The Face of My Enemy

[Seascamp]

To my knowledge objective, accurate, honest and scholarly works that cover the time between the US withdrawal from SEA and the fall of Saigon is yet to be produced in the US. Coincidently, Phnom Penh, Cambodia fell on the exact same day, almost to the hour, but that is another story of when the nightmares and holocaust began in earnest on both sides of the border and covers the years from 1975 to 1980.
I highly doubt a definitive works covering 1972 -1975 will be researched and written in the US within the next decade or so as the conflicts of interest are way to intense and the current vested interest is in perpetuating myth after myth. But the bright side is that the Asian media and some Asian research scholars have no such inhabitations and it can be a real head slap to read their versions of what went on. Even the current Vietnamese press is far more forthcoming when it suits their purposes. Anyway, I remember the period leading up to the fall of Saigon and the US media focused on the cowardly ARVN running away, etc., and some mention of PAVN armor was made but not to any great depth or emphasis that I recall.
Then kabooom, I was working in the Moi Hung oil fields just prior to the big 25th celebrations of 2000. The whole theme was ?We kicked America?s ass? and of course they were strutting their stuff and showing their proud meat. That is where I first saw the newspaper pics of the massive Soviet/PAVN armored columns descending on Saigon. For the actual celebrations I went back to Singapore as all of VN was shut down for the holiday and I didn?t care for the nasty atmosphere going on. Sen. McClain was there and managed to get in a real nasty biff with the VN Gvt. Bubbas and that got a ton of local coverage, big time, so I wasn?t all that interested in the fallout from that flail. Anyway, the Asian Times had a special edition that covered the fall of Saigon complete with pics of the massive armored columns, interviews with US and PAVN participants, etc. Wow, all new to me and I was stunned, absolutely stunned, but not at all surprised.
I would have no idea as to how much Soviet/PAVN armor was involved but thousands would not be unrealistic and was reported by the Times. One US helicopter pilot said he could see armored columns as far as he could see and he said that the columns had halted and he opined that they were waiting for the US to completely evacuate Saigon.
As to who was actually coordinating an armored invasion of that scope and scale , well, it is no secret who was actually running the PAVN show from mid 1966 on and it?s no secret as to who had the technology, industry and capability to mount such a huge and complex effort. And it?s no secret that the North Vietnamese did not have the industrial or petroleum refining capacity to even think about anything like that. Nor did they have field commanders that had the background skills to run anything of that complexity and scope.
And sadly, there is no doubt and as a matter of record, the US Congress cut off all aid to the RVN and left them totally defenseless against an onslaught of that magnitude. So yes, abandon boots for sure and that pic ought to hang right in the halls of Congress where it belongs.
As to PAVN armor during the War, yes, there was some in the border areas and along the NV coast but a Soviet T-54 was no match for the air cover the US put up so, at least in my area, they didn?t break from cover often. At least the USN had developed a way the pop the turret off in one pass with a 25 mm cannon and that was it for the T-54 crew, post haste, no contest at all. But in high density rain forest areas I could see where they would be very formidable if they could get around. But I wouldn?t know about that for sure.
As to the reasons we are so ignorant, misinformed and media bound on all this is anyone?s guess; but not mine, and I?ll leave it at that.


Scamp