Bernie W. (bernie2260) reviewed Nu: A Real-Life Account Of Two Teachers, One Vietnamese And One American, In A Small Town In The Central Highlands Of Vietnam From 1967 To 1969. on + 119 more book reviews
Review Written By Bernie Weisz Vietnam War Historian December 28, 2010 Pembroke Pines, Florida Contact: BernWei1@aol.com Title of Review: "The Supreme Challenge: Teaching in South Vietnam in 1968 without classrooms, few books, no blackboards nor electricity!"
I have read scoreless memoirs of men unenthusiastically going to S.E. Asia, reluctantly drafted to fight in the swamp and mosquito infested jungles of Vietnam, or to Thailand, flying B-52 Bombers to bomb Vietnam's Communists back into the Stone Age. All had one thing in common: counting the days where they could catch their "Freedom Bird" so they could go "Back to The World." Jim Flannery did it backwards. Not only did he go to South Vietnam on his own volition, he enjoyed every minute of it, and had it not been for the threat of a North Vietnamese battalion searching for him, he would have stayed! This occurred at the height of the conflict, 1967 to 1969, considered to be the apex of this war. Living with an indigent Vietnamese family on a farm for two years, Flannery embodied U.S. President often used cliche "winning the hearts and minds of the people" by attempting to teach 600 students in the most rudimentary conditions imaginable. Chronicled in "Nu", Flannery describes his endeavors to inculcate indigenous students lacking a school building, funding, electricity or bathroom facilities. Anytime a teacher feels he or she has it rough, it would be wise to give this well written account of Flannery's to do the impossible: teach up to a thousand students with one teacher besides himself lacking books, money and school supplies, with an ever present threat of being attacked by an aggressive, war mongering North Vietnamese Army constantly posing a threat.
Jim Flannery does not give the reasons why he decided to go West when most Americans dreaded getting their draft notice. Perhaps it was L.B.J 's call that inspired him. During the Vietnam War, "Hearts and Minds" was a synonym for a campaign by the U.S. military designed to win the popular support of the South Vietnamese people. It typically referred to America's attempts to effect change in the South Vietnamese populace's attitude towards democracy. Military units were created to try to protect civilians and help them rebuild schools and infrastructure in order to pry their allegiance away from communist attraction and recruitment such as the Viet Cong as well as reunification with North Vietnam. L.BJ's use of the phrase was most commonly taken from his on May 4, 1965 at a dinner speech of the "Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc." His historic comment was: "So we must be ready to fight in Vietnam, but the ultimate victory will depend upon the hearts and the minds of the people who actually live out there. By helping to bring them hope and electricity you are also striking a very important blow for the cause of freedom throughout the world." For Jim Flannery, winning nor monetary compensation was not the objective. However, as the reader of "Nu" will find out, he certainly succeeded in winning the hearts and minds of all of his students in his outdoor marketplace classroom, as well as the admiration of his unique relationship with "Nu", a young Vietnamese schoolteacher, which was tragically truncated by this senseless conflict.
There is so much to learn about the Vietnam War, Flannery's ordeal and the conditions of the time that never seem to make it in the history books that "Nu" is a historically important memoir not to be taken lightly. The book starts off with Flannery's incredible trip on his own free will to Saigon in 1967, while most of America's youth went there with their only thought in mind to survive their tour of duty and get back to America with all their limbs intact. Most soldiers fought what was called a "9 to 5 war' seeing themselves in defensive night positions worrying about sappers or mortar attacks. Flannery relished living in a remote and primitive village called An Tuc in the war torn Central highlands of South Vietnam, incredulously without weapons to defend himself, with people he would describe as "With a rich culture and wonderful." Flannery, freshly graduated from Penn State University in Pennsylvania, flew to South Vietnam on "Thai Airways.' With a stop in Manilla, the Philippines, he met a telephone equipment installer on his flight to Saigon who was on his way to Nigeria to do similar work. This travel companion warned Flannery on the plane the following admonition: "Be very careful of your wallet down there. You'll be okay in the countryside, but Saigon is full of thieves." Flannery landed at Tan Son Nhut Airport and stayed at the infamous "Metropol Hotel." His description of Saigon parallels most other accounts that exist. Written in the third person styling, Flannery penned the following as he headed down "Tu Do Street": "Vendor's tried to get Jim's attention, offering everything from watches to whores. After several blocks, Jim passed the central Market, a huge building filled with individuals stalls selling produce, meat, fish, live chickens, eels, snakes, radios, clothing, and most anything you might want. There were signs and billboards everywhere, with writing in Vietnamese, French, Chinese and English." Certainly gone in 2011, the Vietnam Flannery described bared all the signs of imperialism, which really was at the root of this conflict.
Flannery continued to describe a sight never to be seen in any American thoroughfare: "There were only a few cars. Bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, Lambros and Bendix bikes were everywhere." A "Lambros", or "Lambretta" was an inexpensive motor scooter that competed on cost against the ubiquitous motorcycle.
The "Bendix" was a bike built by the Bendix Company that was a motorized, rear-wheel steering bicycle. Although there are multiple accounts of GI's having experienced Saigon's "night life", as Flannery confirms in "Nu", for all civilians there was a curfew in the whole of South Vietnam at sundown. his hotel only had cold water, and in for a culture shock, the toilet there was only a ceramic square on the floor, where footprints existed. His description is amusing: "The ceramic square was less than a meter square, with two raised ceramic footprints, and a plain pipe located between the heels of the footprints. there was nothing to hold on to, no toilet paper, and no flush handle. Next to the square, was a large can, filled with water. After studying the device, Jim placed his feet on the footprints, and lowered himself to a squatting position over the pipe. The procedure worked well. This is just what dogs do, he thought." The man that Jim sat next to on the airplane let him know it was worse in the hinterlands, Flannery's ultimate destination. Warning him as such, he admonished: "When you get out in the countryside, you'll just find yourself a comfy spot of ground and do the same thing. One thing to note, is the lower you squat, the better it works. You don't even need toilet paper if you squat low enough." The threat of malaria and dysentery was well documented as a hazard all American ground troops had to contend with. Many accounts exist of soldiers forced to take anti malaria pills and water purification tablets to prevent dysentery. With the threat from tropical disease, Jim was warned the following sage advice: "Never trust ice or water. You don't know where it came from. Drink tea, coffee or beer, or anything that is boiled or comes in a bottle that hasn't been opened."
However Jim Flannery continued to learn things he never would have been exposed to otherwise. He tried a new type of coffee not common in the U.S. It is actually grown in Dalat, south Vietnam, and comes from the pit of a tropical cherry tree, called "Robusta Cherry." Also found in most other accounts of Vietnam by soldiers writing about their tour, Flannery tried "Nuoc Mam" sauce. While most soldiers described this as utterly revolting, Flannery described it as a pleasant tasting, pungent fish sauce condiment. He should of listened to the advice of graft in Saigon, because as he searched the streets of Saigon to purchase a "hit" motorcycle, a scooter passed by and the passenger quickly relieved Flannery of his watch. As in occupied West Germany and South Korea, to control the black market the U.S. Military in an attempt to thwart the thriving black market issued "Military Payment Certificates" or MPC, with each succeeding issuance changing to foil the black market. Most Black marketeers wanted U.S. currency and Flannery used this to purchase his motorcycle, which would stay with him until his exit. While the same man that sold him his bike initially offered the sexual services of his sister to Flannery, ethics were not an issue, as reflected by the following statement: "His conscience gnawed at him, but he was just following the local lifestyle." Flannery had no idea of where to go, as his only desire was to find a nice town somewhere and get a teaching job. Another historically significant observation Flannery made as he left Saigon in his quest to inculcate the youth of South Vietnam was as follows: "There were lots of men in Saigon, but north of the city it was hard to find young men. There were elderly men in the fields, and little boys in town, but very few young men." Indeed, most of these missing were impressed in South Vietnam's military, a large majority never to return.
Jim Flannery's ultimate destination was An Khe, and he set out on the only road at the time that would get him to Vietnam's Central Highlands, "Highway One' via "Qui Nhon." Highway One was the major and only north to south highway of Vietnam, originating in the Mekong Delta going all the way to the 17th Parallel, South Vietnam's division with communist north Vietnam (DMZ). Non military civilians were not allowed on U.S. bases without authorization, and Flannery was low on gas and without food and shelter. He ran into a woman that would decide his fate. Driving astride him, he ran into an American woman driving a Red Cross jeep named Nora Hadley. After explaining that he was heading to An Khe to seek employment as a school teacher, Hadley invited Flannery into the base as her guest. Hadley turned out to be the Red Cross Hospital Director at the U.S. Army Hospital in Qui Nhon. This fortuitous meeting would decide Flannery's fate as a teacher. Before he set out, Hadley, an influential person in the area, made him a list of people to look up in An Khe, and gave him the following send off advice: "The real town is "An Tuc," and that the soldiers weren't allowed to go to An Tuc, to keep it from being corrupted. An Khe is mostly trinket dealers, steam baths, massages, and whore houses. That is why the soldiers aren't supposed to go into An Tuc. There is a catholic church and school in An Khe, and an independent schoolteacher in An Tuc." An Khe is a town deep in the Central Highlands, and was of strategic significance during the Vietnam War. From 1965 to 1968, the American 1st Cavalry Division and the Army 25th Ordnance Detachment, an explosive ordnance disposal unit, were both jointly based at An Khe. The 1st Cav saw ongoing action in the war. after the "Tet Offensive" of January, 1968, the 1st Cavalry Division relocated, and the Army's 173 rd Airborne Brigade took over the base camp.
Jim Flannery's description of South Vietnam, on the road to An Khe called Route 19, is completely incongruous with most accounts of mosquito infested, triple canopy jungle descriptions existent. Flannery described his observations as follows: "There were a few small towns along the way, and lots of terraced farm land where rice was grown. It was a pastoral scene." Flannery's later account of his trip to Dalat mimicked this description, except he recalled Dalat as similar to a scene in Switzerland. All of Flannery's plans changed when he reached An Tuc, where he was greeted by what "he thought" was a nine year old, emaciated, half bald girl named "Nu.' Jim was in for the surprise of his life. not only was she a well educated, 19 year old daughter of a prominent physician of the Saigon government hospital, she possessed a "Doctorate in Linguistics" and was the main and only teacher in An Tuc. Meeting her family, he immediately became attached to the affability, sincerity and congeniality that was self evident at An Tuc. Nu offered Flannery a job as her companion town teacher. There would be no pay, and the challanges seemed insurmountable. An Tuc had no electricity, running water, bathing facilities, classrooms, or money to pay for books. Prior to Jim's arrival, Nu had been teaching at An Tuc for two years and already had 600 students amongst these austere conditions. Nu had a little five year old sister who talked like a little baby. Mentally retarded from birth because of a complicated pregnancy which look the life of her mother, Tuc was very sick with reoccurring bouts of malaria.
Never seeing poverty like this, Flannery observed conditions unimaginable. Nu and Tuc lived in a mud and stick hut. Told that if he accepted the assignment with Nu at An Tuc instead of the Catholic school at An Khe, there would be no trouble from the V.C. Nu explained why the war had not affected this area: "these people are farmers, They have to work hard to eat. Saigon is far, far away, and governments are not important here." Furthermore, Nu explained that she lived with her aunt and uncle, but they were not really related to her. Elaborating further, Nu asserted: "This is not Saigon. There are no bathrooms here. There is no privacy. it took me a while to get used to it. Aunt and uncle are not related to me, Hosting the school teacher brings them great status in town, and the town shares food with us. I get no pay, but I am well fed, and need nothing. School is only in the morning. there is no work after lunch because it is too hot. Everyone takes a nap in the afternoon, a siesta." Feeling a kindness and neighborliness unheard of in the U.S., Flannery was offered a difficult choice by Nu: "Jim, tomorrow I will take you to An Khe. There is another school there. It is a catholic school with real books and real classrooms. you should choose if you like to work with me, or with them. They can pay you, I can't. Before he made his trip to An Khe to make his decision, Flannery saw never before seen occurrences. The people of An Tuc had armadillos as pets. The myth that Vietnamese eat any meat, whether dogs or cats, was dispelled by Nu as follows: "Dogs are pets here, just like in America. We seldom eat meat. Chickens and ducks are too important for eggs." After his culture shock of having to relieve himself by going to the bathroom out in the fields simultaneously with Nu, it was time to bathe. Jim and Nu walked to a river and he was shocked to see 2000 people in or by the river. He described the bathing process and Nu's explanation of it as follows: "They got in the water with their clothes on, but took each garment off, washed it, and hung it on shrubbery by the river's edge to dry. Then they washed themselves. there is no privacy, Jim. You will just have to get used to it like I did."
Before he made his choice of An Tuc or An Khe, the goodwill of the people with Nu shined forth. Nu took Jim to the town tailor to be fitted with black silk pants and shirts as what he brought with him was totally unsuited to the Vietnam environment. Mockingly referred to as "pajamas" by American GI's, the silk dried fast, kept one cool, and the long sleeves and pants kept the mosquitoes off Flannery so he wouldn't catch malaria. What was Nu's main goal? She explained it to Flannery as such: "The students are learning more than just English in this class. We need teachers, and some of the students may want to become teachers when they are adults." The benevolence was starting to prejudice Flannery's decision. He would make his trip to An Khe and then decide. Nu took him to the Catholic school in An Khe and he did not like what he saw. On the surface, it looked like a utopian scenario. The Church and school were made of concrete, built by the French to last for many years. All the children wore uniforms, singing in French as they played. As Flannery walked to the rectory to meet the priest, he was greeted in perfect French by a Vietnamese woman. Meeting the priest, they first sat down in an air conditioned dining room, and had elegantly prepared steak and refrigerated asparagus. However, all was not what it seemed. Flannery remarked: "It's just like we stepped from Vietnam into France." In 1857, French ruler Napoleon decided to invade what is now Vietnam, and French warships took Tourane (Danang), capturing it in late 1858 and Gia Dinh (Saigon and later Ho Chi Minh City) in early 1859. Although there were rebellions that periodically broke out, France held most of S.E. Asia, then referred to as Siam, with an iron grip until 1940, where things became shaky with France being overrun by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. France was now a German puppet known as "Vichy France," and in December of 1941, seeing French colonial rule in a precarious state, Japan invaded Vietnam and was it's next master until two big bangs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6th and 9th, 1945 decided Japan's fate. The victorious allies reinstalled French colonial rule, much to the dismay of nationalists, particularly Ho Chi Minh.
After American president Truman and later Eisenhower ignored Ho Chi Minh's pleas for independence, Ho became a changeling and asked America's arch rivals, the Soviet Union and red China for support. Communist solidarity was at it's peak and Russian and Chinese arms swarmed into ho's camp, ultimately used to fight the French in a guerrilla style war. This culminated in the French disaster at Dien Bien Phu, occurring from March 13 to May 7, 1954 in a humiliating French defeat. The facts were that ho's forces, then called "The Viet Minh," occupied the highlands around Dien Biên Phu and were able to accurately bombard French positions at will. Desperate fighting occurred, some of it hand to hand. The French repeatedly repulsed Viet Minh assaults on their positions. Supplies and reinforcements were delivered by air, though as the French positions were overrun and the anti-aircraft fire took its toll, fewer and fewer of those supplies reached the besieged garrison. After a two-month siege, the garrison was overrun and most French forces surrendered, only a few successfully escaping to Laos. Shortly after the battle, the war ended with the 1954 Geneva Accords, under which France agreed to withdraw from its former Indochinese colonies. The accords partitioned Vietnam in two; fighting later broke out between opposing Vietnamese factions in 1959, resulting in America's involvement in the second the Vietnam War as we know it. However, the question remained in Flannery's mind that why was a French priest teaching French, using French books and insisting everyone in the school speak French despite France's absence in Vietnam since 1954? Thinking about the way Nu lived, Flannery couldn't help notice the priest's shiny new Mercedes in the carport next to the rectory. Flannery decision was made up and he expressed it as such in his final interview with this priest: "The priest's schoolteachers didn't speak much, but did ask questions, in French. They wanted to know ho I expected to teach if my French was so poor. They obviously didn't like the idea of me joining them, and the tension was high. I saw Nu was very uncomfortable. I solved that straightaway." Flannery answered the priest as such: "I was wondering the same thing. I don't think I would be a good fit here. Nu needs help with engineering, science and math. I would be a good fit with her." His final verdict: "I think the priest is an arrogant snob."
Jim Flannery commented on what he saw. Possibly this had something to do with the way the war ended and American intervention was unsuccessful. How could the government of South Vietnam win the "hearts and minds" of the populace at large when they allowed an antiquated educational system for only the privileged continue to exist? Flannery expressed his opinion on this matter: "I think they are teaching the children how to be servants to the French. The priest doesn't seem to know that the French are gone." There are other small tidbits of what occurred during this senseless conflict. Jim Flannery wanted to write a letter home to his family, and while he noticed that any U.S. Armed Forces serviceman in Vietnam could mail anything, just having to write "Free" on their letters, he had to buy stamps and rent a post office box for $1 a month. He tried to mail a letter from Nu to her father in Saigon, but was told that since the U.S. Military's postal system didn't "interface" with the Vietnamese post office, all mail went directly to San Francisco. There would be no way for Nu to mail anything to her father from the Central Highlands. how could the citizens of South Vietnam be content with a government when they can't even mail letters in their own country? Then there was the matter of telephonic communication. In 1967 and 1968, optic fiber communication and satellites were not communicating as it does now with the Internet and cell phones. During the Vietnam War there was a small number of Servicemen, all licensed ham radio operators in civilian life, that were issued civilian amateur radio equipment and ordered to use their ham radio skills to run phone patches, or telephone calls home for their fellow Servicemen. The operation was called the Military Affiliate Radio System or MARS. Soldiers always came first to call home, with the MARS system worked best at dusk and dawn, with the earth's ionosphere being optimally charged at that time. Since there was a darkness curfew, that would rule out calling home. Finally, Jim Flannery made an attempt to go to the An Khe base PX to purchase toothpaste. Rebuffed again, he was told that he needed to be in uniform or have a military ID card to enter.
Similar to his chance meeting with Nora Hadley, before Jim Flannery returned to An Tuc without toothpaste and with Nu's unmailed letter, he went to use the "Officer's Latrine." In the stall next to him was the most decorated soldier of the Korean War, Lt. Col. Anthony Herbert. However, in this war, he was an inspector General, perhaps one of the most unpopular roles one could be assigned to. their function was to investigate and prosecute graft, corruption, fraggings and atrocities. This role would later destroy his career as he described in his book that he authored in 1973 entitled "Soldier". Herbert "fixed it" so Flannery could pick up anything he wanted from the P. X. anytime he wanted. Flannery returned not only with toothpaste, but with web belts, canteen supplies and a knife, all courtesy of Tony Herbert! Retuning to An Tuc, Flannery ran into people that most U.S. servicemen in Vietnam never saw. Called "Montegnards", these were nomadic "Stone Age" people that were explained by Nu to Jim as follows: "These people are not farmers. They do not grow rice or vegetables. instead, they move from place to place, hunt animals and gather up what food they can find. They do not understand money or property, and just take what they want. They have only a simple language. They do not mix with the Vietnam people." Flannery oddly noticed that they were all completely naked, and like the American Indians of the Nineteenth Century, they wore cases to hold arrows over their shoulders and carried crossbows, spears and stone knives. how many history books that discuss this war include the Montagnards? It is a little known fact that the Montagnards were staunch American allies during this conflict, particularly to the U.S. Special Forces. After the Northern Communist victory in April of 1975, the Montagnards were subject to brutal ethnic cleansing, with their ancestral lands confiscated and forced to live a life of abject poverty. They are truly America's "forgotten allies."
Another interesting fact Jim Flannery brought out in this book was his introduction to American civilian doctors who in studying cardiovascular disease as they toured American military hospitals conducting autopsies of American men that were killed in battle, rather than by illness. As a result of their work, they learned that the majority of Americans have heart and blood vessels that already show significant coronary artery disease, based on their unhealthy diet. They juxtaposed these autopsies of American KIA's with autopsies of Vietnamese people that died of old age. The Vietnamese had better hearts than young Americans, as heart disease, with a diet predominantly of vegetables and fish, is virtually unheard of. However, their consumption of salt is high, and consequently there is the high incidence of strokes amongst the Vietnamese population. It is interesting to note that An Tuc was immune to the 1968 or 1969 "Tet Offensive." In January of 1968 there was an initiative of the North Vietnam Army to have the civilian population of South Vietnam join them in their offensive and efforts to overthrow the South Vietnamese Government, forcing America's withdrawal from the conflict. It was conceived by General Võ Nguyên Giáp, commander of the North Vietnam Army and his staff. General Giap was the same general that planned and executed the battle at Dien Bien Phu which permanently drove the French out of Vietnam in 1954. During the battle of Dien Bien Phu, General Giap stated he was willing to lose 10 men for every 1 enemy soldier killed, which indicated that a person's life in Vietnam was cheap. Attrition of the enemy, American Commander William C. Westmoreland's goal, would never work. The battle of Khe Sanh on January 21, 1968 was the prelude to the Tet Offensive. Similar to that of Dien Bien Phu, the battle at Khe Sanh saw the North Vietnamese surrounding their enemy and cutting off all land routes for supplies and evacuation. Khe Sanh was a diversionary tactic by general Giap to draw American attention away from the cities of South Vietnam and more towards Khe Sanh. In the Tet Offensive, Communist units attacked the cities and provinces throughout South Vietnam.
It is a case of fate that a female Viet Cong paymaster from Pleiku, infamous for it's red dust that clung to everything it touched, absconded with a Viet Cong payroll designated for it's cadres south. On her flight from the communists, Nguyen Thi Tho decided to use the cover of the Tet Offensive to disappear with a large payroll to deliver. Thinking the Viet Cong would never look for her, possibly they would believe she had been killed and never look for her. Deciding to flee with the stolen loot to Qui Nhon via An Tuc, it was in her travels that she saw Jim Flannery singing at An Tuc's Tet Festival with a Vietnamese woman in French clothes. Thinking this would be her trump card if ever caught, she stored this memory in the back of her mind for possible future use. She set up a self run brothel in Qui Nhon and evaded detection until three Viet Cong gunmen found her and pointed rifles at her, demanding the money back. Claiming she tried to return it, and finally in bargaining for her life, she told the Viet Cong hunters about Flannery before her execution. However this information traveled fast, and made it's way south, finally to a South Vietnamese banker who led a double life. From a wealthy family, Tang was also the Justice minister for the Viet Cong as well as their top banker. Dispatching couriers throughout the country, it was natural that he would hear of the situation of Nguyen Thi Tho. Since he was a top Viet Cong official, he was cognizant of the plans for the "Tet Offensive," information only a few were privy to. However, Flannery makes it clear that Tang was not a Communist. Despite receiving provisions from the Communists of North Vietnam, only a small minority of Viet Cong subscribed to communist ideology. Since Tang was a banker, he was a true adherent to Capitalism, only desiring a constantly changing, treacherous and corrupt Saigon government. At he end of the war Tang ultimately fled Vietnam in disillusionment and despair. Living in Paris, he authored in 1985 a book entitled "A Viet Cong Memoir," prefacing it as follows: To my mother and father. And to my betrayed comrades, who believed they were sacrificing themselves for a humane liberation of their people."
This is the first memoir or history book I have encountered that asserts that most Viet Cong were capitalists, only desiring to oust the corrupt South Vietnamese government by whatever means. However, investigation of the facts supports the material in this book. Saigon was led by the French-educated Catholic, Ngo Dinh Diem, becoming "our man" in Vietnam. Diem and his family quickly lost favor. His brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, headed the security forces of South Vietnam and operated in a repressive and coercive manner. His outspoken wife, Madame Nhu, added to the controversy. Troung Nhu Tang's claims are verified historically, as newspapers were shut down, opposition political parties were banned, and criticism of the Diem government resulted in arrest, particularly among students. Diem, Nhu and other members of his family were Catholic and their base lay in the Catholic population of South Vietnamese cities such as Saigon. The majority of the population, however, was Buddhist. The friction between the Buddhists and the Diem regime increased as Nhu grew increasingly repressive. Buddhist celebrations were prohibited and a series of attacks were launched on their pagodas. The "Buddhist Uprising" gained widespread publicity as a number of Buddhist monks engaged in the deadly protest of self-immolation. Incredulously, Madame Nhu dismissed these protests and was quoted in the press as calling them nothing but "Buddhist barbecues." Deteriorating, the situation in the minds of the U.S. decision makers, was growing intolerable. On November 1, 1963, elements of South Vietnamese military, with U.S. "encouragement" and promises of support for the new regime, staged a coup d'etat. Diem and his brother Nhu were captured and executed. The South Vietnamese formed a new government, headed by General Duong Van "Big" Minh. Three weeks later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The successor to Kennedy was Vice President Lyndon Johnson of Texas. The situation in Vietnam inherited by Johnson grew increasingly unstable. The government of South Vietnam became "coup central" with seven changes in the military government during Johnson's first year in office. It did not improve under the administration of President Nguyen Van Thieu who at one point had to replace six of South Vietnam's 44 province chiefs on grounds of corruption and incompetence shortly after the Tet Offensive.
Nevertheless, Truong Nhu Tang considered himself a nationalist, and distrusted Hanoi's pledge that they would ask for nothing more after the war except reunification. To Tang, the Tet Offensive meant nothing less than a display of North Vietnam's utter resolve to stop at nothing short than a complete takeover of South Vietnam. Acknowledging that the Saigon government was corrupt, Tang explained: "Our leaders fight only for their own power, not for the good of Vietnam. North Vietnam has been helping the Viet Cong and has promised we would be free after the war. I have always doubted that promise." Despite the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese both committed to dislodging the corrupt South Vietnamese government, he did not want the Communists to take over. Tang found out from a courier returning from delivering payroll about Tho's statement of an American school teacher living in An Tuc. Tang traveled and sought out Jim Flannery in An Tuc, pleading with him the following: "I want you to find someone with authority who will talk with me. Someone who will negotiate." Flannery found Tang sincere and accepted his challenge. Was Flannery successful? Did anyone take him seriously? What happened to Nu and the school at An Tuc? Read this amazing, unique account, with facts about this conflict never before known, all true to find out! This book is a must read!
I have read scoreless memoirs of men unenthusiastically going to S.E. Asia, reluctantly drafted to fight in the swamp and mosquito infested jungles of Vietnam, or to Thailand, flying B-52 Bombers to bomb Vietnam's Communists back into the Stone Age. All had one thing in common: counting the days where they could catch their "Freedom Bird" so they could go "Back to The World." Jim Flannery did it backwards. Not only did he go to South Vietnam on his own volition, he enjoyed every minute of it, and had it not been for the threat of a North Vietnamese battalion searching for him, he would have stayed! This occurred at the height of the conflict, 1967 to 1969, considered to be the apex of this war. Living with an indigent Vietnamese family on a farm for two years, Flannery embodied U.S. President often used cliche "winning the hearts and minds of the people" by attempting to teach 600 students in the most rudimentary conditions imaginable. Chronicled in "Nu", Flannery describes his endeavors to inculcate indigenous students lacking a school building, funding, electricity or bathroom facilities. Anytime a teacher feels he or she has it rough, it would be wise to give this well written account of Flannery's to do the impossible: teach up to a thousand students with one teacher besides himself lacking books, money and school supplies, with an ever present threat of being attacked by an aggressive, war mongering North Vietnamese Army constantly posing a threat.
Jim Flannery does not give the reasons why he decided to go West when most Americans dreaded getting their draft notice. Perhaps it was L.B.J 's call that inspired him. During the Vietnam War, "Hearts and Minds" was a synonym for a campaign by the U.S. military designed to win the popular support of the South Vietnamese people. It typically referred to America's attempts to effect change in the South Vietnamese populace's attitude towards democracy. Military units were created to try to protect civilians and help them rebuild schools and infrastructure in order to pry their allegiance away from communist attraction and recruitment such as the Viet Cong as well as reunification with North Vietnam. L.BJ's use of the phrase was most commonly taken from his on May 4, 1965 at a dinner speech of the "Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc." His historic comment was: "So we must be ready to fight in Vietnam, but the ultimate victory will depend upon the hearts and the minds of the people who actually live out there. By helping to bring them hope and electricity you are also striking a very important blow for the cause of freedom throughout the world." For Jim Flannery, winning nor monetary compensation was not the objective. However, as the reader of "Nu" will find out, he certainly succeeded in winning the hearts and minds of all of his students in his outdoor marketplace classroom, as well as the admiration of his unique relationship with "Nu", a young Vietnamese schoolteacher, which was tragically truncated by this senseless conflict.
There is so much to learn about the Vietnam War, Flannery's ordeal and the conditions of the time that never seem to make it in the history books that "Nu" is a historically important memoir not to be taken lightly. The book starts off with Flannery's incredible trip on his own free will to Saigon in 1967, while most of America's youth went there with their only thought in mind to survive their tour of duty and get back to America with all their limbs intact. Most soldiers fought what was called a "9 to 5 war' seeing themselves in defensive night positions worrying about sappers or mortar attacks. Flannery relished living in a remote and primitive village called An Tuc in the war torn Central highlands of South Vietnam, incredulously without weapons to defend himself, with people he would describe as "With a rich culture and wonderful." Flannery, freshly graduated from Penn State University in Pennsylvania, flew to South Vietnam on "Thai Airways.' With a stop in Manilla, the Philippines, he met a telephone equipment installer on his flight to Saigon who was on his way to Nigeria to do similar work. This travel companion warned Flannery on the plane the following admonition: "Be very careful of your wallet down there. You'll be okay in the countryside, but Saigon is full of thieves." Flannery landed at Tan Son Nhut Airport and stayed at the infamous "Metropol Hotel." His description of Saigon parallels most other accounts that exist. Written in the third person styling, Flannery penned the following as he headed down "Tu Do Street": "Vendor's tried to get Jim's attention, offering everything from watches to whores. After several blocks, Jim passed the central Market, a huge building filled with individuals stalls selling produce, meat, fish, live chickens, eels, snakes, radios, clothing, and most anything you might want. There were signs and billboards everywhere, with writing in Vietnamese, French, Chinese and English." Certainly gone in 2011, the Vietnam Flannery described bared all the signs of imperialism, which really was at the root of this conflict.
Flannery continued to describe a sight never to be seen in any American thoroughfare: "There were only a few cars. Bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, Lambros and Bendix bikes were everywhere." A "Lambros", or "Lambretta" was an inexpensive motor scooter that competed on cost against the ubiquitous motorcycle.
The "Bendix" was a bike built by the Bendix Company that was a motorized, rear-wheel steering bicycle. Although there are multiple accounts of GI's having experienced Saigon's "night life", as Flannery confirms in "Nu", for all civilians there was a curfew in the whole of South Vietnam at sundown. his hotel only had cold water, and in for a culture shock, the toilet there was only a ceramic square on the floor, where footprints existed. His description is amusing: "The ceramic square was less than a meter square, with two raised ceramic footprints, and a plain pipe located between the heels of the footprints. there was nothing to hold on to, no toilet paper, and no flush handle. Next to the square, was a large can, filled with water. After studying the device, Jim placed his feet on the footprints, and lowered himself to a squatting position over the pipe. The procedure worked well. This is just what dogs do, he thought." The man that Jim sat next to on the airplane let him know it was worse in the hinterlands, Flannery's ultimate destination. Warning him as such, he admonished: "When you get out in the countryside, you'll just find yourself a comfy spot of ground and do the same thing. One thing to note, is the lower you squat, the better it works. You don't even need toilet paper if you squat low enough." The threat of malaria and dysentery was well documented as a hazard all American ground troops had to contend with. Many accounts exist of soldiers forced to take anti malaria pills and water purification tablets to prevent dysentery. With the threat from tropical disease, Jim was warned the following sage advice: "Never trust ice or water. You don't know where it came from. Drink tea, coffee or beer, or anything that is boiled or comes in a bottle that hasn't been opened."
However Jim Flannery continued to learn things he never would have been exposed to otherwise. He tried a new type of coffee not common in the U.S. It is actually grown in Dalat, south Vietnam, and comes from the pit of a tropical cherry tree, called "Robusta Cherry." Also found in most other accounts of Vietnam by soldiers writing about their tour, Flannery tried "Nuoc Mam" sauce. While most soldiers described this as utterly revolting, Flannery described it as a pleasant tasting, pungent fish sauce condiment. He should of listened to the advice of graft in Saigon, because as he searched the streets of Saigon to purchase a "hit" motorcycle, a scooter passed by and the passenger quickly relieved Flannery of his watch. As in occupied West Germany and South Korea, to control the black market the U.S. Military in an attempt to thwart the thriving black market issued "Military Payment Certificates" or MPC, with each succeeding issuance changing to foil the black market. Most Black marketeers wanted U.S. currency and Flannery used this to purchase his motorcycle, which would stay with him until his exit. While the same man that sold him his bike initially offered the sexual services of his sister to Flannery, ethics were not an issue, as reflected by the following statement: "His conscience gnawed at him, but he was just following the local lifestyle." Flannery had no idea of where to go, as his only desire was to find a nice town somewhere and get a teaching job. Another historically significant observation Flannery made as he left Saigon in his quest to inculcate the youth of South Vietnam was as follows: "There were lots of men in Saigon, but north of the city it was hard to find young men. There were elderly men in the fields, and little boys in town, but very few young men." Indeed, most of these missing were impressed in South Vietnam's military, a large majority never to return.
Jim Flannery's ultimate destination was An Khe, and he set out on the only road at the time that would get him to Vietnam's Central Highlands, "Highway One' via "Qui Nhon." Highway One was the major and only north to south highway of Vietnam, originating in the Mekong Delta going all the way to the 17th Parallel, South Vietnam's division with communist north Vietnam (DMZ). Non military civilians were not allowed on U.S. bases without authorization, and Flannery was low on gas and without food and shelter. He ran into a woman that would decide his fate. Driving astride him, he ran into an American woman driving a Red Cross jeep named Nora Hadley. After explaining that he was heading to An Khe to seek employment as a school teacher, Hadley invited Flannery into the base as her guest. Hadley turned out to be the Red Cross Hospital Director at the U.S. Army Hospital in Qui Nhon. This fortuitous meeting would decide Flannery's fate as a teacher. Before he set out, Hadley, an influential person in the area, made him a list of people to look up in An Khe, and gave him the following send off advice: "The real town is "An Tuc," and that the soldiers weren't allowed to go to An Tuc, to keep it from being corrupted. An Khe is mostly trinket dealers, steam baths, massages, and whore houses. That is why the soldiers aren't supposed to go into An Tuc. There is a catholic church and school in An Khe, and an independent schoolteacher in An Tuc." An Khe is a town deep in the Central Highlands, and was of strategic significance during the Vietnam War. From 1965 to 1968, the American 1st Cavalry Division and the Army 25th Ordnance Detachment, an explosive ordnance disposal unit, were both jointly based at An Khe. The 1st Cav saw ongoing action in the war. after the "Tet Offensive" of January, 1968, the 1st Cavalry Division relocated, and the Army's 173 rd Airborne Brigade took over the base camp.
Jim Flannery's description of South Vietnam, on the road to An Khe called Route 19, is completely incongruous with most accounts of mosquito infested, triple canopy jungle descriptions existent. Flannery described his observations as follows: "There were a few small towns along the way, and lots of terraced farm land where rice was grown. It was a pastoral scene." Flannery's later account of his trip to Dalat mimicked this description, except he recalled Dalat as similar to a scene in Switzerland. All of Flannery's plans changed when he reached An Tuc, where he was greeted by what "he thought" was a nine year old, emaciated, half bald girl named "Nu.' Jim was in for the surprise of his life. not only was she a well educated, 19 year old daughter of a prominent physician of the Saigon government hospital, she possessed a "Doctorate in Linguistics" and was the main and only teacher in An Tuc. Meeting her family, he immediately became attached to the affability, sincerity and congeniality that was self evident at An Tuc. Nu offered Flannery a job as her companion town teacher. There would be no pay, and the challanges seemed insurmountable. An Tuc had no electricity, running water, bathing facilities, classrooms, or money to pay for books. Prior to Jim's arrival, Nu had been teaching at An Tuc for two years and already had 600 students amongst these austere conditions. Nu had a little five year old sister who talked like a little baby. Mentally retarded from birth because of a complicated pregnancy which look the life of her mother, Tuc was very sick with reoccurring bouts of malaria.
Never seeing poverty like this, Flannery observed conditions unimaginable. Nu and Tuc lived in a mud and stick hut. Told that if he accepted the assignment with Nu at An Tuc instead of the Catholic school at An Khe, there would be no trouble from the V.C. Nu explained why the war had not affected this area: "these people are farmers, They have to work hard to eat. Saigon is far, far away, and governments are not important here." Furthermore, Nu explained that she lived with her aunt and uncle, but they were not really related to her. Elaborating further, Nu asserted: "This is not Saigon. There are no bathrooms here. There is no privacy. it took me a while to get used to it. Aunt and uncle are not related to me, Hosting the school teacher brings them great status in town, and the town shares food with us. I get no pay, but I am well fed, and need nothing. School is only in the morning. there is no work after lunch because it is too hot. Everyone takes a nap in the afternoon, a siesta." Feeling a kindness and neighborliness unheard of in the U.S., Flannery was offered a difficult choice by Nu: "Jim, tomorrow I will take you to An Khe. There is another school there. It is a catholic school with real books and real classrooms. you should choose if you like to work with me, or with them. They can pay you, I can't. Before he made his trip to An Khe to make his decision, Flannery saw never before seen occurrences. The people of An Tuc had armadillos as pets. The myth that Vietnamese eat any meat, whether dogs or cats, was dispelled by Nu as follows: "Dogs are pets here, just like in America. We seldom eat meat. Chickens and ducks are too important for eggs." After his culture shock of having to relieve himself by going to the bathroom out in the fields simultaneously with Nu, it was time to bathe. Jim and Nu walked to a river and he was shocked to see 2000 people in or by the river. He described the bathing process and Nu's explanation of it as follows: "They got in the water with their clothes on, but took each garment off, washed it, and hung it on shrubbery by the river's edge to dry. Then they washed themselves. there is no privacy, Jim. You will just have to get used to it like I did."
Before he made his choice of An Tuc or An Khe, the goodwill of the people with Nu shined forth. Nu took Jim to the town tailor to be fitted with black silk pants and shirts as what he brought with him was totally unsuited to the Vietnam environment. Mockingly referred to as "pajamas" by American GI's, the silk dried fast, kept one cool, and the long sleeves and pants kept the mosquitoes off Flannery so he wouldn't catch malaria. What was Nu's main goal? She explained it to Flannery as such: "The students are learning more than just English in this class. We need teachers, and some of the students may want to become teachers when they are adults." The benevolence was starting to prejudice Flannery's decision. He would make his trip to An Khe and then decide. Nu took him to the Catholic school in An Khe and he did not like what he saw. On the surface, it looked like a utopian scenario. The Church and school were made of concrete, built by the French to last for many years. All the children wore uniforms, singing in French as they played. As Flannery walked to the rectory to meet the priest, he was greeted in perfect French by a Vietnamese woman. Meeting the priest, they first sat down in an air conditioned dining room, and had elegantly prepared steak and refrigerated asparagus. However, all was not what it seemed. Flannery remarked: "It's just like we stepped from Vietnam into France." In 1857, French ruler Napoleon decided to invade what is now Vietnam, and French warships took Tourane (Danang), capturing it in late 1858 and Gia Dinh (Saigon and later Ho Chi Minh City) in early 1859. Although there were rebellions that periodically broke out, France held most of S.E. Asia, then referred to as Siam, with an iron grip until 1940, where things became shaky with France being overrun by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. France was now a German puppet known as "Vichy France," and in December of 1941, seeing French colonial rule in a precarious state, Japan invaded Vietnam and was it's next master until two big bangs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6th and 9th, 1945 decided Japan's fate. The victorious allies reinstalled French colonial rule, much to the dismay of nationalists, particularly Ho Chi Minh.
After American president Truman and later Eisenhower ignored Ho Chi Minh's pleas for independence, Ho became a changeling and asked America's arch rivals, the Soviet Union and red China for support. Communist solidarity was at it's peak and Russian and Chinese arms swarmed into ho's camp, ultimately used to fight the French in a guerrilla style war. This culminated in the French disaster at Dien Bien Phu, occurring from March 13 to May 7, 1954 in a humiliating French defeat. The facts were that ho's forces, then called "The Viet Minh," occupied the highlands around Dien Biên Phu and were able to accurately bombard French positions at will. Desperate fighting occurred, some of it hand to hand. The French repeatedly repulsed Viet Minh assaults on their positions. Supplies and reinforcements were delivered by air, though as the French positions were overrun and the anti-aircraft fire took its toll, fewer and fewer of those supplies reached the besieged garrison. After a two-month siege, the garrison was overrun and most French forces surrendered, only a few successfully escaping to Laos. Shortly after the battle, the war ended with the 1954 Geneva Accords, under which France agreed to withdraw from its former Indochinese colonies. The accords partitioned Vietnam in two; fighting later broke out between opposing Vietnamese factions in 1959, resulting in America's involvement in the second the Vietnam War as we know it. However, the question remained in Flannery's mind that why was a French priest teaching French, using French books and insisting everyone in the school speak French despite France's absence in Vietnam since 1954? Thinking about the way Nu lived, Flannery couldn't help notice the priest's shiny new Mercedes in the carport next to the rectory. Flannery decision was made up and he expressed it as such in his final interview with this priest: "The priest's schoolteachers didn't speak much, but did ask questions, in French. They wanted to know ho I expected to teach if my French was so poor. They obviously didn't like the idea of me joining them, and the tension was high. I saw Nu was very uncomfortable. I solved that straightaway." Flannery answered the priest as such: "I was wondering the same thing. I don't think I would be a good fit here. Nu needs help with engineering, science and math. I would be a good fit with her." His final verdict: "I think the priest is an arrogant snob."
Jim Flannery commented on what he saw. Possibly this had something to do with the way the war ended and American intervention was unsuccessful. How could the government of South Vietnam win the "hearts and minds" of the populace at large when they allowed an antiquated educational system for only the privileged continue to exist? Flannery expressed his opinion on this matter: "I think they are teaching the children how to be servants to the French. The priest doesn't seem to know that the French are gone." There are other small tidbits of what occurred during this senseless conflict. Jim Flannery wanted to write a letter home to his family, and while he noticed that any U.S. Armed Forces serviceman in Vietnam could mail anything, just having to write "Free" on their letters, he had to buy stamps and rent a post office box for $1 a month. He tried to mail a letter from Nu to her father in Saigon, but was told that since the U.S. Military's postal system didn't "interface" with the Vietnamese post office, all mail went directly to San Francisco. There would be no way for Nu to mail anything to her father from the Central Highlands. how could the citizens of South Vietnam be content with a government when they can't even mail letters in their own country? Then there was the matter of telephonic communication. In 1967 and 1968, optic fiber communication and satellites were not communicating as it does now with the Internet and cell phones. During the Vietnam War there was a small number of Servicemen, all licensed ham radio operators in civilian life, that were issued civilian amateur radio equipment and ordered to use their ham radio skills to run phone patches, or telephone calls home for their fellow Servicemen. The operation was called the Military Affiliate Radio System or MARS. Soldiers always came first to call home, with the MARS system worked best at dusk and dawn, with the earth's ionosphere being optimally charged at that time. Since there was a darkness curfew, that would rule out calling home. Finally, Jim Flannery made an attempt to go to the An Khe base PX to purchase toothpaste. Rebuffed again, he was told that he needed to be in uniform or have a military ID card to enter.
Similar to his chance meeting with Nora Hadley, before Jim Flannery returned to An Tuc without toothpaste and with Nu's unmailed letter, he went to use the "Officer's Latrine." In the stall next to him was the most decorated soldier of the Korean War, Lt. Col. Anthony Herbert. However, in this war, he was an inspector General, perhaps one of the most unpopular roles one could be assigned to. their function was to investigate and prosecute graft, corruption, fraggings and atrocities. This role would later destroy his career as he described in his book that he authored in 1973 entitled "Soldier". Herbert "fixed it" so Flannery could pick up anything he wanted from the P. X. anytime he wanted. Flannery returned not only with toothpaste, but with web belts, canteen supplies and a knife, all courtesy of Tony Herbert! Retuning to An Tuc, Flannery ran into people that most U.S. servicemen in Vietnam never saw. Called "Montegnards", these were nomadic "Stone Age" people that were explained by Nu to Jim as follows: "These people are not farmers. They do not grow rice or vegetables. instead, they move from place to place, hunt animals and gather up what food they can find. They do not understand money or property, and just take what they want. They have only a simple language. They do not mix with the Vietnam people." Flannery oddly noticed that they were all completely naked, and like the American Indians of the Nineteenth Century, they wore cases to hold arrows over their shoulders and carried crossbows, spears and stone knives. how many history books that discuss this war include the Montagnards? It is a little known fact that the Montagnards were staunch American allies during this conflict, particularly to the U.S. Special Forces. After the Northern Communist victory in April of 1975, the Montagnards were subject to brutal ethnic cleansing, with their ancestral lands confiscated and forced to live a life of abject poverty. They are truly America's "forgotten allies."
Another interesting fact Jim Flannery brought out in this book was his introduction to American civilian doctors who in studying cardiovascular disease as they toured American military hospitals conducting autopsies of American men that were killed in battle, rather than by illness. As a result of their work, they learned that the majority of Americans have heart and blood vessels that already show significant coronary artery disease, based on their unhealthy diet. They juxtaposed these autopsies of American KIA's with autopsies of Vietnamese people that died of old age. The Vietnamese had better hearts than young Americans, as heart disease, with a diet predominantly of vegetables and fish, is virtually unheard of. However, their consumption of salt is high, and consequently there is the high incidence of strokes amongst the Vietnamese population. It is interesting to note that An Tuc was immune to the 1968 or 1969 "Tet Offensive." In January of 1968 there was an initiative of the North Vietnam Army to have the civilian population of South Vietnam join them in their offensive and efforts to overthrow the South Vietnamese Government, forcing America's withdrawal from the conflict. It was conceived by General Võ Nguyên Giáp, commander of the North Vietnam Army and his staff. General Giap was the same general that planned and executed the battle at Dien Bien Phu which permanently drove the French out of Vietnam in 1954. During the battle of Dien Bien Phu, General Giap stated he was willing to lose 10 men for every 1 enemy soldier killed, which indicated that a person's life in Vietnam was cheap. Attrition of the enemy, American Commander William C. Westmoreland's goal, would never work. The battle of Khe Sanh on January 21, 1968 was the prelude to the Tet Offensive. Similar to that of Dien Bien Phu, the battle at Khe Sanh saw the North Vietnamese surrounding their enemy and cutting off all land routes for supplies and evacuation. Khe Sanh was a diversionary tactic by general Giap to draw American attention away from the cities of South Vietnam and more towards Khe Sanh. In the Tet Offensive, Communist units attacked the cities and provinces throughout South Vietnam.
It is a case of fate that a female Viet Cong paymaster from Pleiku, infamous for it's red dust that clung to everything it touched, absconded with a Viet Cong payroll designated for it's cadres south. On her flight from the communists, Nguyen Thi Tho decided to use the cover of the Tet Offensive to disappear with a large payroll to deliver. Thinking the Viet Cong would never look for her, possibly they would believe she had been killed and never look for her. Deciding to flee with the stolen loot to Qui Nhon via An Tuc, it was in her travels that she saw Jim Flannery singing at An Tuc's Tet Festival with a Vietnamese woman in French clothes. Thinking this would be her trump card if ever caught, she stored this memory in the back of her mind for possible future use. She set up a self run brothel in Qui Nhon and evaded detection until three Viet Cong gunmen found her and pointed rifles at her, demanding the money back. Claiming she tried to return it, and finally in bargaining for her life, she told the Viet Cong hunters about Flannery before her execution. However this information traveled fast, and made it's way south, finally to a South Vietnamese banker who led a double life. From a wealthy family, Tang was also the Justice minister for the Viet Cong as well as their top banker. Dispatching couriers throughout the country, it was natural that he would hear of the situation of Nguyen Thi Tho. Since he was a top Viet Cong official, he was cognizant of the plans for the "Tet Offensive," information only a few were privy to. However, Flannery makes it clear that Tang was not a Communist. Despite receiving provisions from the Communists of North Vietnam, only a small minority of Viet Cong subscribed to communist ideology. Since Tang was a banker, he was a true adherent to Capitalism, only desiring a constantly changing, treacherous and corrupt Saigon government. At he end of the war Tang ultimately fled Vietnam in disillusionment and despair. Living in Paris, he authored in 1985 a book entitled "A Viet Cong Memoir," prefacing it as follows: To my mother and father. And to my betrayed comrades, who believed they were sacrificing themselves for a humane liberation of their people."
This is the first memoir or history book I have encountered that asserts that most Viet Cong were capitalists, only desiring to oust the corrupt South Vietnamese government by whatever means. However, investigation of the facts supports the material in this book. Saigon was led by the French-educated Catholic, Ngo Dinh Diem, becoming "our man" in Vietnam. Diem and his family quickly lost favor. His brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, headed the security forces of South Vietnam and operated in a repressive and coercive manner. His outspoken wife, Madame Nhu, added to the controversy. Troung Nhu Tang's claims are verified historically, as newspapers were shut down, opposition political parties were banned, and criticism of the Diem government resulted in arrest, particularly among students. Diem, Nhu and other members of his family were Catholic and their base lay in the Catholic population of South Vietnamese cities such as Saigon. The majority of the population, however, was Buddhist. The friction between the Buddhists and the Diem regime increased as Nhu grew increasingly repressive. Buddhist celebrations were prohibited and a series of attacks were launched on their pagodas. The "Buddhist Uprising" gained widespread publicity as a number of Buddhist monks engaged in the deadly protest of self-immolation. Incredulously, Madame Nhu dismissed these protests and was quoted in the press as calling them nothing but "Buddhist barbecues." Deteriorating, the situation in the minds of the U.S. decision makers, was growing intolerable. On November 1, 1963, elements of South Vietnamese military, with U.S. "encouragement" and promises of support for the new regime, staged a coup d'etat. Diem and his brother Nhu were captured and executed. The South Vietnamese formed a new government, headed by General Duong Van "Big" Minh. Three weeks later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The successor to Kennedy was Vice President Lyndon Johnson of Texas. The situation in Vietnam inherited by Johnson grew increasingly unstable. The government of South Vietnam became "coup central" with seven changes in the military government during Johnson's first year in office. It did not improve under the administration of President Nguyen Van Thieu who at one point had to replace six of South Vietnam's 44 province chiefs on grounds of corruption and incompetence shortly after the Tet Offensive.
Nevertheless, Truong Nhu Tang considered himself a nationalist, and distrusted Hanoi's pledge that they would ask for nothing more after the war except reunification. To Tang, the Tet Offensive meant nothing less than a display of North Vietnam's utter resolve to stop at nothing short than a complete takeover of South Vietnam. Acknowledging that the Saigon government was corrupt, Tang explained: "Our leaders fight only for their own power, not for the good of Vietnam. North Vietnam has been helping the Viet Cong and has promised we would be free after the war. I have always doubted that promise." Despite the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese both committed to dislodging the corrupt South Vietnamese government, he did not want the Communists to take over. Tang found out from a courier returning from delivering payroll about Tho's statement of an American school teacher living in An Tuc. Tang traveled and sought out Jim Flannery in An Tuc, pleading with him the following: "I want you to find someone with authority who will talk with me. Someone who will negotiate." Flannery found Tang sincere and accepted his challenge. Was Flannery successful? Did anyone take him seriously? What happened to Nu and the school at An Tuc? Read this amazing, unique account, with facts about this conflict never before known, all true to find out! This book is a must read!
