The Longest War: Why Vietnam Still Matters, By Larry Mcquillan

The Longest War: Why Vietnam Still Matters, By Larry Mcquillan

When people think about the Vietnam War, many think about the passions
and controversy it generated at home and the TV images of protesters
confronting riot police. My images are different. I think of the
American who served there, many of them just out of high school. Some
are among the more than 58,000 names on "the Wall." Some came back
permanently disabled. All came back different, changed by the
intensity of war.

Most Vietnam vets don't talk about the war very much, but that doesn't
mean their experiences should be ignored. The sacrifices that were
made deserve to be remembered. The lessons that were learned must
never be forgotten.

There really are two closely-related lessons that resulted from
America's experience in Vietnam. first, all of us should be
open-minded when it comes to questioning what our government is doing.
Being a "good American" means asking questions. The 2d lesson is that
young people can make a difference. They were the one's who first
started to question whether we should be in Vietnam. Eventually, they
forced the rest of the country to start asking questions, as well.

Back in 1959, when the first US servicemen were killed in Vietnam,
most Americans assumed the government in Washington knew what it was
doing. That attitude continued until the 1968 Tet Offensive by the DRV
Army and the VC began to generate doubts about the war. Young people
started raising questions about America's policies and their costs -
eventually, leading their elders to do the same. Finally, in 1973,
most of the US forces were withdrawn from Vietnam.

As someone who served in the Army and hitched rides on helicopters to
cover the war for Pacific Stars and Stripes, the "hometown" paper for
the troops in Vietnam, I have mixed emotions about the war. I have no
doubts, however, about the horrors that nearly 3 million Americans
were exposed to there. That's why it makes me angry to hear Robert
Mcnamara, who for seven years was Secretary of Defense, now say that
he had private doubts about the war and the "misjudgments" that were
made in our policy.

The memories of Vietnam never really leave me, and I don't want them
to because they have created a responsibility. Now that I am a
journalist in Washington, I find those memories prompting me to ask
the government officials "Why?" to make sure that they can defend the
positions they advocate. It is a responsibility that I feel I have to
those who served in Vietnam and for the young men and women now asked
to serve in Bosnia or on any other military mission.

The lessons of Vietnam are a responsibility for all of us. It was high
school and college-age Americans who first asked the tough questions
concerning Vietnam. Unsatisfied with the answers they received, they
made a difference. No one changes the world by themselves, and no one
changes the world by assuming it can't be done.

We should never be cynical and assume the government is wrong, but we
have a right to be convinced that its policies are correct. We just
have to ask the question "Why?"

Larry McQuillan, who was a Spec. 4 in the Army, covered the war in
Vietnam for Pacific Stars and Stripes. Currently, he is a White House
correspondent for Reuters News Service.

To comment on this reflection, or to express your thoughts on
how you felt about the war, homecoming, or America's feelings toward
the war or its veterans, please leave your thoughts at URL:

http://home.pacbell.net/veterans/mythoughts.htm

Reprinted by special permission from the book: "Why Vietnam Still
Matters"" The War and The Wall", compiled by Jan C. Scruggs.
You can contact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund via:

VVMF, 815 15th St, NW, Suite 600, Washington DC 20005
(202) 393-0090, Fax (202) 393-0029
Or, its WWWsite at URL: http://www.vvmf.org

---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com