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Thuy Ngoc Le (Irene)

Professor Sarah Connell

ENGW1111 – First-year College Writing

5 February 2016

Opening Notes:

This paper is inspired by Jane Tompkins’ 1986 article in Critical Inquiry, “Indians:

Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History.”

Additionally, there are images presented in this paper that may be disturbing to see for

some individuals.

Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnam War

When I was growing up in Hanoi, my parents used to take me to the Ho Chi Minh

Mausoleum every weekend to observe the lowering of the flag ceremony. Without fail,

hundreds of Vietnamese would have already gathered at the open field in front of the

mausoleum by the time my parents and I arrived. We would try to squeeze our way to the front,

finding the best spot to secure a full view of the show. Even though I had attended the event

way too many times that I could easily replay every scene in my mind, I would still be in awe

when the perfectly synchronized soldiers came marching out. The previously chatty crowd

would unanimously turn silent, and I would stand there, quietly and patiently, trying to absorb

every bit of the show.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum has an important historical significance to my country.

Uncle Ho was the first recognized leader of the country, and was the man who brought Vietnam

to its independence. He is a historical figure that every Vietnamese person I know looks upon

with very high regard. Of his many achievements, his contribution to the liberation and

unification of the country during Vietnam War (1954 – 1975) has to be the most celebrated.
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My first understanding of the Vietnam War came from my elementary school’s history

textbook. As a third grader, I did not pay much attention to the details – all that I took away

was that Uncle Ho and his team of Vietnamese people were doing the right thing, and that they

ultimately won the battle. The media in Vietnam and the stories retold by the locals were all

highlighting the damages and destruction caused by the U.S. troops. Growing up under such

influences, I was convinced that United States was doing harm to my country, and was

confused as to why the U.S. had to fight this battle. In my eyes back then, the U.S. was the

“bad guy”, and Vietnam was the “good guy”.

However, nothing was ever that simple. When I moved to Singapore in middle school,

I was exposed to western media and writings. I started to learn about the Internet and Google,

and began to search for answers to my questions. I came across news articles and online sites

discussing about the Vietnam War, but what I read gave me a very contrasting impression of

what had happened. Many Americans and even Vietnamese from the South, who fought

alongside the U.S. during the war, were against Ho Chi Minh’s actions. They viewed Uncle

Ho and North Vietnam as a threat that could accelerate and intensify the spread of communism

within South Asia. There were many online comments and opinions that portrayed the U.S. as

the “good guy”, and North Vietnam as the “bad guy”. After reading these contradictory

accounts, it struck me that there was no consensus on the subject. A major historical event that

I once believed to have definite “right” or “wrong” answers is in reality much more

complicated, with multiplicity of perspectives, some of which are mutually irreconcilable.

As such, I set out to write this essay to address the difficulties of learning about history,

especially when a historical event or figure engages different viewpoints with no unanimity.

My purpose is not to debunk the extensive research and writings about the Vietnam War and

Ho Chi Minh that have been published, but rather to question the necessity of having a singular
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truth to history, and ultimately uncover the underlying purpose of learning about history in our

modern world.

My research began with a documentary published by History Channel on 29 April 2000,

titled “Ho Chi Minh – Vietnam’s enigma”. It is said in the documentary, around the 40:01-

minute mark, that “Today, Ho Chi Minh’s legacy is as controversial and complex as the man

himself.” William J. Duiker, author of The Revolutionary Path: The life of Ho Chi Minh, shared

in the documentary that:

There is on one hand the image of Ho Chi Minh as the patriot, the leader of his

country struggled for national liberation…the other image of Ho Chi Minh is as

an international communist agent, the head of a repressive regime.

The idea of Ho Chi Minh portraying different images is reiterated by Stanley Karnow,

author of Vietnam: A History, later on in the documentary. With these two accounts, it is

apparent that there are contrasting perspectives on Ho Chi Minh and his image as a political

leader. What is inherently true though, is that Ho Chi Minh was a communist. However, as

Karnow has pointed out, “[Ho Chi Minh] is our communist” (emphasis original). Karnow

acknowledged that there were many evidences that presented Ho Chi Minh to be a different

kind of communist from what many people at that time had associated communist and

communism with. This suggests that opponents of communism had, with high probability,

made hasty generalization of the kind of communist that Ho Chi Minh was due to their biased

perception of the political ideology. For something that is inherently true, the fact that Ho Chi

Minh was a communist, is now made uncertain by the very definition of the word “communist”.

Where political ideology is concerned, there is not just one version of any single

ideology. For instance, a person living in the United States would very likely to have a different

interpretation of democracy as compared to a person living in Singapore. Political ideology

itself is an elusive concept. Hence, in my perspectives, it is not possible to come to a singular

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and definite judgment of Ho Chi Minh and his role as a communist during the Vietnam War.

This then complicates the issue at hand, as it makes me question which version of history

should I believe, and is it even possible to decide on a single version to go with. What is clear

at this point is that there are multiple perspectives on the subject of interest, and it is critical to

be aware of these perspectives as I progress with my research.

As with all wars, there are damages. An estimated two million Vietnamese died in the

Vietnam War, three million were wounded and another twelve million became refugees. While

these are physical numbers, they are just mere estimates. Given the chaotic state of the country

during the war, coupled with its poor state of development, it is not possible to acquire an

accurate count of all casualties and other damages that occurred. The best that can be obtained

are close estimates. This in turn poses another challenge in learning about history, as

uncertainty lies even in quantitative and hard data. Even if it is not an estimate, there is still a

possibility of statistical manipulation for political or similar reasons. The haziness and

uncertainty in finding the genuine truth makes it extremely difficult to come to a clear and

definite conclusion on historical event. What then, I wonder, is the purpose of studying history?

Given that the Vietnam War ended more than thirty years ago, and that I did not live

through the period, it is difficult for me to visualize the real situation if I rely solely on written

accounts and word-of-mouth. This is because interpretation of words is subjective to each

individual, and the mental images that are subsequently formed from those varying

interpretations can give rise to multiple versions of the same story. Hence, in order to acquire

a clearer picture with greater truth of the life during the Vietnam War, I began to search for

photographs taken during the wartime. Below are some pictures that I found which struck me

emotionally.
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Figure 1. A photo taken in 1967 of a Viet Cong prisoner being tortured by U.S. soldiers;

Matter of facts; matteroffactsblog.wordpress.com, 7 Jan. 2015; Web; 29 Jan. 2016

Figure 2. Bodies of U.S. soldiers near a command post during the battle of An Ninh in

September 1965; “Vietnam: the real war – in pictures”; Vietnam Full Disclosure;

vietnamfulldisclosure.org, 26 Apr. 2015; Web: 28 Jan. 2016

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The first photograph (see figure 1) gives a glimpse of the suffering that the North

Vietnamese underwent during the battle against the U.S. Torturing of prisoners was not

uncommon during the war. What is portrayed in this photograph, as I would imagine, is only a

small fraction of the harsh torture that the civilians had to bear. At the same time, the U.S.

troops also suffered many losses, as seen in figure 2 where bodies of U.S. soldiers, all of which

were young and capable men, lying on the ground after an attack by Ho Chi Minh and his team

of North Vietnamese. It is undeniable that the brutality of the Vietnam War was felt by both

sides of the battle – the North Vietnamese and the U.S. army. In turn, it is unavoidable that an

account provided by individual from either side would paint his/her opponent with cruelty and

violence. Ultimately, historical accounts are shaped by perspectives.

For such a major historical event, there is bound to be an aftermath. While the Vietnam

War has ended more than forty years ago, many Vietnamese are still bearing the after-effects

in the present day. The photograph below shows a child suffering from the effect of Agent

Orange, a chemical agent most heavily used by the U.S. army to demolish hiding grounds of

North Vietnamese soldiers. In Vietnam today, many children of those living through the war

are born with disfigurations and other incurable illnesses. The effect is set to continue for

generations of Vietnamese to come, showing the everlasting destruction caused by the

undesired historical event.

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Figure 3. A Vietnamese child suffering from the effect of Agent Orange; “The brutal reality

of the Vietnam War”; James & Muneeza Travel Blog; jamesgurd.wordpress.com, 23 Mar.

2011; Web; 28 Jan. 2016

For U.S. soldiers who survived the war, many are suffering from post-traumatic stress

disorder (PTSD) even till present day. Figure 4 shows a picture of original letter (or part of)

written by a young U.S. soldier to his parents while he was serving in Vietnam (the full

transcript of the entire letter is attached in Appendix 1).

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Figure 4. Scanned image of an original letter written by a U.S. soldier to his family while he

was serving in Vietnam during the war; HubPages; HubPages.com, 2 May 2010; Web; 28

Jan. 2016.

This young soldier had just turned nineteen when he was assigned to serve in Vietnam.

At the age when many of us would still be figuring out our future and making mistakes in

college, he had to leave his family behind, take on a huge responsibility, and face the

uncertainty of never being able to return home. He was not the only one, as many other young

and capable American men were also deployed to Vietnam at that time. As a result of his days

spent battling in Vietnam, he has been living with PTSD for more than forty years now.

Imagine the lives of all the soldiers who went through the Vietnam War – the aftermath must

have been a constant living nightmare.

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Having reached this stage in my research, it has become evident that there is no singular

truth to my subject of interest, or to any historical event in general. Historical accounts are

always going to be influenced by perspectives and personal experiences, and sometimes they

may even be manipulated for political agenda. Given my own personal experiences with the

subject, this conclusion does not come as a surprise. For such a sensitive event in history where

its aftermath is still being felt today, it is unavoidable that any individual account acquired will

be biased in one way or another. As a scholar studying about history, it is essential to be aware

of this multiplicity of perspectives when researching about history to avoid leaving out

important pieces that would provide a fuller glimpse of the puzzle. Furthermore, as every

medium has its limitations in presenting history, such as the case between words and pictures

as discussed earlier in the essay, it is vital to consult multiple mediums in order to minimize

any bias that may be created by the medium used to present the historical account.

Given that there is no singular truth to history, one may wonder if studying about history

is still a relevant endeavor. From my own experiences, the answer is clear. The effects

experienced by Vietnamese and Vietnam veterans cannot be fully explained without looking

into the history of the Vietnam War. History is what shapes our present day. While there may

not be an agreement on what truly happened in the past, learning the different perspectives of

it has enabled me to better appreciate the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam today.

Mankind are curious by nature, and finding out about our past and what has shaped our present

existence are part of that curiosity. Hence, history will always be a relevant endeavor, as long

as the curiosity for our existence remains alive.

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Thuy Ngoc Le (Irene)

Professor Sarah Connell

ENGW1111 – First-year College Writing

5 February 2016

Works Cited

Tompkins, Jane. “"indians": Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History”. Critical

Inquiry 13.1 (1986): 101–119. Web. 28 Jan 2016.

"Ho Chi Minh: Vietnam’s Enigma." YouTube. Ed. Gary Tarpinian. History Channel, 29 Apr.

2000. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

"Deconstructing History: Vietnam Video." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 28

Jan. 2016.

Mills, Mark. "Why has Vietnam forgiven America?" Matter of Facts. 7 Jan. 2015. Web. 29

Jan. 2016.

"Vietnam: The Real War – in Pictures - Vietnam Full Disclosure." Vietnam Full Disclosure.

26 Apr. 2015. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

"The Brutal Reality of the Vietnam War." James Muneeza Travel Blog. 23 Mar. 2011. Web.

29 Jan. 2016.

NamVetRich. "Letters from Vietnam 1968 to 1969." HubPages. HubPages, 2 May 2010.

Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

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Thuy Ngoc Le (Irene)

Professor Sarah Connell

ENGW1111 – First-year College Writing

5 February 2016

Appendix 1

Transcript of an original letter written by a young U.S. soldier while serving in Vietnam
during the war
*Note: This transcript has been formatted to mimic the actual writing and formatting of
the original letter instead of the MLA format that the rest of this paper adopts.
Dear Mom, Dad, Sherry January 27, 1969

(page 1)

You folks are probably pretty mad at me for not writing in such a long time, but I have been
busy. The past 4 days I have been in Tan-Ann, it is about 40 to 50 miles from here towards
Saigon. I took supplies up to there in Mary-Ann, that’s the name I had painted on my 314 truck.
They needed a new generator for electricity, and poncho linens, and wall lockers. Tan Ann is
really small its set right out in the middle of rice paddies, they have no berm but instead they
have barbe-wire which surrounds the whole camp you can walk to one side of the base to the
other in 5 minutes. There are 20 men from A Company in Tan-Ann and there are more people
from other company’s.

On the way to Tan-Ann its beautiful country. First when you leave Dong-Tam the roads are
real bad just like logging roads at home, and dusty, the dust gets in your hair, eyes, everywhere.
And it stinks, like

(page 2)

a garabage dump. Once you get to My-Tho its not to bad. Driving through My-Tho is another
story, people everywhere. They ride bicycle, horse-trawn carts, and little motor cars that look
like paddy-wagons with a thousand of them sticking out of the thing. The people bring there
food and sit as close to the road as they dare and sell it. There are homes in My-Tho they are
really Kool, there really modern they are different types of homes altogether than are’s. After
leaving My-Tho you go on a two lane highway, paved just like back in the states, its called
highway 7 which goes to Tan-Ann all the way to Saigon, beautiful country side there is no dust
on the highway, its really funny you are driving along this modern highway and all of a sudden
you see a big hole in the highway where a mortar has hit it, it would be a beautiful country to
see if it weren’t for the war.

There are modern cars in Vietnam too, I saw many station wagons, caravans, fords, etc.
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(page 3)

The only thing bad about driving on the highway is that Charlie could be sitting in a palm tree
and take a shot at us and we wouldn’t nowhere it was coming from but believe me we wouldn’t
stick around to find out. And another thing you have to go fast so that if Charlie is out there he
can’t have a very good shot of you and this makes it harder to keep from getting in a wreck. I
had a friend of mine ride shot-gun when I went but we still didn’t feel to save this was the first
time either of us had gotten farther than My-Tho. We followed a jeep all the way.

When I get home I should be a reall good driving. If you’ve ever drove through Tan-Ann it’s a
Miracle, there are so many people I saw four accidents that day. I will send you folks a lot of
pictures when I get paid.

I am listening to the radio there playing Soul Street it’s a neat song. Sherry have you

(page 4)

Heard “I Started a Joke” by the B.Gee’s that is sure a cool song. I’ll tell you my favorite top
ten songs = “Crimson & Clover”, “Stand By Your Man”, (by Tammy Wynet), “I
Started a Joke”, “Hooked on a Feelin”, “Harper Valley P.T.A.”, “Love Child” by the
Supremes, “California Soul”, “Hangem High”, “Baby Lets Wate”, “Soul Strut” I listen to the
music while working and then at night I turn on my tape deck and listen to you folks and Charlie
Pride, Jim Reeves, Sandy Posey, and Tammy Wynet.

My hair is getting so blonde that its almost white and I am getting more sun tanned each day,
I’ll really look funny when I get home I haven’t been drinking very much I can’t stand to drink
beer but its cold and anything is better than drinking this water over here. We have a big
barbecue about two times a month and this is when I usually drink a little. I got a better
mattress for my bunk and I can sleep a lot better now, when I get home you folks will have to
put up with me for awhile because if I hear any loud noise’s at night I’ll jump out

(page 5)

of bed and run for a bunker. HaHa It sure will be neat to be back in the world, time is going
by fast I work constantly and this keeps me from thinking about home.

Dad you should see my ¾ truck its really neat when I first got it, it was in pretty bad condition
but I clened it all up painted it and it didn’t have a name, all the trucks have names, so I called
it Mary-Ann, I’ll take pictures and send you folks. I am sure glad I got a license now I drive
everywhere. If you folks didn’t get my last two letters which I sent about a week an half ago.
Write and tell me so I can write again, especially about the Tape-Deck, and Amplifier because
I do need the money. I haven’t got a letter from anyone for almost a week an half, I hope
nothing is wrong at home.

How is Judy & the new baby feelin I am sure glad she had a girl it must be beautiful can’t wait
to see her. Are Judy & Larry staying at home now? Has Larry got a Job now? I will have to
send them something

(page 6)
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for the baby when I got some money saved up. Dad did you fix the Falcon all up for Sherry? I
hope so she probably needs a car pretty bad.

Well I am sitting on my bunk and see two flares in the sky its such a common sight I don’t even
pay attention anymore. When I first got here I was sure that Charlie was coming when I saw a
flare. Its hard to sy if we are making any progress in the war are not, this is what I think of the
war since I’ve been here, The V.C. are weakening and fast we are finding many cache’s which
drain there supplies we are also killing a lot of them. The V.C. want to talk peace because they
no that they won’t win this war and if they get these talks going they can get something out of
the North whereas they wouldn’t if they got whipped, the North no’s this and they don’t want
to give the V.C. anything so there making harder at the peace talks. And the U.S. which is
supposed to be the mightest, and strongest country in the

(page 7)

World is stuck in the middle and the World seats back and laughs at us. All I can say is that
the U.S. better do something and soon were losing a lot of guys over here and for what, a police
action, its not even called a War. I think we should either make progress at the peace talks are
start bombing again, the V.C. are taking a great advantage of the bombing halt. I just pray for
the best.

Well I’d better close now, I hope to hear from you folks soon, I will write more after. I miss
you folks, can’t wait until we can all be together again. Mom write again soon I sure like letter
from you Sherry & Judy. Dad keep care and don’t work to hard. Mom you should be pretty
proud you have a truck in Vietnam named Mary-Ann, HaHa keep good care you no I miss you
a lot, and think of you all the time.

Love your son

Dick Jr.