Tet

Kelly R Piercy, semperfidelas@gmail.com

Tet and the Person on the Registry - Kelly R Piercy, semperfidelas@gmail.com

There are many myths and rumors that somehow seem to gain the value of truth with their re-telling and the momentum given by media hype.

So often facts are ignored because they are presented with the rigor required by science and mathematics. It is not uncommon to hear people say that science bores them and that they hate math. It is a wonder to hear complaints to keep something simple when an argument is presented with scientific precision and mathematical accuracy. One has to wonder how much simpler a presentation can be made when a mathematical proof begins with the basic facts and builds, step by step, to a solid conclusion. Can it be that the proof violates the irrational 'I Believe' statement?

Let us follow an example from history (no groans please, History, contrary to popular belief is not the conjunction of His-Story. The word comes from the Greek: Gk. historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry".)

After World War II, a leader emerged in Viet Nam, then part of French Indo-China, and approached the United States, President Truman to be exact, and asked our nation to help throw off the yoke of colonialism. Of course, given our alliance with the French and Truman's limited understanding of global economy, we failed to act except to offer limited support to the French. France, though a modern nation and proven military power (see the History of the French Foreign Legion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Foreign_Legion), was also a battered and tired nation sick of war. In succession, its vast colonial empire collapsed. The loss at Dien Bein Phu has become a cliche' in the annals of defeat (see: http://www.encyclomedia.com/dien_bien_phu.html .)

Dien Bien Phu let to the popular resolution of war in the middle of the 20th Century, Partition. A Partition that was promised to be resolved by a fair election in 1956. Of course, the United States, having picked up the gauntlet from the French and seeing defeat in any election, did not allow an election to take place (see: A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann, and America in Viet Nam, by Neil Sheehan.)

This history is plain from that time. Presidents from Eisenhower to Nixon continued to feed the might of the United States into Viet Nam and at the same time, support puppet governments that represented the minority Catholic population of the southern partition of Viet Nam.

In the beginning, the fact was that the totalitarian military juntas of the south, backed by the military might of the United States dominated the conflict. In the early 60's the Kennedy Administration expanded the role of the United States to military adventurism. That adventurism became imperialism under President Johnson as first the Marine Corps and then the Army, backed by the Navy and Air Force took over the conduct of the war from the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN.)

The myth began to grow through biased media reporting that we were losing the war. Even its proponent, President Johnson stated that he would not let American boys die for Asian boys as he sent more American boys to die for American interests. The excuse became that Viet Nam was actually being fought as a contained analog to the greater cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States.

The truth is that the United States military was winning the ground war in the south and the air war in the north, with the South China Sea and the Gulf of Tonkin never rising to the level of contest for the Navy (simply put, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was not. A Navy Destroyer on active deployment is not threatened by a Coastal Patrol Boat.)

In November, 1968, President Nixon gave his 'Great Silent Majority' speech (see: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/richardnixongreatsilentmajority.html .) According to the President, the vast majority of Americans were in support of the war in Viet Nam and clearly believed in the myths that supported it.

That may well have been true. After returning from the Southeast Asia War Games, this writer (then a United States Marine) had many opportunities to ask why he was sent to war and then blamed for the war on his return. In fact, most people were dismayed at the question. Most looked askance at me and the underlying tone was that I personally lost the war and it was my fault there ever was a war. Yet, many who exercised their vote and participated in the economics of American society claimed they believed in the war, but… My impression, these people were 1.) uninformed, and 2.) did not really care one way or another. The 'Great Silent Majority' was actually the 'Great Apathetic Majority'.

A look at history reveals that prior to the events of January, 1968, the majority of Americans did not care one way or the other about Viet Nam. Most Americans could not place Viet Nam on a globe, let alone a continent.

Then came the Tet Offensive. Tet is akin to the Christmas/New Year season in Western Culture. Somehow, nations that are trying to destroy each other find a way to de-escalate during these holiday seasons. In Viet Nam, the opposing sides agreed to a cease fire for Tet. Of course, this makes no military or political sense, but that is a discussion for another time in another venue.

Immediately after the opening of the cease fire, the Viet Cong (VC), backed for the first time by major elements of the North Viet Namese Army (NVA) struck. Here are the salient facts about that offensive.

The Viet Cong attacked and gained entry to the US Embassy in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City.)

The attack resulted in the attackers gaining the ground floor of the Embassy and being killed to a man by the Marine Embassy Guard and Army Military Police. The Embassy staff was never in any real danger.

Elements of the NVA and Viet Cong seized control of Hue, the ancient and symbolic capital of Viet Nam. This force rounded up government officials, government functionaries, Priests, Nuns, teachers, and any others on secret hit lists and committed mass murder against these people.

Elements of the First Marine Division assaulted through Hue and destroyed the VC and NVA, recapturing the city.

The US Army fell under siege at multiple locations and responded by taking the offense and destroying the forces arrayed against them.

The VC and NVA struck targets the length and breadth of the southern partition and met with counter-strikes from the US Air Force and US Navy while soldiers and Marines held every position, not losing a single outpost.

The net result was that the VC was crushed and never acted as an effective force in the field again. The NVA was severely pressed and never mounted a major offensive again.

To lend closure to the military disaster suffered by the VC and NVA, the elements of the First Marine Division at Khe Sahn destroyed the better part of eleven NVA Divisions (http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/vietnam/tet.htm .)

At least the military net result was complete and utter victory for the US backed puppet government of the southern partition.

The actual result was that every one of those Viet Cong and North Viet Namese Regulars who fought and died, won a resounding victory. Across America the apathetics woke up. They realized the truth. They saw the horror of the war America was fighting in someone else's backyard. They realized that the lives of so many innocent people were not worth the cost we were visiting upon them. They understood the truth Daniel Elsberg told them (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ellsberg .) They saw through the lies the government was preaching and realized the tyranny of the puppets we propped up in the government of the southern partition was visiting on their own population.

The Great Power represented by 'We The People' rumbled and the government tucked its tail between its legs, blamed the military and the individual Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and Marine and found an 'Honorable Peace'.

So, what does all this review of history, and it is a review as opposed to a revision, mean to us?

We are an insignificant minority in America. We represent something America hates because our government and media need us to be hated. Arrayed against us is the cumbersome and seemingly invulnerable American 'Justice System'.

Nevertheless, like that individual VC, we have something on our side that all that is arrayed against us lacks. The will to fight and the truth.

I have sensed this. Like 1967, the truth is starting to flare up. Is our Tet just around the corner? It is what we need, we must find our Tet. We must find those who will take the same chance the VC took.

It is not time for despair. It is time for us to look up and stand up. Do we have the courage of that man and woman in 'black pajamas'? Somewhere we must find it. It is time for us to let our neighbors, who know is as decent people, know that we are also registered people and help them to understand that they have been lied to by their government and media in search of votes and to sell soap.