Once the draft dodging gang's numbers reached critical mass, the media and politicians started pandering to those numbers (with media it is either circulation numbers or Nielsen ratings. With politicians it is votes). Multi-million dollar salaries are not paid to people for reporting the news, in any form, be it written, audio or video. Multi-million dollar salaries (e.g., Cronkite) are paid to entertainers, stars and superstars. One does not get to be, much less continue to be, a superstar unless one gives one's audience what it wants. Once the dodging anti-war numbers started climbing through the stratosphere it was not in the media's interest to say something good about Vietnam to an audience that was guilt ridden with shame and with a deep psychological need to rationalize away the very source of their burden of guilt.

A good example of this number pandering can be found in a 1969 Life magazine feature article in which Life's editors published the portraits of 250 men that were killed in Vietnam in one "routine week." This was supposedly done to illustrate Life's concern for the sanctity of human life; American human life (During WW II the U.S. Media were not allowed to publish the picture of a single dead G.I. until after the invasion of Normandy, D-Day 1944, was successful). And furthermore, to starkly illustrate the Vietnam tragedy with a dramatic reminder (i.e., the faces staring out of those pages), that those anonymous casualty numbers were in fact the sons, brothers and husbands of neighbors. In 1969 the weekly average death toll from highway accidents in the United States was 1,082. If indeed Life's concern was for the sanctity of American lives, why not publish the 1,082 portraits of the folks who were killed in one "routine week" on the nation's highways? Then they could have shown photos of not only the sons, brothers and husbands of neighbors, but could have depicted dead daughters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, babies, cripples, fools and draft dodgers as well. No way. Life knew where its "numbers" were.

The most glaring example of the existence of the dodging guilt syndrome can be found in a statement made by the ranking head dodger himself. When asked for his reaction to McNamara's book In Retrospect, Clinton's spontaneous response was "I feel vindicated." (of his cowardly act of dodging the draft). Clinton is a lawyer and understands the use of the English language very well. For one to "feel" vindicated, as opposed to being vindicated, one must first have been, by definition,  feeling guilty.

This is also the reason no one writes gushy, romantic, nostalgic ridden, historically emotional books such as Tom Brokaw's, The Greatest Generation (a best seller featuring WW II veterans), about the Vietnam Veterans or their war.

The Battle of Xuan Loc; Mar 17 - Apr 17, 1975 & The End

Xuan Loc was the last major battle for South Vietnam.  It sits astride Q. L. (National Road) #1, some 40 odd miles to the northeast of Saigon (on the road to Phan Thiet), and was the capitol of South Vietnam's Long Khanh province.  The NVA (North Vietnamese Army) attack fell on the ARVN (Army Republic of Vietnam) 18th Division. (4)

(4) At one time I served (as a civilian engineer) with MAC-V (US Military Assistance Command - Vietnam) Advisory Team #87; which provided advisors to this Division. During the 1972 Eastertide Offensive when 12 NVA divisions attacked An Loc, Kontum & Quang Tri (Note the NVA lost all three battles and over 100,000 men in these engagements), the 18th was sent to An Loc (up Q.L. 13 near the Cambodian Border) and they drove the NVA out of An Loc and back into their sanctuaries in the Cambodian border areas.

On 17 Mar 75 the NVA Sixth and Seventh Divisions attacked Xuan Loc but were repulsed by the ARVN 18th.  On 9 Apr 75 the NVA 341st Division joined the attack. After a four thousand round artillery bombardment, these three divisions massed, and, spearheaded by Soviet tanks, assaulted Xuan Loc; but again the ARVN 18th held its ground.  The NVA reinforced with their 325th Division and began moving their 10th and 304th Divisions into position. Eventually, in a classic example of the military art of  "Mass and Maneuver" the NVA massed 40,000 men and overran Xuan Loc.

During this fight, the ARVN 18th had 5,000 soldiers at Xuan Loc.  These men managed to virtually destroy 3 NVA Divisions, but on 17 Apr 75 they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers and the weight of the "Mass."  Before overrunning Xuan Loc the NVA had committed six full divisions, plus a host of various support troops.

In the Sorrow of War, author and NVA veteran Bao Ninh writes of this battle: "Remember when we chased Division 18 southern soldiers all over Xuan Loc?  My tank tracks were choked up with skin and hair and blood.  And the bloody maggots. And the f__king flies. Had to drive through a river to get the stuff out of my tracks."  He also writes "After a while I could tell the difference between mud and bodies, logs and bodies.  They were like sacks of water. They'd pop open when I ran over them. Pop! Pop!"

The South Vietnamese Military

There are also many loudly touted, nonsensical misperceptions, about both  the willingness and the ability of the South Vietnamese to fight. Between January 1965 and October 1972, the South Vietnamese Army lost 183,528 killed and another 499,026 wounded. Simply stated, during the period when the United States military lost roughly 58,000 men, the Vietnamese military suffered 183,000 battle deaths; and this out of a population base averaging fewer that 16,000,000, which is less than 10% of the average US population during that period. If America had bled its population at the same rate the South Vietnamese bled their population, the Americans would have had to sustain 271,000 battle deaths, and 731,000 wounded every year for the entire seven year period that US combat troops were committed in Vietnam. That would have meant 1,897,500 American dead in Vietnam, along with 5,122,000 wounded.

The men who actually served in combat with the ARVN, have a different view. U.S. Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf says it most authoritatively. During his first tour of duty in Vietnam, Schwarzkop was questioned by a rear echelon American officer about staying in the field with the ARVN. Of that encounter, General Schwarzfopf writes he responded by saying  "I was confident staying with the airborne because I had no doubt about their ability to fight or their concern for my well being."

Another item: By the early 1970s the South Vietnamese military was capturing such an enormous amount of material and weapons from the North Vietnamese Army, that in conjunction with various other US Military Assistance programs, Russian made AK-47s captured from the NVA by the South Vietnamese were being issued to other allied nations in Southeast Asia.

The press, politicians, dodgers from academia, and assorted talking heads (still playing to that huge audience of guilty feeling dodgers) dearly love to denigrate and ridicule the South Vietnamese military. They often imply that somehow the South Vietnamese just could not, and would not, defend their own country. During that Cold War period the South Koreans, the Taiwanese, and the Western Europeans, all relied on the military might of the United States to preserve their freedom. That US military shield was withdrawn from South Vietnam by the United States Congress.

The Government of the Republic of Vietnam

Another series of endlessly repeated myths, portray the government of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) as an illegitimate creation of foreigners that was tyrannically oppressive, incompetent, hopelessly corrupt, and the military coup d'état was practically the order of the day. None of these illusions are true. The critical stories of the RVN were written by reporters who were in the RVN carrying visas (i.e., with written permission from this same government they were criticizing) issued by the RVN.

The RVN officially came into being as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords. The first president of the RVN was Ngo Dinh Diem, who was overthrown and murdered in November of 1963. The next 19 months saw a series of leadership changes but the government of RVN stabilized in June 1965 with Nguyen Cao Ky (5) as prime minister. Elections were held in 1967. Nguyen Van Thieu became president with Nguyen Cao Ky as his vice president. Thieu was elected in a democratic election where nine political parties fielded candidates. Thieu won the election with only 35% of the vote and was then immediately and loudly condemned by the majority of the US media for "rigging" the election (For the record, I've been around rigged elections staged by Asian dictators and the idea of rigging a 35% win is just plain goofy).

(5) Ky is not only originally from North Vietnam, but a Buddhist as well. So much for the myth about the South Vietnamese government being completely dominated by Catholics.

From the beginning the RVN government in Saigon had much greater legitimacy and international recognition than the communist government in Hanoi. In the words of Dr. Bernard Fall "In various test votes in the United Nations on admission of either or both Viet-Nams, South Vietnam has always led its northern neighbor by a sizable margin, and garnered more votes than South Korea when the latter's admission was put to the test." Eventually South Vietnam sat "As a full fledged member in every United Nations agency from which it cannot be barred by the Soviet veto." In 1957 the UN Security Council voted 8 to 1 (the Soviet Union cast the dissenting vote) and the General assembly voted 49 to 9 to admit South Vietnam. By 1963 sixty-one nations had recognized the sovereignty of South Vietnam. Various UN members (excluding the United States) sent 39,000 troops to fight the communists in South Korea. At the height of the war in Vietnam, various United Nations members (again excluding the United States) had over 60,000 (6) troops in South Vietnam to aid them in their fight against the communists. In all, forty-five countries sent men, money or supplies to help South Vietnam defend itself.

(6) Note; unlike Korea the UN member troops were not under the UN flag.

The government of South Vietnam allowed a free press and literally thousands of reporters traveled to Vietnam, and freely around the country once they arrived. When South Vietnam fell the South Vietnamese media consisted of 28 Vietnamese language daily newspapers, and 11 others printed in Chinese, English and French. In addition there were weekly, biweekly and monthly publications covering the full range of topics including politics. This was supplemented by 24 radio stations and three television stations, plus various book publishing houses and all were competing in a free market. There was also a free flow of foreign publications available at newsstands and bookstores throughout the country. The idea of a brutally repressive, corrupt, all powerful dictatorship operating under the merciless  and constant surveillance of an unconstrained media, is just pure fantasy.

Perhaps the best illustration is to ask "If the RVN was such a contemptible, despicable government, why didn't the South Vietnamese people simply flee to the north or escape in boats?" The fact is, it took the North Vietnamese communists to drive the Vietnamese people from their ancestral lands.

The Government of Communist North Vietnam

There is another wide spread myth (which is also dearly adored by many a member of those dodging hoards) that the Government of North Vietnam (under the thumb of Ho Chi Minh), was popular, and even revered. The 1954 Geneva Accords, that legally brought into being both the North and South Vietnamese governments, called for free elections to be held in 1956. Conventional wisdom has it that if the South Vietnamese and the Americans had agreed to those country wide free elections in 1956, then the South Vietnamese people would have overwhelmingly elected to join Ho. This is pure fantasy. To this day the Vietnamese Communists have never held a truly free and fair election. In 1956 Ho and his communist government were in the midst of their communist land reforms and in the process were murdering tens of thousands of people. Even peasant farmers with as little as one acre of land were being executed for having a "Landlord mentality." According to historian Edgar O'Ballance, in 1956, these mass killings stirred such resentment in the North Vietnamese that it triggered a "real crisis" in Ho's government. "Anxiously, Ho stepped in to prevent a national insurrection." Ho read out an apologetic letter over Radio Hanoi to the people, released some 12,000 people who were waiting execution and declared the 50,000 people that had been killed resisting land reforms were deemed to have been "executed by mistake" and proclaimed "national heroes" of the revolution. (7) Anybody who believes free elections could have been carried out simultaneously with mass executions, is simply not playing with a full deck.

(7) Even those popular American writers who grovel before Ho's image (They make huge profits from writing bad things about the South Vietnamese and Americans, but saying great things about the North Vietnamese communists and Ho in particular), acknowledge these mass murders. For example in his book After the War was Over Neil Sheehan admits that "thousands died" during the communists land reforms but goes on to offer an excuse for Ho's atrocities by writing "Ho apologized for the crimes, abolished the tribunals and ordered the release of thousands who had been imprisoned."

Side Note

Myth: Vietnam was really one country but had been artificially divided by blundering foreign governments. Fact: Shortly after ousting the Chinese in the fifteenth century, the southern Nguyen and the northern Trinh became engaged in a series of bloody battles that lasted for nearly 200 years. In the 1630s, the southern Nguyen officially divided Vietnam into two countries by constructing two huge walls (Not unlike the Great Wall of China) across the narrow waste of Vietnam near Dong Ha (In approximately the same location as the boundary between North and South Vietnam, established by the 1954 Geneva Accords) and the Northern and the Southern Vietnamese continued to battle on for the next 150 years.

After the Communist Takeover

The facts speak clearly. If things were so bad for the South Vietnamese people when the South Vietnamese government was in power and the Americans were supporting them, how come no one fled, i.e., there were no "boat people"? But, as soon as the communist takeover was complete the Vietnamese fled by the millions, a first in the 4,000 year history of the country. Once the communist grip on the people was complete, they showed their true colors and things got so bad that not only the people from the south fled by the millions, they were soon joined by northerners who fled as well. No one ever says that the South Koreans would like to be ruled by the communist North Koreans or the Taiwanese would like to be ruled by the mainland Chinese communists, or the West Germans would have liked to be ruled by the East German communists or that Western Europe would like to have been ruled by the communist Soviet Union. However, strange as may seem, almost every western writer, politician, and the great majority of media's talking heads seem to actually believe that the South Vietnamese really wanted to be ruled by the communist North Vietnamese.

The Irony

It's ironic that in spite of all the hype and hullabaloo about the "Viet Cong" and the "American Soldiers" both were absent from the final battles for South Vietnam.  The Viet Cong had been clearly defeated (During Tet 1968) on the streets of the cities, towns, and hamlets of South Vietnam.  The Americans had left under the terms of the Paris Peace Agreements, and then were barred by the US Congress, from ever returning. The end came in the form of a cross border invasion. Two conventional armies fought it out using strategies and tactics as old as warfare itself.

A quick word about the South Vietnamese government lacking support from the people, and of the so called "Popular support" for the Communists.  During the 1968 Tet Offensive the Communists attacked 155 cities, towns and hamlets in South Vietnam. In not one instance did the people rise up to support the Communists.  The general uprising was a complete illusion.  The people did rise, but in revulsion and resistance to the invaders.  At the end of thirty days, not one single communist flag was flying over any of those 155 cities, towns or hamlets.  The citizens of South Vietnam, no matter how apathetic they may have appeared toward their own government, turned out to be overwhelmingly anti-Communist.  In the end they had to be conquered by conventional divisions, supported by conventional tanks and artillery that were being maneuvered in accordance with the ancient principles of warfare.  But then, as with mathematics, certain rules apply in war, and, military victories are not won by violating military principles.

Note

General Dung's Great Spring Victory was supported by a total of 700 (maneuverable) Soviet tanks, i.e. Soviet armor, burning Soviet gas and firing Soviet ammunition.  By comparison, the South Vietnamese had only 352 US supplied tanks and they were committed to guarding the entire country. However, because of US Congressional action, the ARVN were critically short of fuel, ammo and spare parts with which to support those tanks.

Recommended Reading

Works by Bao Ninh, the author of The Sorrow of War.  He tells of being drafted into the North Vietnamese Army in 1968 and fighting for nearly seven years.  His unit lost over 80% of its men to battle deaths, desertion and sickness.  In all those years, he never once fought against the Americans.  His war was strictly a Vietnamese affair.

Related Comments

For those who think that Vietnam was strictly a civil war, the following should be of interest.  With the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union along with the opening up of China, records are now becoming available on the type and amount of support North Vietnam received from China and the Soviet Block.  For example:

China has opened its records on the number of uniformed Chinese troops sent to aid their Communist friends in Hanoi.  In all, China sent 327,000 uniformed troops to North Vietnam. Chinese historian Chen Jian wrote "Although Beijing's support may have fallen short of Hanoi's expectations, without the support, the history, even the outcome, of the Vietnam War might have been different."

In addition, at the height of the War, the Soviet Union had some 55,000 "Advisors" in North Vietnam. They were installing air defense systems, building, operating and maintaining SAM (Surface to Air Missiles) (8) sites, plus they provided training and logistical support for the North Vietnamese military.

(8) This opens up another interesting aspect of the much touted "horrors' of the 1972 Christmas bombing of Hanoi. In response to this bombing, the North Vietnamese and the Soviet "advisors" fired 1,242 Soviet made SAMs at the American war planes. Twenty six American planes were hit by SAMs. The other 1.216 SAMS with warheads in tact, fell back to earth in the Hanoi area. Has anyone ever heard of, or seen, a report that describes the damage and deaths attributed to these self inflicted missile strikes?

When I asked a well known American reporter, who had covered the war extensively, why they never reported on this out side Communist support, his answer was essentially that the North Vietnamese would not let the reporters up there and that because "We had no access to the North during the war...meant there were huge gaps in accurately conveying what was happening North of the DMZ."

By comparison, at the peak of the War there were 545,000 US Military personnel in Vietnam.  However, most of them were logistical / support types. On the best day ever, there were 43,500 ground troops actually engaged in offensive combat operations, i.e., out in the boondocks, "Tiptoeing through the tulips" looking for, or actually in contact with, the enemy. This ratio of support to line troops is also comparable with other wars, and helps dispel the notion that every troop in Vietnam was engaged in mortal combat on a daily basis.

The Reason it all, Hangs Like a Pall

There always has, and always will be, American opposition to war. The Revolutionary War had the highest, 80 percent, and that was because it was fought on home soil. Opposition to WW I was 64 percent, in WW II the peak was 32 percent, and in Korea it was 62 percent. What makes Vietnam different is the dodger disaster. Of the 2,594,000 million US Military  personnel that served in Vietnam, only about 25 percent, or 648,000+ were drafted. Compare that to the 16,000,000+ who dodged, and it works out to 25 dodgers for every draftee who went.

Today, America's crocks are crammed chock-a-block full of dodgers, and the crocks of academia are more fully crammed than most. America's schools, colleges and universities are overloaded with dodgers, who, to this day have a need to rationalize away their acts of cowardice and have a compulsion to malign and belittle the very source of their guilt, Vietnam. Consequently, they devote outrageous amounts of time and energy to either, writing articles, position papers, or books, and or, giving speeches and classroom lectures, or otherwise carrying on about the "great stupid mistakes" made by those who did serve.

The antiwar movement was akin to a national temper tantrum that eventually engulfed and then afflicted the entire nation with its warped rational. This group, fueled and led by dodgers, were responsible for poisoning the American mind on the subject of Vietnam and eventually those dodging hordes influenced the American body politic to elect a Congress that stripped the soldiers who fought in Vietnam of their victories, and voted to cut and run in the face of adversity. To this day, academia, the media, the politicians, talking heads, and the draft dodging multitudes continuously feed off one another with their preposterous, addictive hallucinations about "Vietnam" and, this is done at small expense, only a handful of veterans bear the brunt of their vicious absurdities.

The reason "Vietnam" will not go away is because the story the dodging masses and their cohorts are perpetuating is not true, and it simply sticks in the craw of the non-dodging population. Especially the young. If a teacher wrote 1 + 1 = 2 on the black board, kids going by would take one look and forget it. However, if 1 + 1 = 6 was there, a certain portion of the kids would stop and question it. Same with Vietnam. The supposed "facts" being taught or presented just don't add up.

Recently I had a young man ask me "How come North Vietnam, which has a land area smaller than the state of Missouri, and had a population of less than one tenth the size of America's, could defeat the modern armed forces of the United States?" I answered "Son, they didn't." He came back with "Then why did my teachers tell me that?" My answer was "Son, they are mostly either draft dodgers or wannabes (as in wannabe a draft dodger but was too young, the wrong sex, or?), or their descendents, or kin of, or other wise truck with, the dodgers. Take this article, go show it to them, and then ask for a detailed explanation of the American military defeat."

Updated - 11 Nov 02   © By: K. G. Sears, Ph.D.  mrken @saigonnet.vn

Article used with permission of K. G. Sears, Ph.D.