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timetopretend

Hi,

I'm a teacher at an international school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and I'm looking for a Vietnamese war veteran who might be willing to chat and share his/her experiences via Skype. Our students are bright and very interested in hearing experiences from a Vietnamese point-of-view.

If anybody knows anybody who may be suitable, please inform him/her of this post or email [email protected]

Thank you very much,

TTP

LettersAthruZ · Joined: 25 Apr 2010 Posts: 466 Location: North Viet Nam

Vietnamese War Veteran??

Meaning a veteran from the "Vietnam War"? If so, WHICH side?

Or a war veteran (of ANY war, such as the 1979 Cambodia Invasion, The American War, etc.") who is Vietnamese?

timetopretend · Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 10:46 am Post subject:

A "Vietnamese" war veteran, meaning the veteran is "Vietnamese".

mushroom_season · Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Posts: 42

You didn't answer the question. Which side? Vietnamese fought on all sides.

timetopretend · Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 11:23 am Post subject:

Preferably a veteran of the NVA or the VC would be great.

shanewarne · Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 146

Male or female? You haven't specified which gender.

timetopretend · Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 11:59 am Post subject:

skarper · Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 477

Sorry for the stupidity that runs rife here.

There are certainly plenty of surviving men and women who fought in the American war.

It's unlikely any survivor of the ARVN side would be willing to discuss their service. These people keep pretty quiet about it. You may find some of those who escaped to the US willing to tell their story.

Surviving NLF/PAVN must be plentiful, but getting on now since it is 37 years since the end of the fighting. I don't think many would speak much English thought some might be fluent in French.

People tend not to bring it up much here. Partly because the experiences were extremely traumatic.

I hope somebody comes forward who can help. Ignore the idiots.

Nim Chimsky · Joined: 28 Apr 2012 Posts: 46

Hi TTP

you can find interviews on youtube with Viet Cong and other Vietnamese who were in the American war.

Also check out Muhammad Ali saying among other things I aint going to Vietnam no Vietnamese ever called me a ni**er. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzX3_RaIB2U&feature=related

Are you an English or History teacher?

Best regards

Nim Chimsky

timetopretend · Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 7:09 pm Post subject:

Thanks Skarper, sound advice.

Hi Nim Chimsky,

That's a great video to show them, I'd forgotten about that. I'm an English Literature teacher but I'm also teaching Social Studies for the rest of the semester (hopefully I can extend it as I love the subject).

Thanks and hopefully I can still find someone.

Andy123 · Joined: 24 Sep 2009 Posts: 206

Unfortunately, I doubt that you will easily get an interview without government approval. The funny thing is most Viet people simply want to forget that era. A good example is the lack of preservation of important sites. At one time there was a goldmine of historical sites that would have been a tourist hotspot.

I have met several ARVN, VC and NVA soldiers. The stories are out of this world. They share the real truth about what it is really like. I have always loved Viet history so I sought these people out. Undoubtedly, most of these stories have not been recorded and this priceless historical data will soon die with these great men and women.

I wish you the best in your search.

timetopretend · Posted: Sun May 06, 2012 7:18 pm Post subject:

Hi Andy123, you mentioned you met many former VC and NVA soldiers, are you still in touch with any?

skarper · Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 477

When I first read the OPs post it struck me there must be dozens of people living within metres of me who would have a tale to tell - and one that really ought to be recorded by someone.

But then I'm not sure how I'd approach someone of the right generation and ask - what did you do in the war?

People have put it behind them publicly. There are the official commemorations which seem to be about 3 times a year. There is a lot on TV with various old soldiers and stock film. Then there are frequent specials on different aspects. I don't really watch as they are in Vietnamese.

Frankly I would wary of opening a wound that has perhaps only partially healed. And - I think you'd run into to trouble with some government office if you started appraoching people and asking questions. Getting government approval would be very hard and take years.

Also - the language barrier would be a difficulty. It's really not like the way we can get old soldiers to come into schools in the UK or US and tell their story and take questions. You'd have to know someone really well to even broach the topic.

It's a shame but I think you are on a quest that just cannot succeed.