Warrior to Warrior

Vietnam veteran and author John Harriman returns to Mudville with the latest installment of his series Warrior to Warrior, letters from a Vietnam veteran to our soldiers in Iraq.

Setting the record (mine) straight

Dear Warrior in Iraq . . .

Last week I wrote that in 1973, "America withdrew its last combat soldiers from South Vietnam, where no significant fighting had gone on for a two years or so." Then I mentioned that we left, on our own, as part of a negotiated peace with North Vietnam, without being forced out of the country militarily. I was trying to make the point that we did not lose the war, when in 1975 the North broke the treaty and invaded after we had left South Vietnam.

I made my point well enough, but at the cost of giving due diligence to the fact that there were battles fought and won after Tet. A couple of veterans reminded me. I apologize to all veterans who were in Vietnam until the end, because I know they were at risk at all times in that war zone. I give you the remarks of two veterans who responded to my lapse in facts. The first is from veteran Bill Faith:

"My tour of duty in 'Nam was extended by 90 days due to the north's 1972 spring offensive. Only blind luck kept me from dying on a C-130 that was shot down at the Kontum airbase in May of that year -- I'd left on an earlier flight almost 10 minutes earlier. Not long after that, my good friend William Page, who I mention now and then on my blog, was airlifted out of a nearby firebase just before it was overrun by NVA troops. The South Vietnamese, with a lot of help from the U.S., were finally able to repel the '72 offensive and things were under control enough by August that my tour wasn't extended a second time, which looked quite possible for a while. . . . I'd also remind you that our B-52 crews were bombing the hell out of Hanoi and Haiphong as late as December of '72. . . . I just wish he wouldn't make it sound like anyone who missed Ia Drang and the '68 Tet offensive missed the whole war."

I did make it sound like that. I was wrong. Again, I'm sorry.

Rather than offer any more excuses, I'll let another veteran tell you his opinion as to why I let the facts slip through the cracks.

"As with a lot early Vietnam Vets, for the most part they think the war was pretty much over after TET 68 and the Cambodian incursion of 1970. I chalk up their lack of knowledge to just being glad to be home to get on with their lives. The troops before me pretty much totally eliminated the Viet Cong (VC) within S. Vietnam. They also fought valiantly the large NVA regiments and divisions. However, there were several other very large battles left to fight. And those battles involved direct action of American troops. Just look at the Wall for those years 1971 - '73. For that matter, look all the way to the end of the WALL and beyond. One battle was 'Lom Son 719' in 1971 in Laos. Many American Air Cav fought and died alongside our allies."

Thank you, William B. Page, 1st Cav Div (Airmobile) RVN.

That part about thinking the war was over because I was just glad to be home to get on with my life? It's spot on. In my head, after I left Vietnam, the next huge event was the Cambodian incursion, which was our own initiative. Next came the peace accords and return of our POWs. Then came 1975. All else I forgot.

Thanks for bringing me back to the facts.

As for our troops in Iraq, you will feel a mix of emotions and memories after you finish your tour and leave that war behind. But that's a subject for next week's letter.

Till next week . . .

God bless you and Godspeed.

John is a veteran of two combat tours in Vietnam and a member of the American Legion. His novel, Delta Force #1 : Operation Michael's Sword is a fictional account of the 9/11 attacks and the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom.

And today we're proud to announce the publication of the second of John's Delta books, Prelude to War