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| Russian Helicopter: too big to get off the ground |
Returning to the capital for our last day, we visited the Air Force Museum at our request. It is listed in the guide book
as one of the best. It isn't. There is a collection of old US and Russian aircraft outside. The signs talk nonsense about
this antique spotter plane that shot down 109 American fighter planes and that helicopter flying hundreds of rescue missions
to save babies and small children who were being attacked in orphanages, hospitals, and schools by American Bombers. It was
getting old, and I must admit that I have mixed feelings about this place.
I feel anger at a president who lied to us; who took us to war and insisted on running it himself; who knew nothing about
this country or its people, not even knowing how to pronounce its name; and who ignored military professionals and assembled
a civilian group of whiz kids who had never served in the military and laughed derisively at Von Clauzwitz's classic Principles
of War, saying they were outdated, and then proceeded to violate every one of them with their idea of limited warfare. It
cost us a lot of good people and accomplished only carnage. I get angry thinking of the former South VietNamese politicians
and Generals who thought power was given them for their own personal benefit. I get angry at the North and Uncle Ho who had
no intention of keeping their word. I get angry at Congress who would not allow the president to respond to a full scale invasion
from the North, thereby abandoning those to whom we had made promises. I am angry at Stalin, the mass murderer, and Kruchev,
who so crudely threatened everyone in the West. They in large measure formed American fear of Communism. I am angry at the
Communist Party in VietNam for punishing now the 3rd generation of those loyal to the South. I cannot, however be angry at
the people we have met here. They are rightly prideful of their victory, but are quick to be friendly and gracious to us.
Walking the streets of HaNoi at night one more time was a pleasant experience. Families gather in the dark on the sidewalks
in front of their little store/residences. Later in the evening, ladders appear in the back of the open front and children
head up to bed. Old people begin to snore in hammocks in the front, right at the street for all to see. Those in between sit
on the sidewalk, which is their living room, socialize with neighbors, and do end-of-the-day chores. We walked all the way
around Sword Restore Lake. There is a small painted glass sign on a low building, illuminated from the inside. We watched
with amusement as the silhouette of a huge rat appeared and moved back and forth behind the glass and in front of the lamps
inside. We stopped at our regular place for water on the long walk back to the hotel and three generations of the family poured
out to greet us as we made our 50 cent purchase. I shall miss them.
| We begin and end with a bridge |
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| Long Binh Bridge, a target for years before it was ever hit |
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