“You will kill 10 of our men, and we will kill 1 of yours – and in the end, it will be you who tire of it.”
(Ho Chi Minh)
Throughout my lengthy aeronautical sojourn eastwards, I reflected on days gone by, predominantly dwelling on the futility of war – in all my years as a soldier on the operational front, it has always proved incredibly difficult to determine precisely what good ever evolved from armed conflict – the older I have become – and the more I attempt to vainly fend-off the ever-encroaching liberal tendencies that now sit precariously close to the periphery of my sense of reason, one is left in little doubt that there exists but a mere handful of organisations who unashamedly benefit from pan-global unrest; including; suspect governments, Arms dealers and international media being the main benefactors from any form of blood-letting, in any corner of the world.
The power of television to influence world events is manifest, I watched coverage of the Vietnam War from its near USA/Australian commencement, right through to the closing stages of the conflict, and equally, saw the massive relief – incredulity almost, that the long and hellish ordeal was finally coming to an end – and then being sickened by the fallacious claims, with typical immodesty, by intercontinental television companies, that it was their wall-to-wall coverage that eventually forced the hands of the politicians – making it impossible for them to keep pouring American/Australian plentitude and soldiers blood into an unworthy and reprehensible struggle.
In stark contrast to these pointed assertions however, there was something credible in the networks claims. Graphic illustrations such as GI’s setting fire to the roof of a grass hut, in the inane belief, inexplicably held by respective Command HQ’s that villages had to be destroyed in order to ‘save them’. Or pictures of soldiers smoking pot through the barrels of their rifles, or the interminable succession of body bags, each delivering the unquestionable horror and human wastefulness of the war into the lounges of the outside world, none more so than the mothers, fathers, wives, sister and brothers of those tasked in assisting with the annihilation of an otherwise bunch of unskilled will-o’-the wisp brigands – the same who would eventually overcome the military might of the most substantial Army in the world by refusing to comply to the rules of conventional warfare – not in their backyard!
As much as the politicians succumbed to the opposition of the war, whether they wanted to or not – the worldwide public’s reaction to the televised coverage certainly contributed in achieving détente – it was finally over – the troops returned home and the politicians began to count the full cost of their heinous faux pas – and the TV cameras stopped rolling – yet for over 1000 military personnel still trapped and imprisoned in Vietnam – their war continued – they were never to go home!
Before long, I was to discover the brutal truth behind their demise.
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A very moving post. Thank you.
It is incredible what humans can endure both mentally and physically.
This is an excellent account of a sad chapter in our lives. Unfortunately it seems that we can never learn from history.