Cold War Burning

Good Morning from Hanoi…

Most all sight-seeing areas are closed today in remembrance of Vietnam’s Liberation/Reunification Day holiday. The somewhat friendly folks at the reception area tell me there is a celebration tonight at the Hoan Kiem Lake area. It is about a ten minute walk, so, I’ll try to get another experience tonight.

I took a walk around the busy “old quarter” section this morning and saw faces of people not smiling in my direction, rather, they were avoiding any eye-to-eye contact. Much different than in the southern cities. A little boy with his buddies watching, came up and gave me a distinct sexual gesture, as if to signal what a foreigner such as myself might be looking for on this holiday and early morning walk. What a little shithead. I saw a few military “pith” helmets worn by passer-bys, and I thought wearing my faded “MACV-Quang Ngai-70/71″ baseball cap fit in well. In the below photo, Hoan Kiem Lake is ahead on my walk around the old quarter of Hanoi.

I have seen many-many more older faces in Hanoi than down south. What could be the significance of that observation? I had heard that when the Commies took over in the south that many people were killed during the reeducation camps, and many of those that escaped an immediate death penalty were part of the the “Boat-People” exodus.

The above photo is a central square location, and also near the Hoan Kiem Lake. I learned that to cross streets, one needed to step out and walk somehow between the oncoming motor-bike traffic. The flow of traffic seldom stops. If a bigger vehicle was coming down the street, I waited.

This seems to be a good place and time to reflect on this war we called the Vietnam War, where the hotel man downstairs told me he calls it the “American War,” just like down south in Saigon. I think this war really can be understood upon a few simple facts. It is not that difficult folks. Here is a view from a simple old Kansas farm-boy.

(1) The North wanted to unite all of Vietnam. What was wrong with that idea? A “civil war,” another American stated to me as we waited for the late arriving Air Vietnam flight at the Danang airport. He compared the war here in Vietnam similar to America’s Civil War. I had to question his appreciation to the hideous stain communism left in a part of the country we were trying to keep free.

(2) The South was fighting against something they knew nothing or little of, this system called communism. Americans were fighting to keep communism out of the south and many American servicemen did not know much about communism either. I learned my reason for serving in Europe and Vietnam when stationed in Germany, where an Iron Curtain loaded with Soviet armed guards had orders to shoot anyone trying to cross. The Soviets found the people trying to cross were their own citizens. Something was drastically wrong and the people behind the Iron Curtain were speaking, but few in America understood or listened.

(3) America left its Vietnam friends in 1973 for good, with a signed Paris Peace Accord in hand. It was probably hard for many in South Vietnam to fight against other Vietnamese who were only wanting to unite their country. And, they knew the Americans signed this accord and promised protection, right? 1975 arrived, America is nowhere to be found and North Vietnam walked in and took over.

(4) A few reporters stayed behind for what they thought was going to be a pristine time for dispatches to be sent back home, one was my favorite, Peter Arnett. He saw something had changed, as he and others quickly lost open and free access. Communism took over with its iron fist, and what happened from 1975 to the Boat People exodus, well, our freedom loving press in America turned its back and did little to continue the reporting. One can only imagine.

(5) Along comes the Boat People exodus 6-7 years later. America’s free press still refused to wake up on what was happening. Isn’t it time for the Boat People to speak out more than they have? I recommend my readers of this blog to read the Vietnamese author, Colonel Bui Tin’s experiences in his book titled, ”From Enemy to Friend.” As a high up communist officer, once a personal bodyguard to Ho Chi Minh, he fought against the French and much more. His experiences give credence to what happened to our friends as he has been a critic of the regime now in power in his homeland, and has written a number of books on the subject. I have quotes from his above book in my upcoming bestseller. I recommend reading books by Russian author’s Stanislav Lunev, and Romanian author, Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa, for a view of communism that has gone mostly unnoticed in America.

(6) Only today, thirty four years later, does it appear a change is slowly occurring towards a somewhat free society in Vietnam, with old communistic thinking possibly quietly fading away and dying. I see commercialism and the tourist trade in full gear, and I saw new construction going on everywhere I traveled. I saw no severe malnutrition, but I saw hideous living and working conditions everywhere.

(7) I saw that the Vietnamese people, four decades later, are quietly gaining the freedom we Americans were fighting and dying for them to get.

Well, if anyone has differing views from this old farm-boy perspective of the war, let me hear about it. I’ll be waiting.

This afternoon, I took a walk down to the Hanoi Hilton, known here as the “Hoa Lo Prison.” On the hike, I walked past many small merchants selling everything from raw cuts of meat in open unsanitary stalls, to live chickens, fish, lots of vegetables and fruit. On the next street were household items, such as cell phones and computer and tv equipment offered for sale. It rained just a little on the walk, enough for me to purchase an umbrella. The umbrella was worth the $3 USD. From my hotel street, I walked for a number of blocks down Hang Ngang Street. I spotted a number of visiting foreigners but nobody up here seems to be in a talkative mood. I could not even get eye contact with the visitors.

Entrance to the Hanoi Hilton is located just a few blocks from the Hoan Kiem Lake.

I walked past the Hoan Kiem Lake, then got lost for an hour trying to locate the “Hanoi Hilton.” But, I finally found it, called the “Hoa Lo Prison Museum,” the Bao tang Nha tu, on Hoa Lo street. Again, I was not surprised at the steep slant put on the museum during the war with America. The prison dates back to the 18th century where the French designed a tortuous history fully reported by museum displays. When North Vietnam took over in the mid 1950s, the history as a place of torture through 1973 seemed to be wiped clean. I bet John McCain had a few smiles when he visited a few weeks ago, for the serene pictures he saw displayed, of fellow American prisoners playing cards, chess, volleyball, shooting billiards, opening packages of supplies from family back home, and just enjoying the company together with fellow prisoners. Talk about a distortion of history. Hanoi Jane would be proud of the display, playing right into her comments on how well American prisoners were treated.

Today, the prison museum is squeezed between the Hanoi Towers and the Melia Hotel. The museum was busy with tourists when I visited. The entrance fee was less than one dollar.

Tonight, I might go and experience Hanoi and its people, as they celebrate their victory against the evil empire of America.

muddman out…