BUSH'S VISIT TO VIETNAM ANGERS VETS.Byline: TONY CASTRO Staff Writer President George W. Bush's visit to Vietnam was met with skepticism and curiosity Friday by local veterans of the controversial war in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. that polarized A one-way direction of a signal or the molecules within a material pointing in one direction. America. Veterans, some of whom said Bush's visit had reopened old wounds from their duty in Vietnam, said they also are leery of comparisons between America's experience in Vietnam and its presence in Iraq. Drawing a parallel between the wars, Bush said Friday that ``we'll succeed (in Iraq) unless we quit.'' ``We didn't quit in Vietnam, and we didn't lose the war,'' said Jack Howard of Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, , an Army veteran who did two tours of duty in Vietnam. ``I don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. what anyone says. We did enough conflict damage to let them know we were there. ``Quite frankly, I don't understand what the president is doing there. Unless he's there to bring back all our POWs, he should just leave it alone.'' David Carter People called David Carter include:
Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. from Sun Valley, called Bush's visit to Hanoi ``kind of weird.'' ``I've been following it in the news, and I'm still trying to understand the reason for it,'' he said. ``I got banged up pretty good over there. I don't hold any animosity against the Vietnamese, except for shooting me. ``Is he negotiating some kind of economic trade or trying to round up support for the war in Iraq? I just don't understand what he's doing there.'' Noe Arana, an Army Vietnam veteran from Granada Hills, was upset by the news of Bush's visit to Vietnam. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. why he's there when we left tens of thousands of people there dead or missing,'' he said. ``It's not right. He shouldn't go there asking what we can do to help, or with hat in hand. He should first ask them, `Where's our missing MIAs?''' Jim Lawson, a former Navy corpsman corps·man n. 1. An enlisted person in the U.S. Navy or Marines who has been trained to give first aid and basic medical treatment, especially in combat situations. 2. whose 12 years included serving off the coast of Vietnam, struck a more conciliatory con·cil·i·ate v. con·cil·i·at·ed, con·cil·i·at·ing, con·cil·i·ates v.tr. 1. To overcome the distrust or animosity of; appease. 2. tone -- hoping Bush's visit might open new economic opportunities. ``We had four presidents go to communist China, which led to help in negotiating with the North Koreans on nuclear armaments -- something that might not have happened if they hadn't gone to China,'' Lawson said. ``(Vietnam) may be communist, but they are also part of the world economy. If (Bush's visit) is something that would help open economic trade and improve all economies, then it's not something that I would be particularly against. ... But the question is: Did we learn anything from Vietnam?'' Bush, in fact, was alluding to much the same thing in his remarks in Hanoi on Friday when he said the U.S. experience in Vietnam contained lessons for the war in Iraq. Veterans, however, took exception with any suggestion that Vietnam had been a losing experience. ``There is never any good war,'' Carter said. ``I feel sorry for (those) serving in Iraq because, unfortunately, history does have a way of rearing its ugly head and repeating itself.'' David Maryott, a Navy Vietnam veteran from Sun Valley, suggested that if there was anything to learn from Vietnam, Bush might not be the person to profit from it. ``He's a lame duck An elected official, who is to be followed by another, during the period of time between the election and the date that the successor will fill the post. The term lame duck generally describes one who holds power when that power is certain to end in the near future. , and I'll be glad to see him go,'' Maryott said. ``I've learned to live with Vietnam. That's all there is to it.'' For some veterans, however, there was no denying a connection between Vietnam and Iraq. Howard's 30-year-old son, Jack Tyler Howard III, is currently serving with the Army in Iraq. For Howard, Bush's trip to Vietnam will be fruitless unless the president can get answers to the question of the POWs and MIAs. ``I don't care if it's been 40 years,'' he said. ``I believe there's more than a handful still being held. They may be brainwashed brain·wash tr.v. brain·washed, brain·wash·ing, brain·wash·es To subject to brainwashing. n. The process or an instance of brainwashing. or brain-damaged. They may not even know how to speak their own language any more. But if they're alive, they deserve to be brought back home. The families of these men deserve to know what happened to them.'' Meanwhile, just news that the president was in Vietnam opened old wounds for many Vietnam veterans This article is about the French band. For veterans of the Vietnam War, see Vietnam veteran. The Vietnam Veterans were a six-person French psychedelic group that released six records in the 1980s. The band was praised by many alternative music publications. . At the Veterans Hospital in North Hills, many said the memories were still too painful to even talk about Bush being in that country. ``I have a brother who served in Vietnam, and he refuses to talk to even me about it,'' said Julie Stranges, a volunteer at the facility. ``There is still so much trauma associated with Vietnam for many of them. When they returned, many of them were spat at or called `baby killers.' They didn't deserve that. ``Whenever I meet a Vietnam veteran, I always tell them, `Thank you' and `Welcome home.' Often, many of them start crying and say that's the first time anyone has said that to them.'' Some of the veterans recounted past incidents of discrimination -- losing jobs or being refused service in bars -- for being Vietnam veterans. ``For the longest time, I couldn't talk about Vietnam,'' said Howard, his eyes welling with tears. ``It's still not easy.'' tony.castro(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3761 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) President George W. Bush smiles before a bust of communist leader Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh (hô chē mĭn), 1890–1969, Vietnamese nationalist leader, president of North Vietnam (1954–69), and one of the most influential political leaders of the 20th cent. His given name was Nguyen That Thanh. . Charles Dharapak/Associated Press (2) Vietnam veteran Jack Howard says unless the president is bringing MIAs and POWs back, he shouldn't be in Vietnam. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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