For starters, there are never absolutes in war. Never.
As for revisionist history, they always make it sound like it is one revision. There is no such thing. Revisionists are a dynamic bunch and lean toward absolutism. You can lay all this historical tomes out side by side and still not capture the creature called Vietnam. I have not read as much as the true scholars, but slopping through the jungle as a grunt is not an academic affair. I have completed maybe 12 histories of the war in the past 20 years.
Now you have the release of some new documents pointing to Richard Nixon’s secret efforts to scuttle President Lyndon Johnson’s efforts toward a peace agreement just days before the 1968 election. I suggest you conduct your own research of this rather startling discovery. It appears Richard Nixon has a bit fond of wiretapping long before Watergate.
There was much good we did Vietnam. Did it stick? Nope, never does, never has. Enter Iraq 2013.
The item of current history that you will never find in all these pre-meditated revisionist treatises, is that we are in a very fine joint venture relationship with Vietnam for the exploration of oil. Some may say that may explain why France, China, Japan and Russia had so much interest in Vietnam. Sure was not the rice! I have an article that was published in the Wall Street Journal, twenty years ago, quoting John McCain, during the MIA travails and the lifting of the Trade Embargo, where is quoted as saying, “but it is said there is oil of the shores of the South China Sea.” Bingo! Was it slip? Or did he intend to couch it in a third party expression. Whichever way, it puzzles me to this day that we get so lathered up about socialism yet good old communism makes for good business partner. At least on one side of the equation all the people are controlled.
So here is the question for the revisionists. If we assisted Vietnam in achieving its own brand of nationalism, and they start supplying us with oil, than did we do good?
> Especially if you served in country, you need to know about this. The
Vietnam Center and Archive at Texas Tech University was founded by local
veterans of the war who wanted to establish a place to store and care for
memorabilia, documents and memories of the war. A substantial amount of its
funding has come from veterans who have happily supported its purpose and
donated material to it. Throughout the years, from its founding to the
present, the Center has held conferences and symposia to discuss the latest
scholarship about the war. The conferences and symposia have been attended
not only by scholars but also by Vietnam vets interested in preserving the
history of the war and correcting false information that has arisen over the
years.
>
> This year, in September, the Center is hosting another conference. This
one is part of the official year long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of
the war, which, in the words of the DoD is to “honor and pay tribute to
Vietnam Veterans and their families during the 50th Anniversary of the war.”
The conference will be held in Washington, D.C. and is sponsored by the
National Archives and the DoD 50th Anniversary Commemoration Committee, so
it has the official imprimatur of the government. The theme of the
conference is 1963, a seminal year in the conflict and a crucial point in
the direction the war took. There is much disagreement among scholars as to
the significance and impact of the deposal of Ngo Diem and his later
assassination as well as Kennedy’s assassination.
>
> Unfortunately, the Center has recently changed Directors, and the new
Director, Dr. Steve Maxner, is taking the Center in a far left direction.
All 15 of the scholars invited to speak and serve on panels are far left
scholars who have consistently denigrated the war and its participants.
These scholars unanimously hold the view that the war was illegal, its
participants were criminals and the war had nothing to do with communism or
the domino theory.
>
> The foremost scholar of the so-called “revisionist” view, Dr. Mark Moyar,
had not only not been invited but is being told he can attend as a
participant but cannot speak or serve on a panel. This will be the first
time in the history of the Center that no views in opposition to the far
left interpretation of the war will be invited.
>
> Maxner has recently been deluged by letters of protest from Vietnam vets,
some of whom are recognized scholars on the war but has steadfastly refused
to include any revisionist scholars or even admit that the scholars that he
has invited have any bias at all. This conference, in its present makeup,
would be comparable to conducting a conference on American Black History and
only inviting white members of the KKK to “debate” the historical events.
Imagine discussing the seminal year of the Vietnam conflict with a room full
of hippies and not one single person who participated in the war or has a
different perspective on the war. The outcome is virtually guaranteed not to
“honor and pay tribute to” those of us who served.
>
> I may have further action items in the future. For now, there are some
things you can do:
> 1) Contact every Vietnam vet you know and point them to this exposition of
this travesty (or copy it and email it to them)
> 2) Contact Governor Perry and express your disapproval of the current
configuration of this conference
> 3) Contact your Texas Senator and Representative and voice your
disapproval
> 4) Contact your Senators and Congressman regarding the conference and
express your displeasure that an event purporting to honor and respect you
will instead portray you as a war criminal and is being funded with your tax
dollars
>
> Please do not contact anyone at the Center or at Texas Tech. We are
already in contact with them on an academic level. The time for out and out
protest is not yet. If we cannot make changes in the conference while
working within the system, we may have to fill the conference with vets
opposing these views and turn the conference into a major news event.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Jim
>
> James D. Thacker, PhD
> President & Chief Science Officer
> TherimuneX Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
> 3805 Old Easton Road
> Doylestown, PA 18902-8400
> Direct Dial: 215.589.6418
> DrexelMed Office: 215.991.8335
> Email: jim_thacker@therimunex.com
> URL: www.therimunex.com
>
In trying to verify this, I contacted Gary Roush at Vietnam Helicopter
Pilots Association (VHPA) and this was his reply:
This is the first I have heard of this. I used to be on Texas Tech’s
mailing list because I attended one of their annual symposiums
several years ago, but have dropped off the list for some
reason. That symposium had panelists from North Vietnam, South
Vietnam, ambassadors, a political cabinet member, military
commanders, veterans, journalists, historians, academics and students
even a Buddhist monk. I no longer remember the theme. It was very
balanced with a very wide variety of views. Other symposiums over
the years were similarly balanced in my view.
In reviewing the agenda on the Texas Tech web site, it appears nearly
all of the speakers and panelists are academics. No military
commanders, no ambassadors, no journalists, no political cabinet
members, no veterans and no foreign representation. In other words,
no one with any first hand information. That is very troubling to me.
I have known Steve Maxner for many years, but have not really worked
with him much. He was a guest speaker at the VHPA reunion in New
Orleans and did a really good job. No idea why he is taking a pure
academic approach to this subject. It seems to me to be ill advised
as this is how history gets revised by academics – by locking out
first person experience. Of course the academics will talk about
their research and maybe even interviews of some of the players, but
we will have to take their interpretation of that information and
interviews which may not match what the players would say directly.
Looks to me like Jim’s opinion below is true. It would be
interesting and helpful to have Steve Maxner’s view on this. I hope
Jim can “get it sorted out on an academic level.”
Gary
This is Texas Tech’s Vietnam Center website and below it is the Sept
conference agenda:
http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2013_Conference/
Preliminary agenda:
http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2013_Conference/agenda.htm
It may be understandable that in advocating for Veterans you also feel the need to advocate for the Vietnam War and it’s justification – but you can’t change history by presenting discredited propaganda 50 years after the fact.
And it is counter-productive to the cause of Veterans. Those who realize that they were badly used and deceived by their government are better off – personally and for the country – than those who continually try to justify the war and thereby themselves.
The worst consequence of this militarism is a failure to recognize national errors, which results in things like Iraq, and the encouragement of young people to be “patriotic” and drop poisons or drones or whatever is current on brown skinned people far away and call themselves heroes.
If you want to achieve mindful healing, the first step is admitting your mistakes.
Nothing more than a hot steaming pile b******t. Just what I would expect from a “Progressive” All the code words were in your comment.
Other than the name calling, which is what we all expect of right wingers, did you have any actual facts to add to the discussion ? Or just your usual ?
I didn’t name call you just what you wrote. If I name called you…., you would know it. Unless you deny that you are a ‘Progressive”. If you follow this blog site I never insult people. I don’t know you and you don’t know me…thank god.
I’m not in a mood to start a “discussion” with you on the Vietnam War. You are not a military historian nor a historian or an expert in geo-politics From what I can figure just a supporter or Soviet Communists from the 1960’s.
You don’t have to be an historian to know that this is propaganda and BS. Being there should be enough for most of us.
History has not been, and will not be, kind to those who think our war on Vietnam was a good thing for anyone – because the truth has a way being persistent.
Well, we killed a bunch of Communists. Nothing wrong with that. Guess you forgot we were in a Cold War and we stopped ‘Wars of Liberation” throughout the world.
End of comments. I’m done.
Gosh, where is our local Cuban Communist “Uncle Karl”. I enjoyed his comments and debate. And he had a sense of humor! Karl….where are you!!! Karl!!!
Communists are human beings too – killing people isn’t good. Also killed even more innocent civilians, as well as not-so-innocent American boys all for nothing.
LOL….Communists are people too!
Yes – I know that comes as as surprise to some people like you and Mike, but ti is true.
Human beings entitled to the same respect as you.
Not brown sub humans to dump poison on and then complain if you get a drop on yourself.
And the message of Jesus was NOT “God Bless the Warmakers – youu-hahh”.
” For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s futures. And we are all mortal.”
JFK – 1963.
Too bad Mike doesn’t allow links but it might be good for you to google and look up his speech at American University in 1963.
He also said:
“The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough – more than enough – of war and hate and oppression.”
Of course he was dead soon after.
I will write this and leave because it is futile to communicate with a Progressive Activist. This is for the fake Tiponeil. Don’t use someone else’s name because he was a democrat who worked with Regan. No one here uses JFK as an I.D. either. Expecting to hear your name excuse once again. Get rid of the flag icon because you are not a patriot. How old are you anyway. Graduate college yet? Obviously you have no other reference to information than Google. This is a Moot Point since you are self-describing. Please put up the Red Flag. That one you’ve earned.
You misspelled my name – it has 2 “L”s.
As for the flag you got it wrong, too. It only has stars for Free States.
This IS my last comment to you. I can’t help but respond, when I get off the floor from laughing. You definitely belong on Comedy Central. You are so easy to set-up, it’s amazing. I said you would make some lame/name excuse. Dude, I misspelled O’Neill and Reagan on purpose. Shows how narrow minded and immature you are. Uneducated also.
The 13 colonies were put on the flag in a circle. You must have gotten the scrambled idea from the Huffington Post in support of gay marriage. The scrambled stars represent your scrambled brain. You are not too well like by many here. Even Mark Evans told you that you don’t even read before you post. Write on your cave walls first. Spare us from your evolution, please. Have a nice day…good luck with that one.
Other than name calling, do you have any contributions to make ? Or just the right wing usual ?
Hang inTip, you bring the best out of the pack, and probably screw up supper for a few. Marines are here to uphold the Constitution,and that includes you. I can handle it and do not need to devolve to adjectival adolescence to make a point, that most of the time is never made by many, as the penchant to clutch to identity and ego, trumps all content.Neither do I write to justify my medals. They remind me of why I write. To dispel the kind of lies that were perpetrated during the Vietnam War. All historians know this to be true. All of them.
Actually “all historians” know that the war was an unjustified, unnecessary carnage in which we lost many men and treasure and the Vietnamese lost much much more.
Everyone would have been much better off if we had not fought it.
Propaganda trying to justify our militarism is not “history” which is why you are unlikely to be represented at historical conferences.
P.S. Jesus did NOT say “Blessed are the Warmakers – hooo haah”.
Grunts are always welcome at historical conferences. Ask Phil Caputo.
I just had a very long post – flushed. I hate wordpress. Its gone and I’m not redoing it. Thumbnail absent detail – the war never should have happened. FDR was not going to return Vietnam to the French. Truman did however and condemed a million to die.
I agree.
Well Fraser, it was once said that the Vietnam war divided the nation. It looks like the chasm has widened and the division is hard at work. I wonder who benefits from that? We must always remember, that there are nation-states out there watching us and using our polarities to their own ends. The 50-60 readers that know me well, know fully that I am neither a Hawk or a Dove. Ironically, the author of the above essay, is not even remotely a Hawk. He was a platoon leader with the 1st Air Cavalry in Vietnam. They actually came to rescue us Marines at Khe Sanh. He is a real live Military Historian and runs the Military Historical Museum on McDowell Rd. in Phoenix. I knew this narrative would draw some ire and fire in the belly, but then the value of the content it surfaces is what makes blogging worthwhile. Its almost like archaeology, in that you never know in advance what you will find. The Vietnam War cannot have a simplistic two sided viewpoint, It is too complicated for that, and their were too many mistakes that were not admitted to have an accurate historical framing.See McNamaras’s book “In Retrospect” or the writings of Joe Galloway. On October 5th. “The 5oth Anniversary of the Vietnam War” will be commemorated in Scottsdale, with retired Marine General Anthony Zinni as the keynote speaker; (he opposed the tactics of the Iraq War). Events like this are going on in nearly every state in the nation. Be assured the Blog farms are packed with controversial views and charged opinions,and it is Free Speech that we vociferously defend that makes this so. Attacking Tiponelll, does not further our cause. it may challenge us to transcend identity politics and offer dialogues that enlighten, ( we have already lost most young adults because of the food fight mentality). and create a new brand of leadership that can incorporate the polarities and enmity that rules. I see “Twilledge” has returned. I am not fond of this poster, but will leave the post there. He has been insulting to the bone of both my commuting, (how many homes does John McCain own, out of state?),the office we maintain in Tucson, and even questioned my service in the Marine Corps and the nature of my disability. I will give him/her one more chance, as my libertarian leanings mostly have me leave people alone. However, insulting a Marine is not well advised.
PS, the disallowing of links was advised by my mentor. Veterans sites are one of the most frequently hacked and sending someone to a link, will crash the whole program.
I agreed with JimB about his comment referring to Truman. We could have done a lot of good in the world at the end of WW2. FDR was not a colonialist. He would have kept the French etc. from screwing up the world again with their colonialism.
As a conservative I wonder about John McCain sometimes. The Immigration issue especially. His trigger finger is itching to get us into Syria and that worries me. Not sure if its worthwhile at all. (that’s another topic),
You know that I know you. And you know me and my background and what I did. That’s why I don’t go “one on one” with the likes of TipOneill. (He is not nearly as fun as Uncle Karl! LOL).
Take care Mike.
True, his barbs are pretty incendiary and so positional that rationality floats out to sea.
Incendiary – perhaps. But there is nothing irrational about opposing mass murder. In fact some old religion used to claim that the end result of murdering innocent people was very “incendiary”
Yup, it is maddening. I often write in Office Word and move it over, so as to never lose the stuff. At my age, losing is easy! Please give it another shot Jim.