Thomas F. (hardtack) -
Helpful Score: 1
If you think the final pullout from Afghanistan was embarrassing and cowardly, then you won't want to read this book. I served in that country as a Marine officer and, as a result, followed the 1975 pull-out closely. But our government and the press didn't tell us even half the stuff reported in this book. As someone with a political science degree---not that it makes me an expert---I had very little regard for Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger back then. I have zero regard for them now. And I'll be one of the first to admit we shouldn't have been involved in that war. In fact, my opinion of most politicians is very low.
Still, we can take pride in those Americans who ignored what they were told and contributed significantly to the escape of over 130,000 Vietnamese from communism reprisals. Most of those people have become valued members of our society. I was proud when I read of the actions of the Marines mentioned in the book, from privates to a lieutenant general.
Still you have to wonder about ourselves.... Americans I mean. According to the book, a 1975 Gallop poll showed only 36 percent of Americans supported the admission of Vietnamese refugees. A Harvard study showed "...an extraordinary callousness toward the South Vietnamese," by the then anti-war movement in this country. Back then, the Seattle City Council voted 7-1 against a resolution proposing the city welcome Vietnamese refugees. Yet look at what that city accepted as righteous in the past few years. In fact, Senator George McGovern (D, S.D.) who ran on an anti-war platform said he planned to introduce legislation to pay to ship the refugees back to Viet Nam. While the North Vietnamese executed thousands of captured South Vietnamese, tens of thousands more died of malnutrition, mistreatment and disease in the re-education (concentration) camps. Meanwhile, today many members of the Democratic Party are aghast if our government doesn't let anyone---included convicted criminals---freely enter our country. In case you are wondering, my political affiliation is NPA. I am neither a Democrat or a Republican. And the last two presidents make me wonder if I am even an American.
Finally, if you believe my political opinions do not belong in a book review, then you need to understand that in many ways this book is a political history of the pull-out from Viet Nam.
Still, we can take pride in those Americans who ignored what they were told and contributed significantly to the escape of over 130,000 Vietnamese from communism reprisals. Most of those people have become valued members of our society. I was proud when I read of the actions of the Marines mentioned in the book, from privates to a lieutenant general.
Still you have to wonder about ourselves.... Americans I mean. According to the book, a 1975 Gallop poll showed only 36 percent of Americans supported the admission of Vietnamese refugees. A Harvard study showed "...an extraordinary callousness toward the South Vietnamese," by the then anti-war movement in this country. Back then, the Seattle City Council voted 7-1 against a resolution proposing the city welcome Vietnamese refugees. Yet look at what that city accepted as righteous in the past few years. In fact, Senator George McGovern (D, S.D.) who ran on an anti-war platform said he planned to introduce legislation to pay to ship the refugees back to Viet Nam. While the North Vietnamese executed thousands of captured South Vietnamese, tens of thousands more died of malnutrition, mistreatment and disease in the re-education (concentration) camps. Meanwhile, today many members of the Democratic Party are aghast if our government doesn't let anyone---included convicted criminals---freely enter our country. In case you are wondering, my political affiliation is NPA. I am neither a Democrat or a Republican. And the last two presidents make me wonder if I am even an American.
Finally, if you believe my political opinions do not belong in a book review, then you need to understand that in many ways this book is a political history of the pull-out from Viet Nam.
