Baghdad - 9.21.05

[BLUEHAWK]

By Tom Clarkson
September 21, 2005

"BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, Sept. 21, 2005) -- There are a number of professionals in Iraq today who are qualified to answer the question: Is Iraq another Vietnam? They are men who served in Vietnam and are now helping rebuild Iraq.

In just a few weeks, I found more than 60 of these veterans working in a variety of capacities throughout Iraq. From 1964 to 1971 they served in the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy from the Gulf of Tonkin to the DMZ. Their present ages range from 51 to 70.

The once hard-bodied young Soldiers are a little paunchy now, a little grayer, a little slower. But they are no less committed to serving their country. In fact, 11 are still in uniform -- three colonels, five lieutenant colonels, two master sergeants, and one warrant officer five.

The others are federal employees or contractors. Their tours of duty in Iraq range from six months to more than 18. They are today, as they were in Vietnam, a diverse lot.

These veterans say that it was a mistake to do so much for the South Vietnamese, both militarily and in the civil sector. They say we made two major errors. First, we took away their pride and sense of self-sufficiency and gave them the impression that we felt ourselves to be superior, generous entities who would solve their difficulties.

Second, we failed to educate them for when they would have to take care of themselves. We failed to heed the old parable ?Give a man a fish and he eats for one day. Teach him to fish and he eats for the rest of his life.?

In 1967, Buddy Algood was a second lieutenant with E Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry of the 199th Infantry Brigade near Binh Chan. Following loss of his lower right calf and foot and recuperation from his injuries, he was the first amputee to graduate from the Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. A month later he returned to Vietnam.

Now, 38 years later, as a civilian, Algood came to Iraq with the Project and Contracting Office. He explains that, in Iraq, part of his early work was ?identifying reconstruction projects in 10 strategic cities that would put Iraqis to work and make an immediate improvement in their quality of life.?

In the first seven weeks, 358 projects were identified, developed, and prioritized with contracts solicited and awarded. Wherever possible, efforts were made to hire Iraqi contractors and workers. At one point, 21,000 Iraqis were employed on these projects.

Algood wonders aloud if ?We?re not finally doing what was an oft-used phrase in Southeast Asia??winning the hearts and minds? of those we were/are to help.?

There are some similarities between Iraq and Vietnam, though. In both countries, things are often not as they appear.

I was a first lieutenant with the 1st Signal Corps in Vietnam 1967-68. Like in ?Nam, the longer I?m here, the more I realize how little I understand. The complexity of relationships, tribal loyalties, long-time hatreds, and vendettas that simmer slightly under the surface cannot be ignored.

Yet there are big differences, too. Iraq has a history 7,500 years old. It is the land that invented paved roads, epic literature, law codes, banking, and even joint stock corporations. It is the culture that created cuneiform writing from which record keeping evolved. Even under Saddam Hussein, it was a modern land of teachers and engineers and industry.

Many excellent Iraqi engineers and sub-contracting companies have successfully been part of the reconstruction efforts.

About 10 projects are being completed every day. So far, PCO has completed 1,727 projects.

We?re doing this one right! Vietnam veterans in Iraq emphasize."

(Editor?s note: Tom Clarkson serves with the Gulf Region Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.)

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Don't forget they also invented kings, cities, bread and BEER. The oldest epic poem in the world, Gilgamesh was written there. It was about the inconsolable grief of a man for his friend who died in battle. It was written about 2300 BC and mentioned the Great Flood.

[1CAVCCO15MED]

It was written about a thousand years before Moses so it is that much older than the Bible. In spite of it's antiquity, almost 5,000 years, it has some of the most exquisite passages about the loss of a buddy:

"That is what it is to be a man. You have lost the way to see the way you once did. You'll be alone and wander looking for life that is gone or some eternal life you have to find."

He grew closer to his friend's face. "My pain is that my eyes and ears no longer see the same as yours do. Your eyes have changed. You are crying. You have never cried before. It is not like you. Why am I to die, you to wander alone? Is that the way it is with friends?"

Gilgamesh sat hushed as his friend's eyes stilled. In his silence he reached out to touch the friend who he had lost.