Images from the Vietnam War on PBS
In the last few installments, I could not even follow. More troops dying while taking a hill and then abandon it; more troops marching in the jungles, get killed and wounded. Taken captive. Anti War demonstrations and the "silent majority" against them.
There was a construction worker in NY who could not contain his rage against the demonstrators. Why, then, I yelled at the TV, are you not enlisted? This clearly was also a class warfare. The middle class educated students (mostly) vs. blue collar workers. Still was hard for me to understand why they continued to support more and more troops being killed. But then, of course, for Nixon, all his political life was part of a class warfare, starting in 1960 when he ran against rich, privileged JFK.
There was the Tet offensive that, really, was a massacre on the North Vietnamese. And they way they killed innocent civilians on their way back north.
There was the MyLai Massacre, when Lt. Calley, the only one convicted, had his sentence reduced from life to twenty years in prison, to three years of house arrest.
No wonder Whiny Donny pardoned Arpaio, this is nothing compared to Nixon intervening in the sentencing of Calley.
During the four-month-long trial, Lieutenant Calley consistently claimed that he was following orders from his commanding officer, Captain Medina. Despite that, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison on March 29, 1971, after being found guilty of premeditated murder of not fewer than twenty people. Two days later, President Richard Nixon made the controversial decision to have Calley released from armed custody at Fort Benning, Georgia, and put under house arrest pending appeal of his sentence. Calley's conviction was upheld by the Army Court of Military Review in 1973 and by the U.S. Court of Military Appeals in 1974.[94] In August 1971, Calley's sentence was reduced by the Convening Authority from life to twenty years. Calley would eventually serve three and one-half years under house arrest at Fort Benning including three months in a disciplinary barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In September 1974, he was paroled by the Secretary of the Army Howard Callaway.[94][95]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre#Courts_martial
Still, the haunting images from yesterday were:
Jane Fonda in Hanoi, calling to execute POWs. I did not remember following that closely at the time and this was shocking. I can understand why so many Vietnam vets still hate her.
John Kerry eloquent testimony in the Senate. Do we have to wait for the last person to die in Vietnam, he asked? Mr. Musgrave, one of the Marines who narrates this program, expressed his feelings, how he was there, with many more Marines, so proud and so excited about his testimony.
(Of course, such eloquence just went over the heads of the deplorables back in 2004).
The Napalm Girl. I may have missed it, but by 1972 troops were already withdrawing from Vietnam. We offered air cover to the South Vietnam. Why were we throwing NAPALM bombs there?
At least, we are done with the dead.
Each episode ended with the number of American dead. And with agony I thought: 20,000 at the end of 1967 - 38,000 more "to go." 40,000 at the end of 1969 (I think) 18,000 more.
So yesterday, when it listed 58,220 dead, I could release my breath. This is all.
Tonight, the conclusion. Yes, we left in 1973, but there are still two more years, April 1975, to be exact, for that horrible image of helicopters over the roof of the American embassy, and tossing helicopters into the sea.
I really think that what we have today - a separate topic, really - is almost a continuation of the nation divide from the 70s.
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Yes, I understood that Congress voted to stop sending any aid, money, people or equipment. Nothing would have changed. As someone said: we gave them rich nation equipment that they could not use. Top of the line artillery and aircraft without spare parts or fuel. But it was still painful to watch.
The North Vietnamese were determined, and no one can fight determined people, even if all they have are bayonet and simple guns. But here they were supplied with heavy equipment from the Soviets and from China.s
And one of the sad comment was that the Soviets and the Chinese did not abandon their allies, while we did.
And, the heartbreaking images of to many left behind. I really don't know why Ford gave the order to evacuate only Americans. Were they running out of space on the 6th fleet (I think it was the 6th).
And ambassador Martin - what can one say?
There was some army person who did not like the memorial in D.C. All it has is victims, he said. (Until he later changed his mind).
And I was thinking: what would he have wanted? Monuments of soldiers in the mud? There was no heroic there. Yes, individuals were heroes, but the whole campaign was one big sad event.
It was easy to sob watching this last installment.
And now I wonder how many have we lost, so far, in Afghanistan. Another campaign that will end where it all started.
I AM ANGRY! I am angry that the ambassador wouldn't face the facts and help people leave earlier, he wouldn't even cut down a fucking tree for the helicopters to land. I am angry that Congress wouldn't give Ford any money to support them after we called a cease fire. I am angry that the wonderful memorial was criticized. And I am angry that humans do not learn from history and always repeat mistakes.
I AM GLAD Burns and Novick made this series and it is appreciated. 
