American Minute from William J. Federer
The Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated NOVEMBER 13, 1982, honoring 58,000 American troops who died.
U.S. forces inflicted over a million enemy fatalities, yet politicians did not allow a victory.
A former Communist North Vietnamese colonel, Bui Tin, called the American "peace movement" essential: "Every day our leadership would listen to the world news over the radio to follow the growth of the American anti-war movement. Visits to Hanoi by people like Jane Fonda and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses."
On October 12, 1967, during Operation Medina, Marine Sergeant George Hutchings of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division, had a dozen men killed around him when ambushed by North Vietnamese in the Hai Lang jungle.
Months later, after numerous battles, George was shot three times, bayoneted and left for dead. He survived and was later awarded the Purple Heart.
Of the Vietnam Memorial, George Hutchings said: "On that wall is the name of Corporal Quinton Bice, who was hit in the chest with a rocket running a patrol in my place. A Christian, he had shared the Gospel with me, but I didn't understand it till he gave his life in my place."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
ENDNOTES:
Taken from The Wall Street Journal, Thursday August 3, 1995: What did the North Vietnamese leadership think of the American antiwar movement? What was the purpose of the Tet Offensive? How could the U.S. have been more successful in fighting the Vietnam War? Bui Tin, a former colonel in the North Vietnamese army, answers these questions in the following excerpts from an interview conducted by Stephen Young, a Minnesota attorney and human-rights activist. Bui Tin, who served on the general staff of North Vietnam's army, received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. He later became editor of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of Vietnam. He now lives in Paris, where he immigrated after becoming disillusioned with the fruits of Vietnamese communism. Question: How did Hanoi intend to defeat the Americans? Answer: By fighting a long war which would break their will to help South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh said, "We don't need to win military victories, we only need to hit them until they give up and get out." Q: Was the American antiwar movement important to Hanoi's victory? A: It was essential to our strategy. Support of the war from our rear was completely secure while the American rear was vulnerable. Every day our leadership would listen to world news over the radio at 9 a.m. to follow the growth of the American antiwar movement. Visits to Hanoi by people like Jane Fonda, and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and ministers gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses. We were elated when Jane Fonda, wearing a red Vietnamese dress, said at a press conference that she was ashamed of American actions in the war and that she would struggle along with us. Sgt Grit, 7100 SW 44th St., OKC, OK 73179, Email: contact@grunt.com http://www.grunt.com/scuttlebutt/corps-stories/vietnam/north.asphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bui_Tin Sergeant George Hutchings of the First Battalion Fifth Marine Division, Charlie Company, recipient of the Purple Heart. George Hutchings, 400 Tumulty, Ballwin, MO 63021, (636) 394-0310, georgeeaglewings@aol.com.
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