Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was primary architect of the Vietnam War
Robert S. McNamara - whose record as a leading executive of industry was all but erased from public memory by his reputation as the architect of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war - has passed away at 93. He was secretary of defense during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. McNamara led a military buildup in Asia during the early years of a conflict that escalated into one of the most bitter wars in American history. When the war was over, 58,000 Americans were dead and the social fabric had been torn apart. Many Americans held him responsible for the futile military adventure in Vietnam - a responsibility he accepted in a 1995 memoir. (washingtonpost.com)
Over 35% of central Vietnam still tainted by unexploded ordnance
Over 35% of the land in 6 central provinces in Vietnam is still contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO), which still kills scores of innocent people every year. Since the end of the war in 1975, unexploded bombs, artillery shells, mortar bombs, rockets and landmines have killed 10,529 and wounded 12,231 people in the 6 provinces alone. In Vietnam over 40,000 have been killed by UXO after the war ended. The US-funded study, by the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense's Technology Center for Bomb and Mine Disposal (BOMICEN), combined data of American bombing missions with interviews of over 33,000 people. (thanhniennews.com)
The remains of the last Australian servicemen missing from the Vietnam War discovered
39-year search for the remains of the last Australian servicemen missing from the Vietnam War has ended — with the help of the former enemies. The remains of pilot Michael Herbert and navigator Robert Carver have been discovered on a remote hillside in Quang Nam province, where they have remained since their plane went missing after a bombing raid on Nov. 3, 1970. The search, by an air force investigation team, used scientific modelling, archival records and the memories of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers and villagers, who had seen the plane and corrected American records, which incorrectly stated the plane was downed at a site to the north. (theage.com.au)
Report by Institute of Medicine links Agent Orange with more illnesses
A report by the Institute of Medicine suggests more diseases may be linked to exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant used by American forces to clear jungles during the Vietnam War. The people exposed to the chemical are more likely to have ischemic heart disease and Parkinson's disease. The results are an important step for veterans groups, who intend to write a letter to the secretary of Veterans Affairs, calling for extended benefits. The findings add to a growing list of conditions linked to the defoliants. The IOM committee has linked 17 conditions to exposure of the Agent Orange since 1994, of those 13 qualify veterans for service-connected disability benefits. (injuryboard.com)
Frederick J. Karch landed with the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade on Red Beach at Da Nang
Frederick J. Karch was a Marine Corps brigadier general who led the first official American ground combat troops into Vietnam. On March 8, 1965, he landed with the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade on Red Beach at Da Nang, South Vietnam. Before their arrival, all U.S. military personnel in Vietnam were there as "advisors," and Karch told reporters that the activities of his men would be defensive. Later that year, he expressed his respect for the stamina of the Viet Cong: "I thought that once they ran up against our first team they wouldn't stand and fight, but they did. I made a miscalculation." (latimes.com)
Legacy of Vietnam war: Authentic paintings or wartime safety copies
It is well known among Vietnamese artists that the Vietnamese National Museum of Fine Arts has been showing works of art that are copies of famous Vietnamese paintings as some of the originals were either sold or lost. Vietnamese painting expert Nora Taylor thinks that half of the paintings at the museum are copies. Nguyen Do Bao says the practice began with the best of intentions: "... during the war in the 1960s. Copies were displayed at the museum while the originals were taken away to avoid being damaged during bombing raids." At the time it looked like a great idea, but nobody seemed to be in control and after the war no-one knew what happened to the originals. (bbc.co.uk)
Vietnam's underworld - War era tunnel complexes as historical attractions
1965-1973 people from Vinh Linh district in Quang Tri province lived in the Vinh Moc tunnels, shielding soldiers and just surviving. If you asked a tourist to name a network of war era tunnels in Vietnam, no doubt they say Cu Chi. But there were plenty more underground tunnels built. In the DMZ, or Quang Tri province, where the bombing was at its most intense (it was declared a free fire zone by the U.S. Army) numerous underground tunnel complexes were built to help villagers survive. There are over 60 tunnels. The biggest tunnel is called Vinh Moc - Open since 1985 as a historical tourist attraction - and it is also testament to the courage of the local population. (vietnamnet.vn)
Battlefield museum in the province of Quang Binh
The ghosts of war live on in the province of Quang Binh, where some of the heaviest fighting of the Vietnam War took place. Amid the rice paddies less than 10 km from the town of Dong Hoi lies an old battlefield that a Hanoian man has turned into a historical attraction. The 10-hectare Vuc Quanh Tourist Park is a lively museum about the Vietnam War. The park is located at a camp of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam's Army Division 334, where many wartime relics still remain, such as bomb craters, a camouflage bicycle, a pontoon bridge made of gas barrels, trenches and pieces of iron used as makeshift magnetic bomb detectors - all restored. (thanhniennews.com)
A 43-year search for a lost Huey helicopter in Vietnam ends
Dec. 28, 1965, an Army Huey helicopter, tail number 63-08808, lifted off from the airfield at the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) base at An Khe in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. Two experienced pilots, Chief Warrant Officer Jesse Phelps and Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth Stancel were at the controls. Behind them in the doors were crew chief Don Grella and door gunner Jim Rice. All 4 were veterans of the most furious air assault battle of the war, fought the previous month in the Ia Drang. Usually all missions were flown by at least 2 choppers, but this one was so brief and so routine that they let the Huey 808 fly alone. (star-telegram.com)
The War Behind Me is based on signed statements by soldiers who did or saw war crimes
Deborah Nelson aimed to "set the record straight for history" with "The War Behind Me" - Vietnam War book based on sworn statements signed by soldiers who either committed or witnessed war crimes in the 1960s and 1970s. These official documents kept some of the truths of the Vietnam War a secret for 30 years. And while conducting research for her book, she unveiled shocking confessions of witnesses, victims and suspects that detailed the horrors that took place during the war. The book focuses on a bloody massacre in which a U.S. Army unit massacred a group of civilians in Feb. 1968, but participants were never punished or prosecuted. [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR] (asuwebdevil.com)