John Goegel: Did US learn nothing from our involvement in war in Vietnam?

To The Daily Sun,

April 30 marks the fall of Saigon in 1975, and the conclusion of the more than 10-year American involvement in the war on Vietnam. Walter Cronkite, noted broadcast journalist, poignantly expressed the sadness of the moment, “We have come to the end of the tunnel and there is no light.”

On Sept. 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence, inspired by the Atlantic Charter, issued in August 1941, in which Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill pledged to all countries the right of self-determination at the conclusion of the war. The Vietnamese people had joined with the allies to defeat Japan during World War II and their attempt to gain U.S. support for their independence was ignored. Government rule over Vietnam was returned to the French.

“The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of millions is a statistic.” During the course of 30 years (1946-75), 58,000 Americans, 75,000 French Unionists, and millions of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed; total casualties (physical and psychological) are innumerable. Today I honor two friends (among the many who served) — Frank Egan (captain, U.S. Air Force) and Ginny Timmons (lieutenant, U.S. Army). Frank was a combat pilot in Vietnam who was killed a few days before Christmas 1972. Frank would have made a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. Ginny was an Army nurse in Vietnam who provided care and comfort to the broken bodies of frightened young men and in some cases witnessed the final moments of their lives.

Today we mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the war on Vietnam. War is madness. War has no place in a sane world. Yet we presently witness the horror in Gaza and in Ukraine, with the tremendous loss of blood and treasure. Why?

John Goegel

Canterbury