On April 30,
1975, forty years ago, the Vietnam War ended with a whimper, not a great
victory celebration with people dancing in the streets, cheering, and
celebrating. Few people took notice of the news reports that Saigon had fallen
and was in the hands of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The photo symbolizing
the end shows a lone helicopter perched atop a building in
Saigon, with people trying desperately to get aboard. It was the bitter end of
a long, painful, and costly war that tore this country apart.
The war may
have ended 40 years ago, but for those who were there, it will always be a part
of us. I asked several Vietnam vet friends for their thoughts on the war after
all these years. Here are a few comments.
–Kenny Lee, 4th Infantry 66-67: “Doc, it’s hard to reflect on “our”
war after all of these years. Our memories seem to fade from reality and take
on a sense of did we really go through that or was it just a bad dream? The war
still comes back to haunt us as time goes on. I remember both the good and bad
times you and I spent together. I’ll never forget those we knew and lost. I
love you brother and always will.”
Kenny Lee washing clothes in a stream with Montagnards.
Doc's got your back "Big Lee."
–Steve Piotrowski, 173rd Airborne
69-70: “When I watched
the evacuation of Saigon, I found myself bouncing between crying and
“screaming” in anger over the waste of lives, emotions, limbs, and sanity. We
should never have been there, and we wasted so much of our generation on that
war. The wounds still haven't healed since we keep trying to find easy slogans
to explain a generation wasted in a terrible mistake.”
Steve Piotrowski with a Choi Hoi (watch your back, Steve!)
–David Giffey, 1st Infantry 65-66: “My thoughts about the Vietnam War aren't
very happy or enlightening. The war in Vietnam didn’t end in 1975. It continues
to this day in the traumas and tribulations of people in Vietnam and the United
States. Did mental illness (PTSD) end magically in 1975 for U.S. soldiers? Were
the 300,000 U.S. wounded magically healed in 1975? Did the war end in 1975 for
generations of Vietnamese children who were born with birth defects caused by
Agent Orange? My participation in Vietnam, which I regret, taught me that truth
is the first casualty of war and wars really don’t end.”
–Bob McCurdy, Navy PBR 65-66: “I’m still not very open about having
been there. When people do find out and thank me for my service, I usually
respond by saying, ‘It’s not something I’m proud of.’ For a while I thought our
involvement there was a case of bad judgement. With things that have been revealed
over the past few years, it’s now clear it was deliberate and diabolical.”
Navy Patrol Boat on the river
–Lou Wagner, 1st Cav 65-66: Ho Chi Min played our media and
politicians like a fiddle, dooming his people to Communism for another 40
years. We lacked the political will to win.
–Ted Fetting, 9th Infantry 67-68: “I think of all the Gold Star families
and what they had to go through with their loved ones gone, and, for the longest
time, the country confused the war with the warriors–the shame, the
indifference, and for some the outright hostility they had to deal with!”
–John Cotter, 9th Infantry 68-69: “Pictures from our Vietnam days are posted on the unit website. I remember those places and people. The time I spent with those guys in the service was some of the most intense and rewarding. I couldn’t think of a better group of people I’d rather have been with. After Vietnam, I never kept in contact with anyone, even those I was closest to. At the time it was better to not let anyone know my past. I put my head down, and went on with my life. Now I look at pictures of unit reunions and see a bunch of old guys. I don’t know who they are. Now I feel it's too late to go back, embarrassed that I didn't keep up with them. There are people who say we should just get over it (Vietnam). I have a problem with that.”
–John Cotter, 9th Infantry 68-69: “Pictures from our Vietnam days are posted on the unit website. I remember those places and people. The time I spent with those guys in the service was some of the most intense and rewarding. I couldn’t think of a better group of people I’d rather have been with. After Vietnam, I never kept in contact with anyone, even those I was closest to. At the time it was better to not let anyone know my past. I put my head down, and went on with my life. Now I look at pictures of unit reunions and see a bunch of old guys. I don’t know who they are. Now I feel it's too late to go back, embarrassed that I didn't keep up with them. There are people who say we should just get over it (Vietnam). I have a problem with that.”
John Cotter, center.
Guy on right was killed shortly after photo was taken.
When author Ben Logan was alive, I talked to him about his World War II experiences. I think his words address so well the statement that John Cotter has heard people say, “Just get over it.” Ben said, “War is a life changing experience. War becomes memories.” His eyes were moist as he talked. I could tell he was back in Italy, remembering his experiences. I asked Ben if he could ever forget his war experiences. “No!” he said. “I tell people… they talk about coming home from the war, and I’ll say, ‘Nobody comes home from a war… you come partway home from a war.’”
Smoke break - My buddy, "Doc" Nagl, on left.
–Howard “Doc” Sherpe, 4th Infantry
66-67: “Somewhere in
a dark corner, in the attic of my mind, I see them, faces from a distant past,
young men, old beyond their years. Sad eyes with a thousand yard stare, searching, waiting on ambush for dark figures to emerge–cautiously, from a tree
line, and float silently though the tall grass and ground fog of the evening.
No invitations are ever sent. They just show up, unannounced, at all hours of
the night. You can hear them up there, huddled behind the attic door. They’re
older now, gray-haired, balding, heavier, some bent with the weight of too many
hard years. Who are those old guys? I don’t recognize them. Somewhere trapped inside
those aging bodies are the young souls I used to know and still see. The fog of
48 years has blurred and altered the images, but hasn’t erased them. They still
occupy the attic of my mind.”
"Doc" Sherpe is tired of war and wants to go home.
I leave you
with this positive comment from my brother, also a Vietnam vet.
–Dave Sherpe, 9th Infantry 68-69: “Vietnam is now a popular tourist
destination. It’s hard for me to think of Vietnam as a country, and not as a
war. The fall of Saigon lives on in old newsreels showing the iconic helicopter
atop a building, with people scrambling to get out of the country. Perhaps we
can use this as a symbol to never forget the sacrifices our veterans and their
families have made. Thankfully the culture of our country has changed in the
past 40 years. We now honor all veterans with respect and gratitude. Wouldn’t
it be great if someday we can all consider every country as a place to visit
and not just conjure up memories of another war?”
David Sherpe -machine gunner
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