Written contributions offered by Tuck Coffin
EPILOGUE
As a Vietnam veteran, I am tired of hearing that the U.S. military lost the war in Vietnam. The intent was never to go there to conquer or even occupy. The U. S. forces were sent to assist our ally and conduct a war of attrition. That is exactly what they accomplished! The military was ordered to go to Vietnam by politicians and after years of playing lethal “checkmate”, was ordered to come home.
War is not humane. To paraphrase the highly regarded WWII General Patton: you win wars by making the enemy die for his country, not by having your soldiers die for their country. When you consider the casualty numbers, the U.S. lost over 50,000 compared against North Vietnamese losses of over 2.5 million; there is no question about U.S. services’ fighting abilities and doing what they were sent to do.
There are no true victors in war; many good people lose their lives. Victory is a political illusion. The only true victory out of the Vietnam War was Ho Chi Min’s successful manipulation of the public opinion. His advisors realized that in order to survive militarily they had to destroy the morale of the American citizens. He declared: “You will kill ten of us for every one of you we kill, but you will tire before we.”
The effectiveness of that campaign was so great that it laid seed to a sense of guilt on many Vietnam veterans. More suicides than actual war casualties and even 30 years later there are instances of U.S. veterans trying to locate Vietnamese family survivors of the enemy they killed in combat, just to apologize. As a current Vietnamese friend of mine recently remarked: “You will find that kind of guilt only in the United States.”
I am not excusing abuses or atrocities. They are evil by products of war and have regrettably occurred in all wars, but those instances do not represent the actions of the vast majority who served honorably.
Hopefully, we all have learned from the Vietnam experience.
Charles Coffin
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Another item submitted by Tuck Coffin expressing a bit about who we all are.
WHAT IS A VETERAN?
A veteran is a curious character. He is often the quiet one you never knew wore a uniform. You may simply know him only in the context of his job or as a neighbor; but, he is a person who can endure. He has had that unique experience of military service and enjoys a quiet brotherhood with all members of the services who have or are serving. He has probably seen both the worst and best of mankind. He may not have had to experience the bloody carnage of war, but he has risen to the occasion to assimilate vast amounts of new information while living in a condensed, highly controlled environment. He has worked relentless hours and persevered.
Unless someone has served in the military they cannot conceive of the experiences; good, bad, and funny that a serviceman has had. The single bond begins with patriotism and a sense of responsibility, no matter what his rate or rank. Character develops from each individual’s assigned tasks punctuated by the various people he serves with. He knows all military personnel are related ….. until he walks into the wrong “service” bar. There are still friendly rivalries after service, but we are a band of brothers.
Charles Coffin
Former Lt. USN
No offense intended to the women who have served;
“he” reads more smoothly than “he/she”, but applies to all.
As a Vietnam veteran, I am tired of hearing that the U.S. military lost the war in Vietnam. The intent was never to go there to conquer or even occupy. The U. S. forces were sent to assist our ally and conduct a war of attrition. That is exactly what they accomplished! The military was ordered to go to Vietnam by politicians and after years of playing lethal “checkmate”, was ordered to come home.
War is not humane. To paraphrase the highly regarded WWII General Patton: you win wars by making the enemy die for his country, not by having your soldiers die for their country. When you consider the casualty numbers, the U.S. lost over 50,000 compared against North Vietnamese losses of over 2.5 million; there is no question about U.S. services’ fighting abilities and doing what they were sent to do.
There are no true victors in war; many good people lose their lives. Victory is a political illusion. The only true victory out of the Vietnam War was Ho Chi Min’s successful manipulation of the public opinion. His advisors realized that in order to survive militarily they had to destroy the morale of the American citizens. He declared: “You will kill ten of us for every one of you we kill, but you will tire before we.”
The effectiveness of that campaign was so great that it laid seed to a sense of guilt on many Vietnam veterans. More suicides than actual war casualties and even 30 years later there are instances of U.S. veterans trying to locate Vietnamese family survivors of the enemy they killed in combat, just to apologize. As a current Vietnamese friend of mine recently remarked: “You will find that kind of guilt only in the United States.”
I am not excusing abuses or atrocities. They are evil by products of war and have regrettably occurred in all wars, but those instances do not represent the actions of the vast majority who served honorably.
Hopefully, we all have learned from the Vietnam experience.
Charles Coffin
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another item submitted by Tuck Coffin expressing a bit about who we all are.
WHAT IS A VETERAN?
A veteran is a curious character. He is often the quiet one you never knew wore a uniform. You may simply know him only in the context of his job or as a neighbor; but, he is a person who can endure. He has had that unique experience of military service and enjoys a quiet brotherhood with all members of the services who have or are serving. He has probably seen both the worst and best of mankind. He may not have had to experience the bloody carnage of war, but he has risen to the occasion to assimilate vast amounts of new information while living in a condensed, highly controlled environment. He has worked relentless hours and persevered.
Unless someone has served in the military they cannot conceive of the experiences; good, bad, and funny that a serviceman has had. The single bond begins with patriotism and a sense of responsibility, no matter what his rate or rank. Character develops from each individual’s assigned tasks punctuated by the various people he serves with. He knows all military personnel are related ….. until he walks into the wrong “service” bar. There are still friendly rivalries after service, but we are a band of brothers.
Charles Coffin
Former Lt. USN
No offense intended to the women who have served;
“he” reads more smoothly than “he/she”, but applies to all.
