Conversations on Vietnam Development
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam ― Fifty-five years ago this month, the U.S. Army began spraying millions of gallons of the toxic defoliant known as Agent Orange over large swaths of southern Vietnam. Today, however, instead of resentment and isolation from the U.S., the country is awash with Americanophilia. Tiếp tục đọc “55 Years After Agent Orange Was Used In Vietnam, One Of Its Creators Is Thriving Here”
Chuck Searcy, Vice President of Project RENEW and Co-chair of the Agent Orange Working Group. — Photo pbs.org Việt Nam News reporter Hoàng Anh talks to Chuck Searcy, Vice President of Project RENEW and Co-chair of the Agent Orange Working Group.
When did you come to Việt Nam and what motivated your decision?
The first time I came to Việt Nam was in 1967, as a 20-year-old soldier in the US Army. The year I spent in the war had a profound impact on me. That experience made me hate war. I saw the lies used by the US government to win support from the American people to continue the war, and I saw the death and destruction, the pain and the sorrow being caused to American families, but especially the terrible and tragic costs to the Vietnamese people. When I left the war zone in 1968, I knew that someday I would return – and I hoped it would be in a time of peace and recovery for Việt Nam. Tiếp tục đọc “US army veteran returns to Viet Nam to heal scars of war”
The army engineers in Nghe An have reported collecting up to 240 shrapnel bombs from a field in Nghi Truong commune, Nghi Loc district.
Last week, Mr. Nguyen Dang Huan found a bomb-like object while working on his field. The man handed over the object to the local authorities. Tiếp tục đọc “Nghe An: More than 200 shrapnel bombs discovered on field”
May 19, 20175:10 AM ET
Roberta Vincent with her son, Robert Howard II, at their StoryCorps interview in Hartford, Conn.
Courtesy of StoryCorps
Army Sgt. Robert Louis Howard was killed in action in 1969 during the Vietnam War. He was 24, and he left behind his ex-wife Roberta Vincent, and their 4-year-old son, Robert Howard II.
At the time of his dad’s death, Robert II didn’t quite understand what was happening around him. Tiếp tục đọc “A Trip To Vietnam Helped This Son Make Peace With His Dad’s Death”
English version below
Cựu chiến binh Chiến tranh Việt Nam tìm em bé mồ côi anh cứu năm 1970
July 1, 2017
US News & World Report
Trong tấm ảnh ngày 22/6/2017 này, chụp tại nhà anh ở Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Rober Martin cầm một tấm ảnh của chính anh bồng em bé Roberta Sunday, 2 tháng tuổi, sau khi tìm thấy em trong một hầm trú ẩn ở Việt Nam. Lần gặp gỡ duy nhất của Martin với Roberta Sunday là ngày đó vào tháng 8 năm 1970. Anh đã nghĩ đến em rất nhiều trong vòng 47 năm qua, và gần đây quyết định anh muốn nối kết lại với em. Anh nói tìm ra Sunday sẽ mang đến một điều tích cực cho trải nghiệm chiến tranh của anh (Loren Benoit/Coeur d’Alene thông qua AP) Thông tấn xã Associated Press
Phóng viên BRIAN WALKER, Coeur d’Alene Press
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) – Trung đội của Robert Martin’s được lệnh khám xét một hệ thống hầm trú ẩn của địch đã trúng bomb máy bay nặng nề. Anh nghe một tiếng ho.
“Trong một hầm tôi thấy 3 người Việt chết – hai người đàn ông và một người đàn bà,” anh cư dân thành phố Coeur d’Alene nói. “Khi quay lưng để đi sang hầm kế tiếp, tôi nghe một tiếng ho từ dưới các xác chết.” Tiếp tục đọc “Cựu chiến binh Chiến tranh Việt Nam tìm em bé mồ côi anh cứu năm 1970 – Vietnam War Veteran Searches for Orphan He Rescued in 1970”
Một năm sau vụ tai nạn thương tâm lấy đi sinh mạng của đội trưởng của chúng tôi Ngô Thiện Khiết, con trai cả của anh, Ngô Thiện Hoàng giờ đây là nhân viên khảo sát phi kỹ thuật của NPA-Dự án RENEW. Sau đây Hoàng chia sẻ với chúng tôi suy nghĩ về việc tiếp tục con đường của ba anh.
Ngô Thiện Hoàng
19 tháng 6 năm 2017
Ba tôi làm đội trưởng đội rà phá bom mìn của NPA-RENEW trong nhiều năm. Ông là một trong những nhân viên kỹ thuật có kinh nghiệm nhất và giỏi nhất, luôn nỗ lực cố gắng học hỏi để hoàn thành tốt mọi nhiệm vụ với sự chuyên nghiệp đầy đủ. Ba là một người siêng năng, rất chịu khó. Ba sống chan hòa với người than, bạn bè, đồng nghiệp. Ông luôn tôn trọng mọi người.
Tiếp tục đọc “Con trai đầu người đội trưởng qua đời vì nổ bom bi tiếp tục con đường của cha anh”
Phát hiện bom nặng 340 kg ở sâu dưới ruộng lúa gần cảng Cửa Việt
Nhiệm vụ xử lý bom được tiến hành sau khi Bộ Chỉ huy quân sự tỉnh yêu cầu RENEW-NPA tiếp ứng một phát hiện bom do chính quyền xã Triệu An báo cáo ngày Chủ nhật. Tiếp tục đọc “Phát hiện bom nặng 340 kg ở sâu dưới ruộng lúa gần cảng Cửa Việt – U.S. 750-lb. Bomb Found in Rice Paddy Near Cua Viet Beach”
– J William Fulbright, The Arrogance of Power
More than 48 years after mortal damage was inflicted with a vengeance on both human beings and human values in a quiet village in Bến Tre province in the Mekong Delta, justice, fairness, and common decency won a minor victory when Bob Kerrey, former Nebraska governor, U.S. senator, New School president, decorated veteran, and self-confessed war criminal, quietly resigned from his high-profile position as chairman of the Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) board of trustees, according to reliable sources. Tiếp tục đọc “The Fat Lady Finally Sings: Bob Kerrey Quietly Resigns from Fulbright University Vietnam Leadership Position”
German authorities are under pressure to remove unexploded WWII bombs [Peter Steffen/AFP]More than 50,000 people were evacuated from Germany’s northern city of Hanover on Sunday in one of the country’s largest post-war operations to defuse unexploded World War II-era bombs.
Residents in a densely populated part of the city were ordered to leave their homes for the operation, planned since mid-April, to remove several recently discovered unexploded bombs.
Authorities had expected to remove at least five explosive devices, but only three were found. Two were defused successfully, while the third required special equipment to be made safe.
Tiếp tục đọc “50,000 evacuate German city over unexploded WWII bombs”
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| The bomb was found in Kiến Xương District’s Hồng Tiến Commune, in northern Thái Bình Province. – Photo baothaibinh.com.vn |
THÁI BÌNH — An unexploded bomb weighing around 250kg was removed from Cồn Nhất Ferry in the northern Thái Bình Province, the provincial Military Command has said.
Trần Văn Vân, a local farmer, spotted the bomb at the ferry in Hồng Tiến Commune’s Cao Bình Village when he went fishing on Hồng (Red) River, provincial commander Colonel Nguyễn Đức Dũng said on Tuesday.
The Kiến Xương District’s People’s Committee halted ferry operations, and authorities summoned the police.
The bomb, 1.6m in length and 30cm in diameter, was disabled and moved around 300m away from the ferry for detonation on Tuesday, Dũng said. — VNS
Updated : 04/24/2017 19:01 GMT + 7
A young man from central Vietnam who lost three of his limbs and vision to unexploded ordnance left from the U.S. war in Vietnam when he was ten years old is now actively working to protect others from the same fate.
Ho Van Lai, 27, from Cua Viet Town in Quang Tri Province, has come a long way since sustaining multiple serious injuries because of unexploded ordnance (UXO) 17 years ago.
His injuries, which affect 86 percent of his body, include missing both legs and his right arm, as well as seriously impaired vision in both eyes. Tiếp tục đọc “UXO victim works to educate in Vietnam”
Sau khi nhận được tin báo từ chính quyền, Dự án Renew thuộc Tổ chức Viện Trợ Nhân dân Na Uy (NPA) – một tổ chức nhân đạo hoạt động trong lĩnh vực giảm thiểu nguy cơ bom mìn – đã tiếp cận quả bom và tiến hành vô hiệu hóa trước khi vận chuyển đến khu vực hủy nổ tại bãi cát thuộc xã Triệu Trạch, huyện Triệu Phong. Tiếp tục đọc “Ngăn chặn kịp thời nhóm người định bán quả bom 220 kg – Timely intervention made as scrap collectors about to cut 230kg bomb in central Vietnam”
Update: April, 14/2017 – 17:00 vietnamnews
A sandal belonging to the Vietnamese martyrs found at the mass grave in Biên Hòa airport, Đồng Nai Province on Thursday. — Photo tuoitre.vn
Viet Nam News
ĐỒNG NAI — A mass grave containing remains of some 150 Vietnamese martyrs in the American War was discovered on Thursday in the southern province of Đồng Nai.
The Steering Committee on Search, Collection and Excavation of Martyrs’ Remains, also known as Steering Committee 1237, announced it had found the mass grave at about 10am after several days of digging at a site at the Biên Hòa airport. Tiếp tục đọc “Mass grave of 150 martyrs found in Đồng Nai”
Tuesday, April 4th 2017
Veterans in the U.S. remember Dr. King’s “Beyond Vietnam” Speech on 50th Anniversary
April 4, 2017: veterans in the U.S. and in Viet Nam acknowledge the 50th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s powerful and courageous speech at the Riverside Church in New York, entitled Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence. In that remarkable speech, Dr. King publicly spoke out eloquently and passionately in opposition to the continuing war in Viet Nam. He confronted the deeply rooted racism, militarism and materialism of the United States. Dr. King described the United States as the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.
In the U.S., in remembrance of Dr. King’s groundbreaking speech, chapters of Veterans For Peace planned public readings across the country. In Viet Nam, later this month we plan to host a public discussion of the important message which Dr. King conveyed to the nation on that date a half century ago. Copies of Dr. King’s speech will be made available in English and Vietnamese.
For the past 32 years, Veterans For Peace have called for the abolishment of war as an instrument of national policy.
“U.S. global policy of endless war and filling the coffers of an already bloated military budget has merged into a global response of violence. We need a global response that meets human needs and aspirations. Militarization is not the foundation on which to build peace. U.S. efforts have proven that war is the breeding ground for more violence and hatred. We need increased spending in social programs here at home, including significant resources dedicated to our veterans who are suffering devastating effects as a result of their service. We need an increase in diplomacy to end the wars. We need to dedicate resources to helping bring relief to the refugee crisis resulting from endless war.
“We, as veterans, know that peace is possible, but only if resources are directed towards caring for one another, not perpetuating militarization across the globe.”
Excerpted from VFP Statement Regarding Military Budget
4 April 1967
Beyond Vietnam**
New York, N.Y.
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I need not pause to say how very delighted I am to be here tonight, and how very delighted I am to see you expressing your concern about the issues that will be discussed tonight by turning out in such large numbers. I also want to say that I consider it a great honor to share this program with Dr. Bennett, Dr. Commager, and Rabbi Heschel, some of the most distinguished leaders and personalities of our nation. And of course it’s always good to come back to Riverside Church. Over the last eight years, I have had the privilege of preaching here almost every year in that period, and it’s always a rich and rewarding experience to come to this great church and this great pulpit. Tiếp tục đọc “50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech”
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| Soldiers successfully removed a live 225kg bomb from the central province of Phú Yên last year. — VNA/VNS Photo |
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) on Tuesday reported about unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination from past wars in Việt Nam and activities undertaken to mitigate its effects.
The conference was held to observe International Mine Awareness Day, which is on April 4.
The ministry said that Việt Nam has faced severe consequences of UXO, which has greatly affected the country’s development in general, and people living in bomb- and mine-polluted areas in particular. Tiếp tục đọc “Government taking steps to remove UXOs”
CVD 