Famous Words of Ho Chi Minh in 1946 against the oppressive colonisation of first the French and next the Americans
This is my 4th visit to the southern capital, previously called Saigon. The country of Vietnam since 1975, has been under Communist rule but the last 15 years or so, it has opened up its economy to the capitalists and the economy has been on an uptick since then.
The young population are hungry, hard working, clever and bi-lingual - this is a big plus, as compared currently to the PRC. Hence there have been many investors coming in and setting up factories, businesses. Tourism is booming, with many visitors from US, Europe, Russia and Asia (China especially) coming for an inexpensive short weekend getaway.
The greatest pride of the Vietnam people must be their steely determination to drive out the imperialist US forces in the very divisive Vietnam War which lasted from 1956 - 1975. More than 2 million Vietnamese died in the conflict, and US, even with their superior weaponry, firepower, technology, strategy could not overcome one fundamental aspect of the war - the will of the people to be free from imperialism and subjugation from the rule of the white man.
The one shameful symbol of the Vietnam War, the UH 1 H Huey Helicopter Gunship
The Vietcong soldiers were very clever in using captured weapons, ammunition and even learnt how to evade the US carpet bombings by digging a network of tunnels running some several kilometers underground and practically unseeen unless one was on top of its entrance. There was even the capture of F5E warplanes by the Vietcong and one brave pilot flew into Saigon (the capital of South Vietnam) and dropped several bombs into the Independence Palace in 1975. This signalled that the end of the war was near and the US presence was waning with each passing year from 1970 onwards.
Last Chopper out of Saigon May 1975
There were millions of people protesting against the war in US, the returning Veterans were amongst the loudest opponents to the war, and the brave Vietnamese were just doing what came naturally, rising against the yoke of the oppressors.
The US hence lost the war on 2 fronts - firstly in the minds of the general population who saw no positive upside to it, resulting in over 50,000 young men and women dying for a distant war with no identifiable cause except for the maintenance of balance of power between them (the Communists) and the Free World.
T -59 Chinese Made Tank which stormed through the gates of Independence Palace on 30 April 1975 signalling America's defeat.
Secondly, it was very expensive to the taxpayers, the US citizens and with each passing year, people were being made aware (by enbedded camera crews in the jungles of Vietnam alongside the soldiers) of the atrocities being committed by the US forces. There were reports of outright rape, murder, genocide and carpet bombing using Agent Orange which by all accounts was chemical warfare. Many innocent Vietnamese were scarred for life and lost their limbs and their dignity as a result of the terrible side effects of the chemicals.
The moral outrage about the social injustice on the ordinary Vietnam people was finally enough to make the US powers that be, see that it was a lost cause.
They pulled out in May 1975, and the US imperial power myth was shattered irrevocably.
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