind on how to perceive Vietnam, he said. The other view sees the media los- ing its sense of loyalty to the U.S. gov- ernment, military and its soldiers. It made the conflict look as bad as possi- ble and put a bad taste in the mouth of the American public, he said. When America could come home and watch Johnny get shot on TV. that has a great deal of impact on people, He said. Hamilton said modern transporta- tion also played a role making Vietnam different from previous conflicts. Soldiers could be sitting home in Mom's kitchen eating apple pie on Wednesday and could be in Vietnam on Saturday, he said. On Monday they could be involved in a firefight with the enemy. This could all happen within a week. It's very hard for a person's men- tality to accept and adjust to it. The reverse could happen. They could spend a year over there, facing life I t was demoralizing to the soldiers in Vietnam to be told that they were serving in what was consid- ered a worthless cause. ” — Hamilton 20

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lar movements or national liberation movements.” He said that over the past few years Americans have tried to justify the war. “As memories of Vietnam faded, people from the president on down said it was a just, good and necessary struggle and that if we gave the military a chance, we could have won the war. ‘‘There’s a revision of the Vietnam conflict going on and a glorification for what we were doing there. Things like ‘Rambo’ movies misrepresent and cre- ate a legend that is bogus in terms of what they are saying. ‘‘Sylvester Stallone goes over to Vietnam to win what we lost in the war. It didn’t happen like that but they’re say- ing, 'Come to the movies and see how it could have happened.' They’re totally missing the point of what happened and why. ‘‘It’s a dangerous thing when we create these myths. The danger is that we could get involved in something else, forgetting the lesson in Vietnam.” Share classified the Vietnam con- flict as a ‘‘rock 'n roll war.” “Vietnam definitely had an impact on the music of the 60s,” he said. “I think our music of today comes out of that. The words of some of the songs by Jimi Hendrix, Rol- ling Stones, Beatles and Bob Dylan are directly about Vietnam.” He said there are still songs being written about Vietnam. Some of those songs include Charlie Daniels’ “Still in Saigon and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” “In the 60s we had civil rights, Viet- nam and rock ‘n roll all coming togeth- er,” he said. “Now, groups are not afraid to engage themselves in political mat- ters by singing about them.” Share hopes his course and similar ones will cause public awareness of the United States’ foreign policy and pro- T he role of the anti- war movement has been misunder- stood. Some claim the anti-war movement had no impact one way or the other, white others felt it had a huge impact on getting us out of Vietnam. I think the truth is somewhere in between. ” — Share voke Americans to become more in- volved in their government. Hamilton: Yankees at War The year is 1969. Your mission is to fly an airplane over enemy territory, spot the enemy and draw their fire so ground forces can move in for attack. You’ve flown the mission many times and have been shot at on several occasions. You’ve seen enemy soldiers shooting at you as they run for cover. This time is different. In the midst of gunfire one of your plane’s engines is hit. It sputters and then dies, causing you to make an emer- gency landing in the jungle. Fortu- nately, you land in friendly territo- ry and there’s no danger of being captured. Throughout your 12-month stay in South Vietnam, some of your friends are killed in combat. You talk to others on a radio, hear gunfire in the background, and then, the voice on the other end is silent — he’s dead. If you can imagine yourself in these situations, you may know how Lt. Col. Gary Hamilton, commander of the ROTC program at KSC, felt during his service in Vietnam in 1969. Hamilton’s first impression of Viet- nam was that it was not a war zone be- cause everyone was flown into Saigon on commercial airlines. Saigon is the largest city in South Vietnam. “Many people were in uniforms and carrying some type of weapon, but busi- ness was as usual in the big cities, Hamilton said. “Much commerce, trans- portation and hustle and bustle — you didn’t get the feeling of being in a combat zone until you got out of the big city.” At the time, Hamilton was a captain assigned to the 185th Reconnaissance Airplane Company. Soldiers within the different compa- nies depended upon each other for sur- vival which resulted in close bonds be- tween them. Hamilton explained that even though soldiers were close in Viet- nam, the bonds broke after the soldiers’ tour — the time spent in military service in Vietnam. The tour lasted 12 months — if one survived 12 months. People came and went as their 12 months expired, he said. “Not everyone went over or came back at the same time,” he said. “One might be put into a military unit where he might be the newest person there, but the next week, three more people arrive. Twelve months later, that person is an old-timer with 50 new people in the unit.” Soldiers were more concerned with surviving their 12 months, going back home to be with their friends in the United States, and forgetting their expe- riences and the people they left behind in Vietnam. “The attitude was ‘It’s their turn to do their 12 months,’ he said. Hamilton admitted there were inci- dents of some American soldiers who killed women, children and civilians. “What occurred in Vietnam was no dif- ferent from any other war the United States, or any other nation has been in- volved in,” he said. “Did cavemen line up with their clubs and kill only healthy males? Did In- dians only kill pioneer men, and did pio- neer men only kill Indian men? No. It’s the same in every conflict in the history of mankind,” he said. Hamilton explained that when peo- ple are placed in a combat situation, they lose the sense of what is civilized and morally right. “War is a terrible thing and it does terrible things to people’s mentality, he said. “You are dealing with survival in- stincts. Whether a man has a club or a machine gun, when he is personally threatened and his life is at stake, he’s willing to do whatever is necessary.” Vietnam was no different from any conflict the United States has fought, in terms of the soldiers’ age, Hamilton said. The difference rests in the educa- tion of the soldiers. World War II had bet- ter educated soldiers. The draft was so inclusive so that college graduates as well as high school dropouts were con- scripted. Many of the Vietnam soldiers were 18-20-year olds with only a high school education, if that. Most were directly from larger U.S. cities and were placed into a rural, oriental environment which they couldn’t identify with, he said. £ Q tk Mar IS a terrible m m thing and it does W W terrible things to people's mentality. You are deal- ing with survival instincts. Wheth- er a man has a club or a machine gun, when he is personally threat- ened and his life is at stake, he’s willing to do whatever is neces- sary. ” — Hamilton American soldiers couldn’t speak Vietnamese and the Vietnamese sol- diers couldn’t speak affluent English, making communication difficult, he said. The terrain, animals, religious beliefs, culture and climate differed from the United States. Hamilton said soldiers adapted to the heat after being exposed to it for awhile. The climate varied. It was still a tropical climate, but during the rainy sea- son, it became cool and wet. He said his flights took place in the central highlands continued 19

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and death everyday, be pulled up and be in Mom’s kitchen eating home-cooked meals in less than a week. They might not be sure how to conduct themselves because the soldiers had learned to live in a life and death situation everyday.” Eventually, the Vietnam veterans re- ceived recognition for their service in Southeast Asia through the erection of the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington, D.C. Hamilton felt the Viet- nam veteran was properly recognized by his people and government but it was too late. ,ll personally feel the memorial is right and appropriate but it was just too darned late,” he said. “The American people and govern- ment have waited too long to say, ‘Hey American Gl, we called on you and you did what you were supposed to do and we appreciate that.’ That should have been said immediately in 73, but it wasn’t because there was too much bit- terness in the country.” fare. Vietnam was referred to as “Indo- china” until 1940 when the Vietnamese people decided to change the name. “Viet” is the name of a tribe that mi- grated from China into what we know as Vietnam, Tonthat said. After World War II, a conflict arose between nationalists forces. These forces sought to liberate Vietnam from France and Japan. Vietnam had been a French colony since approximately 1800 and Japan only reigned over a section of Vietnam for a few months after World War II, he said. Ho Chi Minh led one of the nation- alists factions against Japan. Tonthat said Minh would have been a good na- tionalist leader if the West had support- ed him. “He went to France, England and America and they wouldn’t support him in his movement for independence in Vietnam,” he said. “Moscow offered to help and then Minh became commu- nist.” £ £ he American people and government have waited too long to say, ‘Hey American Gl, we called on you and you did what you were supposed to do and we appreciate that!’ ” — Hamilton He believes Minh did a great dis- service to the Vietnamese people. “If Minh would have really loved the coun- try, he would have placed the national in- terest over his party interest,” Tonthat said, “If Minh would have left the scene, leaving the forces to fight for nationalis- tic reasons, we would have been inde- pendent a long time ago. We would not have suffered for 29 years struggling for independence.” Tonthat: Broken Homeland America was doomed when it arrived in Vietnam! Phu Tonthat, a Ha- noi native and KSC political science professor, said American forces had lost the war before it began because of the North Vietnamese’s strong na- tionalistic convictions and guerilla war- The French left Indo-China and from 1955- 63 there was a period of tran- quility. During this era the com- munists became active in South Vietnam, he said. — Tonthat “The com- munists were trying to create trouble and insecurity in the rural areas,” Ton- that explained. “The war began when £ £ hey (Vietcong) were I willing to sacrifice a I whole generation ... They were highly motivated and na- tionalistic, and willing to die for the independence of the country. ” Tonthat was born and raised in the northern city of Hanoi which is now the capital of Vietnam. Following high school, he left for France to attend col- lege. After college, he was drafted into the French Army and served as a major. Tonthat was assigned to the Vietnam- ese Mission as a foreign service officer because of his background knowledge in foreign service he received in college. Tonthat said he was assigned to many diplomatic missions during his military career. In 1964, Tonthat left Vietnam once again and came to New York to work as a foreign service officer. He decid- ed to resign as a foreign service officer and further his education at the University of Denver where he earned his Ph.D. in politi- cal science in 1969. In 1970, he packed his bags once again and came to KSC. Phu Tonthat the first American troops landed in Viet- nam.” Tonthat said he appreciated the United States' support in South Viet- nam. “My family and I were very much against the communists,” he said. “Communists killed my uncle. He didn’t do anything against the people or coun- try but he was a rich man so they killed him and confiscated his property. “We sided with the French, who were allies to the Americans,” he contin- ued. “We believed we could gain inde- pendence without such large sacrifices. We knew France and the United States would not support a communist move- ment.” The Vietcong were nationalists who joined the North Vietnamese forces. “It was a tool used by the commun- ists in their war efforts against South Vietnam,” Tonthat said. “Many Ameri- can newspapers didn’t believe this was a communist organization but they be- lieved the Vietcong were of true national- ist elements who came together to fight for independence.” He said the communists couldn’t defeat the United States militarily. “They couldn't defeat the United States on the battlefield,” Tonthat said. “The com- munists said they would defeat the United States on their college campuses and American streets. They were right.” The United States became very weary of the Vietnam conflict and there- fore gave in to the communists, he said. Tonthat added that another reason for the United States’ loss in Vietnam was that Americans weren’t prepared to fight a guerilla war. “Guerillas were working alongside Americans within American compounds,” he said. He recalled when he served as a soldier in the French Army. “The French continued 21