As if a great red flood that overflow to the people of South
Vietnam while they were living in peace and prosperity. The storm of April
30th, 1975 has completely made this country disappear on the world map!
Once, there
was a country has a capital known as the "Pearl of the Far East" .
Once, there was a country that has been the country to which the
surrounding nations looked at with admire and desired theirs to be such
one. Once, there was a country with a comprehensive education and humane. Once, there was a country that its students and its people never have the desire to
go abroad to live, but just to complete education then to
return to home to serve their nation.
There was a country its people
hold a passport when traveling abroad with their heads up high and said
"Yes, I am a Vietnamese". There was a country that the US President rolled
red carpet to welcome it proud leader. There was country to which the
first leader of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew , had uttered the words "I
wish my Singapore can be catches-up to Saigon."
All of those disappeared
without a trace ! just because of a devastating civil war in the
South-North, a battle of the two systems of thought in opposition. A war
that the winner, after the got out of sight , has accepted the
fact that they are the ones who should be (or have been) "LIBERATED" for both MIND
and SOUL
Either the communist was drawing a big fake cake for people to dream about, or either the people were too naive to believe in
such an idea of agnosticism from those brutal cold-blooded communist
leaders. Many people had believed
in the sketch of beautiful images of peace such as no more bombs dropping, soldiers on both sides to return home with dolls dangling on their
backpacks as gift to their children... or with beautiful flowers on their hands as
gifts for mothers and wives. Children were playing , laughing with
singing voices in the background... How valuable when peace is in the
air ! Such a wonderful picturesque scenes of peace ! But that painting only happened in a moment, or not even ever exited so at all... Then came a killing waves began to sweep
through every corner of the country !
What has the 30th of
April events brought to the "liberated" people ? They lost their
fathers, lost their mothers, brothers . Families were separated and
broken, an exile wave (Exodus) of millions upon millions began to
leave the country, so many people have died on the way to the shore in
search of freedom.
Everything have vanished, but still remained heart-broken
feeling in vague. The 30th of April had
destroyed the achievement that so many people, intellectuals and
talented individuals with huge efforts that they had contributed their
country, all has gone down to the river and immersed into the sea...
Forty years have passed quickly but the consequences of it is certainly not easy to fade away in the hearts of many people !
As
time goes on, people might remember about it less and less, but at
least we can always see the dull image of it that can never fade away
from that early days of the catastrophe.
The 30th of April has long become the
nation's tragic day. Memorial Day is an indecent act has nothing to
debate. The only fear is that we lack the determination to guide the
younger generation to finish our journey that was forced to abandon.
History can not be distorted,
who "liberated" who that created this devastating war ?! the war that
brothers kill each other ! the answer will be brought clearly to many
generations after to judge loudly !
Forty years have passed so
fast through a mix of dreams and nightmares, surely remained moment of
silence for a lost country, THE REPUBLIC OF (SOUTH)
VIETNAM !
Biến cố tháng 4 năm 75 là một cơn đại hồng thủy tràn đến với mọi người
dân Miền Nam Việt Nam khi đang sống trong cảnh an bình và thịnh vượng.
Một cơn bão tràn qua, có một quốc gia đã hoàn toàn bị biến mất trên bản
đồ thế giới.
Có một quốc gia đã từng có một thủ đô được mệnh
danh là Hòn Ngọc Viễn Đông. Có một quốc gia đã từng một thời được các
nước và các dân tộc xung quanh vùng nhìn vào với một ánh mắt ngưỡng mộ
và mong ước quốc gia mình được như vậy. Có một quốc gia với một nền giáo
dục toàn diện và mang tính nhân văn. Có một quốc gia mà người sinh
viên, người dân không hề ham muốn đi ra nước ngoài sinh sống, chỉ mong
muốn học xong và quay về phục vụ lại tổ quốc.
Có một quốc gia mà
người dân khi cầm hộ chiếu đi ra nước ngoài đã ngẩng cao đầu và nói "Tôi
là người Việt Nam". Có một quốc gia mà chính Tổng Thống Mỹ đã trải thảm
đỏ để ra đón tiếp. Có một quốc gia mà vị nguyên thủ đầu tiên của Singapore là ông Lý
Quang Diệu đã phải thốt lên lời "Tôi ước gì Singapore được như Sài Gòn."
Tất cả đều biến mất không còn một dấu tích chỉ vì một cuộc nội chiến
tương tàn Nam-Bắc, một cuộc chiến của hai hệ phái tư tưởng đối nghịch
nhau. Một cuộc chiến mà người chiến thắng sau cơn men chiến thắng đã
nhận ra từ cái nhìn thực tế chính họ là người cần được (hay đã được)
GIẢI PHÓNG cả về NỘI DUNG lẫn TƯ TƯỞNG.
Cả một dân tộc bị cho ăn
một cái bánh vẽ quá lớn, quá ngây thơ khi tin vào một chủ nghĩa vô tưởng
và những con người lãnh đạo dã man, máu lạnh không tình người. Mọi
người dân đã lầm tưởng khi được nghe và phác họa lên một hình ảnh đẹp
đẽ, thanh bình, không còn bom đạn trên quê hương, người lính chiến cả
hai phía quay trở về với con búp bê lủng lẵng móc vào cái ba lô trên vai
làm quà cho con, hoặc trên tay cành hoa đẹp tặng mẹ, tặng vợ. Họ cùng
quay về với xóm làng, ruộng nương và gia đình. Em bé vui đùa trên sân
nhà, tiếng cười tiếng ca hát quê hương hòa bình vang lên khắp nơi. Hình
ảnh sao đẹp đẽ quá, nhưng thực tế mặt nước lặng chỉ được một thoáng thôi
trước khi cơn sóng dữ bắt đầu càn quét qua.
Biến cố tháng 4 đã
đem đến được gì cho những người bị Giải Phóng? Kẻ mất cha, người mất mẹ,
anh em ly tán, gia đình tan nát. Một cuộc tha hương (Exodus) với hàng
triệu người bỏ nước ra đi, nhiều người đã mất mạng trên con đường đi tìm
đến bến bờ tự do. Tất cả biến mất chỉ còn vọng lại nỗi niềm tiếc thương
chỉ vì một chủ nghĩa quá mơ hồ, nó đã tàn phá một thành quả mà biết bao
nhiêu người, bao nhiêu nhân tài, bao nhiêu công sức đã đổ ra, tất cả
đều trôi ra sông ra biển.
40 năm đã trôi qua nhưng hệ lụy của nó
chắc chắn không dễ gì phai nhòa đi trong lòng rất nhiều người.
Càng về sau, số
người nhớ về nó càng ít đi nhưng ít ra chúng ta cũng thấy được phần nào
cái âm ỉ không thể nào phai của những ngày đầu mất nước. 30/4, từ lâu đã
trở thành ngày bi thảm của dân tộc, tưởng niệm ngày này là một hành
động đứng đắn không có gì phải bàn cãi. Chỉ sợ rằng chúng ta thiếu quyết
tâm để trao lại những gì còn dang dở cho những thế hệ sau. Lịch sử
không thể bị bóp méo, ai Giải Phóng ai, sẽ có một ngày cuộc chiến tương
tàn, anh em chém giết nhau sẽ được đem ra nói rõ cho thế hệ sau hiểu.
40 năm đã trôi qua như là một giấc mộng và một phút mặc niệm cho một quốc gia đã mất tên!
Vietnam heroes: 'I've been waiting 40 years for this!'
Box-office hit has warriors in tears, finally gives them celebration they deserve
Read more at
http://www.wnd.com/2015/03/vietnam-heroes-ive-been-waiting-40-years-for-this/#GED8OHxBEkyM03w3.99
WESTMINSTER, Calif. – “I’ve been waiting 40 years for this film!”
That was a common refrain among the Vietnam War veterans and the
South Vietnamese Americans – most with tears streaming down their faces –
who gathered here on March 27 and 28 to witness their powerful story
finally making it onto the big screen at the wildly popular premiere of “Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Victory and Betrayal,” a film that exploded at the box office and ranked as the top movie in the nation in per screen revenue this weekend.
“Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Victory & Betrayal”
Some South Vietnamese attendees recalled their own heart-wrenching
memories of more than a decade of starvation and torture in prison camps
after they fought to keep their country free of communism. Separated
from their wives and children, they saw friends and loved ones brutally
murdered by North Vietnamese guards during their communist
“re-education.”
And 40 years after the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War,
U.S. Marine and Army veterans remembered harrowing fire fights
alongside their South Vietnamese brothers in arms – and their return to a
nation that turned its back on its own freedom fighters.
But this momentous event wasn’t about re-opening old wounds.
Instead, it was a heartfelt celebration of brotherhood, a long
overdue welcome home and a chance to finally tell the incredible story
of unparalleled sacrifice that most Americans have never heard.
“The film record of the Vietnam War is what will determine history
10, 20, 50 years from now when all the Vietnam veterans are gone,”
Richard Botkin, executive producer of “Ride the Thunder,” told WND at
the red-carpet event.
“Ride the Thunder” Executive Director Richard Botkin at the premiere of the film:
Many popular films dealing with Vietnam – such as “Apocalypse Now,”
“The Deer Hunter,” “Platoon,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Rambo” and “Full
Metal Jacket” – serve as great entertainment, Botkin said, but they
often grossly distort the reality of the warriors who fought
courageously to stop the spread of communism.
“Those films portray our troops as victims, as dupes,” he said. “It
marginalizes them, shows them very unfavorably and the leadership
unfavorably. It shows our Vietnamese allies as even worse. Our film is
an effort to begin to turn the tide against that so that, in the future,
people will realize that America was right to fight in Vietnam, to stop
communism, and that our South Vietnamese allies were worthy of our
sacrifice and that they fought well also.”
“Ride
the Thunder” Executive Producer Richard Botkin (left) introduces
Vietnamese Marine Lt. Col. Le Bah Binh and Lt. Col. Gerry Turley at film
premiere, March 27, 2015 (WND photo/Chelsea Schilling)
The main character of the film is South Vietnamese Marine commander
Le Ba Binh, who was a prime example of enduring courage in a battle of
David and Goliath proportions as his battalion of only 700 men held
20,000 communist invaders in Dong Ha.
Binh, a man with few equals in the war-fighting profession, served 13
years in heavy combat (1962-1975) and another 11 years in communist
prison camps. Despite numerous battle wounds and lost comrades, he
showed unwavering courage in the face of extreme hardship.
“Americans, when they went to Vietnam, if they were a Marine, they
went 13 months for one tour. If they were in the Army, 12 months. Some
men went two or three times, but very few,” Botkin explained.
Read
the WND book that inspired the film, “Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War
Story of Honor and Triumph” – autographed at the WND Superstore!
“The Vietnamese generally had one tour that ended with death or
dismemberment, so they fought forever. My main character, Binh, fought
forever – 13 years, wounded nine times. At the end of the war, the
communists put him in prison – they called it euphemistically
‘re-education camp’ – for 11 years. He comes to the U.S. because he’ll
never get ahead in Vietnam. He comes to the U.S. with nothing and
prospers. That’s the Vietnamese story in America – suffering, hardship,
come to America, work hard and succeed. It’s a great story.”
South
Vietnamese Marine veterans surround commander Le Bah Binh, center, at
the “Ride the Thunder” premiere (WND photo/Chelsea Schilling)
Botkin traveled to Vietnam seven times to do research for the film and the WND book that inspired it, “Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Honor and Triumph.”
He and Binh visited Saigon and toured battlefields where the South
Vietnamese Marines and their American advisers had fought so valiantly.
The film cast includes many Vietnamese “boat people,” refugees who
came to America’s shores on overcrowded boats. They endured violent
storms and even vicious attacks by pirates. An estimated 250,000
refugees would die at sea in their unwavering pursuit of freedom.
“No one dies breaking in to communist countries,” Botkin said. “They
all die breaking out. These people broke out. They were the risk takers.
Those are the people who came to the United States. We got the best of
the best. The risk takers came here, and that’s why they’ve done so
well.”
“Ride the Thunder” producers and film cast members, March 27, 2015 (WND photo/Chelsea Schilling)
“Ride the Thunder” Executive Producer and author Richard Botkin
Botkin’s name was on the lips of most veterans and
Vietnamese-Americans attending the premiere, all of whom said they were
profoundly grateful that he and Producer Fred Koster endeavored for so
many years to finally bring the untold story to the big screen.
One Vietnamese couple, Kim Ly and Thomas Ly, was filled with emotion after seeing the film.
With tears welling in her eyes, Kim told WND, “There were a lot of memories. We cried so much when we were watching that movie.”
Thomas said his brother, an Army of the Republic of Vietnam general
who was famous for his leadership at the Battle of An Loc in 1972, is
his “first hero.”
“But Richard Botkin, he’s my second hero,” Thomas said. “When I watch this film, I am so proud.”
Lt. Col. Gerry Turley
WND also interviewed Col. Gerry Turley, member of an all-star
American team of advisers who found the moral courage to persevere when
he was forced into one of the highest positions of leadership in the
midst of a brutal and bloody confrontation.
Turley, whose real-life story is told in the book, admired Binh’s determination and sacrifice.
Skipper John Ripley and “Ripley Raider” Sgt. Chuck Goggin, Ca Lu, 1967
“I think that Col. Binh was illustrative of all of those other
Vietnamese officers who served their country,” he said. “He really laid
his life on the line so many times. Then he became a prisoner. All he
had to do was say, ‘I accept communism.’”
Read
the WND book that inspired the film, “Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War
Story of Honor and Triumph” – autographed at the WND Superstore!
Another leading character in the book and film is the late U.S.
Marine Capt. John Ripley, who showed exceptional physical strength and
courage when he took on the superhuman task of detonating a steel bridge
at Dong Ha on Easter Sunday, 1972 – before the enemy could cross with
its tanks and 20,000 invaders.
Ripley had not slept or eaten a solid meal in four days when he
shimmied up and down the I-beams of the bridge for nearly four hours,
rigging them for detonation. His legs dangled like moving targets,
inviting enemy fire from snipers and North Vietnamese tanks. While most
people might never have dared attempt the monstrous feat, Ripley never
backed down, purchasing critical time for allied forces.
Actor Eric St.John
Hollywood actor Eric St. John played the part of Ripley in the film.
He said he drew all of his inspiration and insight on Ripley’s character
from the WND book, “Ride the Thunder.”
“It was a tremendous honor to play this great man. There’s a
responsibility when you play such a great person, a historical figure,”
he told WND. “There’s an abundance of great material about him, his
life, his family, what he did in the war. It makes the job easier as an
actor when you have a book with such rich details about this person’s
life. Usually you’re using your imagination and also your life
experiences, but … it was great to have that book to go to and get all
those details. I hope I did him justice.”
image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/03
Capt. Ed McCourt, who served in Vietnam in the 3rd Battalion, 3rd
Marines, knew Ripley personally. McCourt, who grew emotional when
recalling his time in Vietnam, told WND the film accurately depicted
Ripley, the war heroes and the reality of the battles they fought.
“John Ripley was a real Christian type of individual,” he said.
“Fidelity was number 1 on his list. He was a super individual, inside
and out. … His troops would follow him to hell and back just because he
asked them to go. That’s the kind of leader he was. … When his company
would go out, he was like a [North Vietnamese Army] magnet. Every time
they’d go out, they’d get in a fire fight.”
McCourt said his Marines liked to go with Ripley on patrol because
“we knew we’d get into something and not just walk around for six or
seven days.”
McCourt lamented that the U.S. military is still enforcing the same
rules of engagement he says handicapped the warriors in Vietnam.
“We’ve got the same thing happening right now,” he said. “We send
Marines, soldiers, airmen, Navy SEALs and whatever to combat, but we’ve
got rules of engagement that will not let them win. This is ridiculous.
We didn’t learn anything in Vietnam when it comes to that.”
Nationally syndicated talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt
Asked how he felt about the film as a whole, McCourt said, “I’ll tell
you, it brought me closure. … I thought it was fantastic. … I think the
president should see this movie.”
You
can still get tickets to a showing of “Ride the Thunder” in
Westminster, California, through April 2! Purchase your tickets to the
box-office hit before they sell out!
Nationally syndicated talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt
said he “loved” the documentary film. He attended the premiere and saw
the movie twice – once with a primarily Vietnamese-American crowd and a
second time with a crowd of American veterans.
“The Vietnamese audience reaction was significantly different from
the American veterans,” Hewitt told WND. “The American veterans were
moved and touched by the story of their compatriots. The Vietnamese
were, in part, angry and very chatty about what they were seeing because
many of them had survived the re-education camps before they got to the
United States.”
Hewitt predicted that the film will “play very well across the United States” and the word will get out “Dinesh D’Souza style.”
“It accomplished its ends. It was very sober. It’s not
propagandistic. It’s just a telling of a story that needs to be told,”
Hewitt said. “[T]hey allow the film to tell the story about the people
who were against the war and the propaganda they created for the enemy
and the fact that they need to apologize. It really creates a moral
obligation on the part of people like Jane Fonda and John Kerry and
Donald Sutherland to step up and say, ‘I’m sorry. I was wrong.’”
WND asked Hewitt: What was the most significant lesson you learned from this film?
“Don’t give up the fight for history,” he said. “It’s never over.”
image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/03/Ride_the_Thunder_book.jpg
Read
the WND book that inspired the film, “Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War
Story of Honor and Triumph” – autographed at the WND Superstore!
Some U.S. history teachers are ready to bring the lessons of “Ride the Thunder” into their classrooms.
Todd Anton, an eighth-grade history teacher at Heritage School near
Victorville, California, told WND, “It was an outstanding movie. … This
is what we need to get in our classrooms throughout the country – the
honest portrayal of the heroic men and women, both sides, who fought in
Vietnam – because it’s not taught in our schools anymore.”
Anton said most school kids don’t know much about the war, but, in
his experience, Vietnam veterans are more than willing to have honest
and thoughtful conversations with younger generations about their
experiences.
“It’s really opening up a lot of dialogue and a lot of healing for our veterans, which is so important,” he said.
image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/03/Ride_the_Thunder_Premiere4.jpg
“Ride
the Thunder” Executive Producer Richard Botkin (left),
Vietnamese-American actress and producer Kieu Chinh and retired Marine
Capt. Ed McCourt (WND photo/Chelsea Schilling)
Anton said the “Ride the Thunder” film presents such a significant
lesson of history that he’s working on a related curriculum to teach in
America’s classrooms.
“This isn’t some propaganda,” he said. “There are two sides to every
story. It’s about time for people to hear both sides and let the
individual make up their mind. That’s what history is all about. It’s
not a predetermined outcome. It’s using the facts, and this movie really
brings that together.”
Two jovial and brawny Marine officers who served two tours in Vietnam
together, Maj. Wayne Legenfelder and Maj. Dell Williams, told WND they
delighted in seeing the film.
Williams, a retired U.S. history teacher for MiraCosta College in
North San Diego County, said, “It was an excellent, excellent film. It
tells a story of Vietnam that I think very few people in this country
have heard about – and that’s something that happened after the Tet
[Offensive]. Things were going so well in Vietnam, and we just don’t
hear that story. It ends with Tet, and ‘Oh, we lost the war.’ I don’t
think that’s the case at all. It shows it well.”
Williams said, in his experience, American students “have no idea”
about the Vietnam War: “They don’t understand the politics, the foreign
policy, the agreements this country made.”And for those critics who say America had no business getting
involved in the war, Chow Huang, whose father was a South Vietnamese
Marine, had a special message:
“If you have never been to our country, you don’t know,” he said. “We
were fighting for our freedom, and we appreciate all the help from the
U.S.”
Following the premiere, on March 28, a special ceremony was held in
the parking lot of the Westminster theater that drew several hundred
veterans and members of the community. The event, called “Bridging the
Gap,” promoted the brotherhood of the South Vietnamese and American
veterans.
“Bridging the Gap” ceremony, March 28, 2015 (WND photo/Chelsea Schilling)
The emotional 40-year reunion of the brothers in arms featured
veterans from both countries who individually saluted and embraced one
another.
And for Richard Botkin, seeing the warm ceremony and the culmination of his 12-year labor of love was pure delight.
“I’ve met so many wonderful American Marines and their families,” he
said. “And the Vietnamese community has embraced us magnificently. It
was a long time, but it was a complete joy for me.”
Read
the WND book that inspired the film, “Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War
Story of Honor and Triumph” – autographed at the WND Superstore!
Botkin shared the most significant lesson he learned in his dozen years of research:
“America is made and kept free by a small percentage of men and women
who are willing to risk it all,” he said. “We should celebrate those
people. Unfortunately, we don’t. We celebrate the wrong people all the
time. But these are people who need to be celebrated. ‘Joy’ is the word
that describes being around warriors. These are committed people. I love
these people.”
THE IMPACT THAT RESULTED TO THE FALL OF SOUTH VIETNAM - A LESSON TO LEARN !
