Now It Can Be Said: The Truth About Vietnam
Our nation lost the Vietnam War because a lot of the troops serving on the front lines were subpar. Four decades later it's time to be honest about it.
There are reasons. And blame.
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If Kevin Youkilis were to get injured tomorrow night and the Red Sox signed me as their new third baseman, I'd be the worst player in the history of professional baseball by a lot. I wouldn't get a hit or field a ball. Fans would boo the shit out of me, worse than Don Zimmer in fact. But whose fault would it be? Where would the blame lie?
It'd be Theo's fault. And John Henry's blame too, for having such an incompetent general manager. Yeah, people could bitch and whine about how "Sweeney sucks", but Theo would truly be the one to be pissed at because to sign me would be inadequate leadership by him. He's in charge and responsible.
============
When George HW Bush was a young man he joined the Navy following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was one of the most talented men of his generation, and served with distinction. Two decades later his son, George W Bush, also one of the most capable men of his generation, chose not to serve in Vietnam. Because, and there is a lot involved in why this was so, he was allowed not to. In contrast to WWII,where every able bodied man enlisted or was drafted, largely because the population knew that America was threatened, in the Vietnam era folks stateside knew that our country was not seriously threatened with invasion and, given the choice, thousands upon thousands of bright young men did not serve. They were given a choice, and, as I would have done as well, decided that the National Guard was the way to go (because no one in the Guard was getting killed).
It should not have been their decision to make. The political leadership of our nation allowed most of the brightest young men born of that generation to avoid combat. There were deferments and National Guard enlistments for those able to work the system. Lessers, men with courage but not as much talent, were sent to the front lines. And the nation paid the ultimate price, losing to an inferior army.
============
In WWII the US military destroyed the Axis powers in three and a half years (with much help from the Soviet Union). The US suffered badly in North Africa in the Army's first test against the Nazis, but once the troops learned what they were doing victory after victory followed.
In Korea, the US, this time as well using the most able young men in our nation, killed a million Chinese, at the loss of 34,000 US personnel. The Chinese and North Koreans were simply no match for the United States Army once our best troops arrived and became acclimated.
============
Ted Williams, who became a war hero, did not want to serve in the military. Not in WWII, not in Korea. He was pissed and fought hard to get out of it. He was forced to serve and, due to his almost superhuman eyesight and hand eye coordination, became a pilot, training others during WWII stateside and serving with distinction in Korea. But don't get the idea that he willingly put his life on the line. Far from it. When forced, and he saw others being forced as well, he went and did his job and has rightfully been honored since.
In Vietnam, I can only think of one famous pro athlete who served. Rocky Bleier, and I don't believe he was well known when he joined up. I know there were others, but offhand I do not recall. And that is telling. The best, most able men were not being called to serve in that war, and the price was paid.
=============
This is a case of a thousand small truths leading to one large one. Ask any reasonable young man, if they were 21 years old in 1964, if they wanted to go serve in a war 8,000 miles away in some Godforsaken jungle in a country no one had ever heard of and they'd say "No way." But make them serve and they'd go, as long as everyone else was in the same boat. In the big picture these examples of self interest caused our military to be, for possibly the first time ever, inadequate. The really smart guys had other priorities. A lot of them would have made great soldiers. The Vietcong would have been routed, corrupt government in the South or no. A well trained and staffed United States military would have turned North Vietnam into a parking lot in about eighteen months after escalation, no doubt about it. That, obviously, is not what happened.
There are reasons. And blame.
============
If Kevin Youkilis were to get injured tomorrow night and the Red Sox signed me as their new third baseman, I'd be the worst player in the history of professional baseball by a lot. I wouldn't get a hit or field a ball. Fans would boo the shit out of me, worse than Don Zimmer in fact. But whose fault would it be? Where would the blame lie?
It'd be Theo's fault. And John Henry's blame too, for having such an incompetent general manager. Yeah, people could bitch and whine about how "Sweeney sucks", but Theo would truly be the one to be pissed at because to sign me would be inadequate leadership by him. He's in charge and responsible.
============
When George HW Bush was a young man he joined the Navy following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was one of the most talented men of his generation, and served with distinction. Two decades later his son, George W Bush, also one of the most capable men of his generation, chose not to serve in Vietnam. Because, and there is a lot involved in why this was so, he was allowed not to. In contrast to WWII,where every able bodied man enlisted or was drafted, largely because the population knew that America was threatened, in the Vietnam era folks stateside knew that our country was not seriously threatened with invasion and, given the choice, thousands upon thousands of bright young men did not serve. They were given a choice, and, as I would have done as well, decided that the National Guard was the way to go (because no one in the Guard was getting killed).
It should not have been their decision to make. The political leadership of our nation allowed most of the brightest young men born of that generation to avoid combat. There were deferments and National Guard enlistments for those able to work the system. Lessers, men with courage but not as much talent, were sent to the front lines. And the nation paid the ultimate price, losing to an inferior army.
============
In WWII the US military destroyed the Axis powers in three and a half years (with much help from the Soviet Union). The US suffered badly in North Africa in the Army's first test against the Nazis, but once the troops learned what they were doing victory after victory followed.
In Korea, the US, this time as well using the most able young men in our nation, killed a million Chinese, at the loss of 34,000 US personnel. The Chinese and North Koreans were simply no match for the United States Army once our best troops arrived and became acclimated.
============
Ted Williams, who became a war hero, did not want to serve in the military. Not in WWII, not in Korea. He was pissed and fought hard to get out of it. He was forced to serve and, due to his almost superhuman eyesight and hand eye coordination, became a pilot, training others during WWII stateside and serving with distinction in Korea. But don't get the idea that he willingly put his life on the line. Far from it. When forced, and he saw others being forced as well, he went and did his job and has rightfully been honored since.
In Vietnam, I can only think of one famous pro athlete who served. Rocky Bleier, and I don't believe he was well known when he joined up. I know there were others, but offhand I do not recall. And that is telling. The best, most able men were not being called to serve in that war, and the price was paid.
=============
This is a case of a thousand small truths leading to one large one. Ask any reasonable young man, if they were 21 years old in 1964, if they wanted to go serve in a war 8,000 miles away in some Godforsaken jungle in a country no one had ever heard of and they'd say "No way." But make them serve and they'd go, as long as everyone else was in the same boat. In the big picture these examples of self interest caused our military to be, for possibly the first time ever, inadequate. The really smart guys had other priorities. A lot of them would have made great soldiers. The Vietcong would have been routed, corrupt government in the South or no. A well trained and staffed United States military would have turned North Vietnam into a parking lot in about eighteen months after escalation, no doubt about it. That, obviously, is not what happened.
posted by joe sweeney at 4:00 PM
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