Vietnam Veteran News with Mack Payne

Episode 1150 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will highlight the story about the budding relationship between Australia and Vietnam. There was a piece in The Australian Financial Review website titled: Vietnam sees role for Australia in resolving South China Sea tensions by Lisa Murray and Angus Grigg that laid out the status of the current relationship between the two countries, its genesis and its expected future development.

Australia was a strong ally of the United States during the American Vietnam War and like its former ally, it is in the process of building a stronger relationship with its former adversary Vietnam. It is following the trend of numerous regional powers along with the United States to open up to the former communist state that has eschewed the bankrupt communist philosophy to become a regional economic and military powerhouse.

To help cement its new positive relationship with Vietnam, the United States accepted the invitation and sent the super aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, along with a cruiser and destroy to make a port call to Da Nang. The was the first visit by a US capital ship since 1975.

The US, Australia and other Southeast Asian nations are coalescing together for two primary reasons. One is trade the other is to insure free international use of the South China Sea. China is claiming ownership of the entire South China Sea. This is causing serious problems for the Association of South-East Asian Nations and has rippling effects on many other trading nations around the world.

Each year $5.3 trillion of trade passes through the South China Sea. For one nation like China to control such a critical seaway would not be a good thing. Vietnam is seeking to build alliances to counterbalance China, the neighborhood heavy weight.

Listen to episode 1150 and discover more about the budding relationship between Australia and Vietnam.

Episode 1149 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature an opinion piece found in The New York Times titled: Who Were the Real Nationalists in Vietnam? It was submitted by Stephen B. Young, the global executive director of the Caux Round Table. During the Vietnam War he worked for the United States Agency for International Development in South Vietnam.

In his New York Times opinion piece, Young takes a contrarian viewpoint towards the outcome of the 1968 Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. He stated nationalism is very important to the Vietnamese people. He opines that South Vietnamese nationalism was shaken from its dormancy by the Tet Offensive and given proper support it could have helped the South win out over communists.

Reaction to Young's opinion piece was universally negative. Most believe he doesn't know what he is talking about but he cites several supporting points. First is the importance of nationalism to the Vietnamese people. Secondly, those people observed after the fighting that the communist suffered a military failure of titanic proportions, the South Vietnamese population did not come out in support of the communists and that the South Vietnamese military fought back and in some cases very admirably. Many in the South concluded that heaven had turned the tides of fate their way.

Instead of falling apart during the offense as many claimed, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam expanded. In February, after the Tet attacks, enlistments into the army more than doubled and this was matched in the Regional and Popular forces.

According to Young, Ho Chi Minh used the cause of nationalism as a front for his communist leanings because he knew the Vietnamese people would not accept the Western concept that walked all over traditional Vietnamese values.

Listen to episode 1149 and discover more about another big mistake the US made in the Vietnam War put forth by Stephen B. Young in his New York Times opinion piece.

Episode 1148 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature the opinions of one of the attorneys who defended LT William Calley who was tried for 22 premeditated murders that occurred during the My Lai massacre. That attorney J. Houston Gordon of Covington, Tennessee wrote a guest column for The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tennessee titled: 50 YEARS AFTER MY LAI: What I learned representing Lt. Calley that laid out his opinions about the whole mess.

J. Houston Gordon, a former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, was a court-appointed lawyer for U.S. Army Lieutenant William Calley. Gordon was unsuccessful in his efforts to obtain a vacation of Calley's conviction for his role in the infamous My Lai massacre in Vietnam. The basis of his argument in defense of Calley was that he was only following the orders of a superior officer (similar to the defense used by Waffen-SS field officer Joachim Peiper at the Malmedy trial).

Gordon's intense fascination with the trial of Calley led him on a forty year mission of research and study to determine the real causes of the massacre. His research and study has yielded to him two conclusions: First, the war in Vietnam was fought for numerous wrong reasons including the wrong way, in the wrong place, against the wrong enemy and at the wrong time.

The second conclusion he came up with was the My Lai massacre was not a standalone event. He maintains it was part of a larger plan that was conceived from misguided policies, false "intelligence" and intentionally turbulent combat strategies and tactics.

Listen to episode 1148 and discover more about what attorney J. Houston Gordon had to say about William Calley's trail and the maelstrom of alleged lies and deception that created the My Lai massacre and how to avoid committing the same mistakes in the future.

Episode 1147 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a report on the aftermath of the historic visit by the US aircraft carrier, Carl Vinson, to Vietnam. A story in The Vietnam Express International titled: US aircraft carrier leaves Vietnam, wrapping up historic visit that was submitted by Nguyen Dong covers the subject.

In the story put out by a Vietnamese newspaper are found comments from Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Professor Carlyle Thayer from the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defense Force Academy and Rear Admiral John V. Fuller, the commander of the Carl Vinson strike group.

The general consensus by all is that the event was beneficial to all except maybe the Chinese who were none too happy about the US horning in on their party in Southeast Asia. The Chinese are trying to push their weight around in the area and set up a Sino hegemony. They want to control the area for reasons almost too numerous to count.

Billions of dollars in world commerce passes through the South China Sea every month. Control of that seaway would put the controller in a powerful position in world affairs. The area also possesses vast quantities of fish in a region that relies heavily on seafood to support its populations. There are reports of large petroleum reserves underneath. These a few of the reasons China is claiming the South China Sea.

The purpose of the Carl Vinson's visit to Vietnam was to improve relations with our former adversary, Vietnam, and to attempt to bring stability and peace to the area by utilizing the proven concept of "peace through strength." It is a good policy to follow.

Listen to episode 1147 of the podcast and discover more about the aftermath of the USS Carl Vinson's visit to Vietnam.

Episode 1146 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast Vietnam Veteran and combat photographer John Olson's "The Marines and Tet" exhibition at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. will be featured. There was a story about the showing in The Pentagram website titled: Explore D.C.: "The Marines and Tet" at Newseum and submitted by Francis Chung, a Pentagram Staff Photojournalist.

John Olson was featured in episode 1127 of this podcast. He was an Army combat photographer in the Vietnam War. When the Tet Offensive broke out at the end of January, 1968 he was dispatched to Hue where thousands of NVA soldiers had infiltrated into the city and began wreaking deadly havoc on the city and its citizens.

Hue is an ancient imperial citadel which was the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors and the national capital from 1802 to 1945. Caught off guard by the surprise attack on the sacred city during a national holiday, the ARVN troops and US Marines stationed there along with a little help from the US Army's 1st Cavalry Division took several weeks to rout out the murderous invaders.

Olson took many pictures of the action during the battle at Hue. One of his pictures was the iconic image of a wounded Marine being evacuated from the action on the fender of a tank. The Marine featured in the tank was Pfc. A.B. Grantham, an 18-year-old from Mobile, Alabama. He was given up for dead but he survived and is living the good life as a grandfather today.

Olson's exhibition includes nine special photographs that feature the unique three-dimensional tactile prints which make the images accessible to blind and visually-impaired visitors through touch and sound.

CLICK HERE to discover more about 3DPhotoWorks and the wonderful things they do with photographs that help those with impaired vision "see" history, improve self-confidence, promote independence and enhance learning.

CLICK HERE for more information about the Newseum and its "The Marines and Tet" exhibition.

Listen to episode 1146 of the podcast and discover more about John Olson's "The Marines and Tet" display at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Episode 1145 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature the Chinese reaction to the USS Carl Vinson visiting Vietnam at the Da Nang Harbor. The basis for the discussion will be An AP story appearing in the My Journal Courier of Jacksonville, Illinois titled: Paper notes China's 'unhappiness' over US Navy Vietnam visit that was submitted by Christopher Bodeen of the Associated Press.

In the previous episode of this podcast it was noted that the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson accompanied by a cruiser and destroyer stopped off for a visit at the Da Nang Harbor of Vietnam. The stated purpose of the visit was to illustrate how the two former combatants were warming up to each other. This comes after a forty three year hiatus of close ties starting with Vietnam's unauthorized by the Paris Peace Accords takeover of the South in 1975.

The carrier's mission during the visit was to promote good will on the part of the US toward Vietnam, its former adversary. This mission was carried out with such activities as technical exchanges, sports matches between the ship's crew and the locals, visits to an orphanage and a center for victims of Agent Orange and concerts conducted by the ship's band in downtown Da Nang.

As all these nice festivities are taking place, no one is making a big deal about the 800 pound gorilla sitting in the front room - namely a more and more aggressive China.

Naturally the Chinese commies are very interested in the visit of a US aircraft carrier to their back door and are a little concerned about their neighbor's new suitor. They made their feelings known in their house propaganda organ newspaper - the Global Times.

Listen to episode 1145 of the podcast and discover more about the Chinese reaction to the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in Da Nang Harbor.

Episode 1144 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story from USA Today titled: U.S. 'supercarrier' USS Carl Vinson makes historic port call in Vietnam that was written by Thomas Maresca in a Special to USA TODAY. What makes this event historic is the fact it is the first time in 43 years a capital US naval vessel has dropped anchor in Vietnamese waters.

The Vietnam region of Indo-China experienced military upheaval from 1941 thru 1975. First it involved the Japanese then the French followed by the National Liberation Front and finally with the Americans. Relations between the former adversaries in the region, Vietnam and the US remained ice cold for many years.

As it is written, time changes everything including the relationship between the former fierce enemies. China has continued in its attempt to push around its small neighbor to the south even after the smaller Vietnam bloodied their nose in a fierce border war in 1979. China has also pushed the envelope by claiming the entire South China Sea as its own including the Spratly and Paracel island chains.

The problem is that Vietnam claims the same disputed islets along with their rich fishing grounds and potential lucrative petroleum deposits. Even though China and Vietnam are big trading partners, the Vietnamese are leery toward the intentions of their large neighbor to the north.

That situation is a large part of the growing motivation for improving relations with its former adversary the US. In 2016 President Obama visited Vietnam and while there lifted a decades-old ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam. Things between the two former adversaries have been getting better on a continuing basis.

The recent visit of the Nimitz-class supercarrier, USS Carl Vinson, is a significant step in the improving relations between two former opponents.

Listen to episode 1144 and discover more about the historic port call of the USS Carl Vinson to Da Nang, Vietnam.

Episode 1143 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about an exciting event to be held at the March Field Air Museum near Riverside California that should be of interest to most all Vietnam Veterans in the area. The happening was described in a recent story appearing in The InlandEmpire.us website titled: Up-Close Aircraft Day, Vietnam War Helicopters at March Field.

The museum is located at the former March Air Force Base now known as the March Air Reserve Base. In 2018 the base celebrated its 100th year of service as the West Coast’s oldest continuously operated military airfield. It is known as the  birthplace of the modern U.S. Air Force.

The March Field Air Museum recently began showing American military aircraft at its new “Up-Close Aircraft Days.” Each month it highlights selected aircraft. On Saturday March 10, 2018 the museum will be putting on display five Vietnam War Era aircraft.

The museum Executive Director Paul Hammond said this about the program: “This new ‘Up-Close Aircraft Days’ program allows March Field Air Museum to showcase the incredible aviation heritage of the U.S. Air Force and military, and especially Riverside’s own March Field.”

It is highly recommended that all in the Southern California area see this display of five Vietnam Era helicopters. It would be of interest to Vietnam Veterans, students and anyone else interested in aircraft used by our military. The star of the show will be an AH-1F Cobra gunship.

Listen to episode 1143 to learn more about this exciting event coming up at the March Field Air Museum “Up-Close Aircraft Days.”

CLICK HERE for more information about the March Field Air Museum “Up-Close Aircraft Days” and the featured aircraft each month.

CLICK HERE for more information about the Museum or reach it by phone at 951-902-5949.

Episode 1142 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature the story about a Vietnam refugee who escaped from the Vietnamese commies with his family at the age of eight and went on to serve a thirty year career in the U.S. Air Force. There was a story about this great American on Channel 12, KSLA in Shreveport, Louisiana titled: From refugee to warrior, escaping war-torn Vietnam by Marie Waxel, Anchor/Reporter at KSLA ([email protected]).

Waxel's story began with the announcement that Chief Master Sergeant Phuoc Phan is planning to retire in June from Barksdale Air Force Base. That event will mark his thirtieth anniversary of service in the U.S Air Force. She goes on to describe the scary circumstances that led to his father's decision to escape from the hellacious environment that would soon materialize when the invading North Vietnamese took over the southern part of Vietnam.

Many in the south were familiar with how the Vietnamese communists operated after they assumed ownership of the newly created country of North Vietnam in 1954. Thousands of Vietnamese were murdered in the North simply because they were property owners. Phan's father made the wise decision to escape in 1975 when the North gobbled up the South.

Phuoc Phan was only eight years old when he made the perilous journey across the dangerous South China Sea where they had to avoid deadly pirates and other hazards of the open seas. Incredibly they made it to Guam and then to the USA where he made the most of his unlikely arrival to this country.

Listen to episode 1142 and discover more about this amazing Vietnamese refugee who went on to do great things for his new country and his attitude toward all Vietnam Veterans. What he said should make every Vietnam Veteran proud of their service in that war.

Episode 1141 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature the famous declaration made by Walter Cronkite 50 years ago that we could not win the war in Vietnam. A story in The US News & World Report titled: 50 Years Ago, Walter Cronkite Changed a Nation will provide the basis for discussion for this podcast episode.

The story was contributed by Kenneth T. Walsh. He covers the White House and politics for U.S. News, he has a daily blog "Ken Walsh's Washington," he writes a column for the U.S. News Weekly and he wrote a book titled: "Celebrity in Chief: A History of the Presidents and the Culture of Stardom."

Walsh's featured story is about Walter Cronkite's momentous declaration made 50 years ago that the Vietnam War was unwinnable. The writer tells about Cronkite making a special reporting trip to Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. After viewing the situation first hand on Feb. 27, 1968 Cronkite, in the words of Walsh, "stepped away from objectivity, and came to a very negative conclusion. He crystallized public opposition to the Vietnam War and dealt a setback to the credibility of the U.S. government."

Cronkite's declaration "was a significant departure" from the norm in a time when journalists generally followed the rules of objectivity in reporting. Some say that event brought about the trend of journalists being more critical in their reporting that is still with us today.

Some feel the Cronkite pronouncement made only four weeks after the Tet Offensive began were a little premature but it did seem to galvanize the anti-war sentiment in this country and change journalism for years to come.

Listen to episode 1141 and discover more about what Kenneth Walsh thinks about Walter Cronkite's conclusions about the Vietnam War made 50 years ago and the podcast's contrary viewpoint.

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