FOR THE VETERANS DAY 1998

I recently returned to Vietnam. I was a Marine rifleman, served in Vietnam in 67-68(20 months). I made new friends there during my stay as a tourist last year. Sadly, I found that most people there are unable to improve their quality of life. Although the communists are in control, I believe that the people are only waiting for the collapse of the party as happened in the Soviet Union. I left there with the feeling that the war is long from over. Perhaps the shooting has stopped but I witnessed a great deal of defiance. 

I hope that someday my friends there will have a decent life. 

Last year on a return trip to Vietnam, I pointed out to the communists where we buried approx. 250 North Vietnamese soldiers near Con Thien. They seemed to not care, as if they were expendable . I also asked where the ARVN graves were and they told me that there were not any.  

From Hanoi, Nguyen Xuan Huong had to spend several days on train and bus to reach Pleiku to visit the grave of his younger brother, who sacrificed himself for the "anti-American, national salvation war." At the Gia Lai provincial war dead cemetery, he quickly located the grave of his beloved brother in lot 2, row 7, site 13, "where lies the war hero Nguyen Van Dinh born 1953 at Hoang An, Dien Hoa, Ha Bac (province), member of combat unit C2, C7, E66 (Companies 2 and 7, 66th regiment), killed in action on August 19, 1973."

According to Lao Dong, while Huong was sitting and sobbing beside his brother's grave, the friend who was travelling along with him exclaimed, "How come there is another grave over here of Nguyen Van Dinh? Everything on the headstone is just the same." Walking over, Huong was greatly surprised to see a grave of the same identification at lot 2,. row 12, site 25...

Then not only the "war dead hero Dinh," day by day people found out that in this cemetery there are many such "war dead heroes," each has his name at two graves.

For example, "war dead hero Ngo Xuan Son born 1945 at An Son, Nam Sach, Hai Hung (province), Gia Lai-Kontum provincial combat unit K7, killed in August 1966, has the same inscription on both graves, one in lot 1, row 2, site 18 and the other in the same lot, row 12, site 11."

"War dead hero" Le Van Nui born 1946 at Hai Nhan, Tinh Gia, Thanh Hoa (province), Gia Lai-Kontum provincial combat unit C2, killed on July 14, 1970," lies in both grave 23, row 14, lot 1 and grave 6, row 1, lot 4.

Lao Dong also reports that there are many incomprehensible cases. One of which was of "war dead hero Dinh Minh Truyen born 1949 at Hoa Tuyen, Minh Hoa, Quang Binh (province), Gia Lai-Kontum provincial combat unit C2, killed in March 1958(?). Is it possible that he died at 9 years old?"