April 30, 1975, A Day That Shall Live in Ignominy! (SHAME!)

On April 30 the United States of America will be remembering, or totally ignoring, what is likely the most reprehensible, shameful act of cowardice by the US government in the history of our republic.

On that day the US Senate and House of Representatives, abetted by the president of the United States, Gerald Ford, completed the treasonous task of turning their backs on our long-time ally, South Vietnam, as it fell to invading communist forces. The collective inaction of the legislative and executive branches enabled, encouraged even, a communist onslaught that left millions of Southeast Asians butchered, enslaved, tortured or homeless.

The death toll was staggering as communists in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia slaughtered millions in retribution for their decades of opposition to the communist "utopia." Obviously, that version of population control was favored not just by the murderous communist hordes, but by their supporters in the US Congress, State Department, executive branch, and most certainly the media, as evidenced by their acquiescence, even as the murders rose to a level that could no longer be ignored or hidden from the public.

Those westerners who bought into the wonders of communism should take their place alongside Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Minh, the Castro brothers, and Che Guevara as accessories to one of the most atrocious mass exterminations of the 20^th Century. Members of Congress who voted in favor of the Case-Church Amendment in 1973, cutting off military aid to South Vietnam and negating the just-signed Paris Peace Accords, and those who also voted in 1974 for the Foreign Assistance Act, reinforcing the cessation of aid to the south, are accessories to murder, nothing less.

And speaking of the media, it is highly unlikely that the truth of the fall of Saigon will be told by any of the so-called "mainstream" media outlets this week, mainstream being a euphemism for communist propagandists. Instead, to deflect attention from its complicity in the holocaust it helped create, the media in the mid-1970s propagated the myth of the disaffected Vietnam veteran, the shaggily dressed, hollow-eyed baby killer who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress as a result of the alleged (and for the most part fictional) atrocities he committed in the war.

For the record, once again, the US military never lost a single major engagement in the entire Vietnam War, was instrumental in keeping South Vietnam free for nearly two decades, and wiped out the entire military arm of the Viet Cong, as well annihilating the North Vietnamese communist army twice over. That accomplishment alone speaks to the cold calculatedness of the communist leaders who fed entire generations of conscripts into their war machine, only to die as their leaders waited for the western politicians to tire of the war and disengage.

On the US side, Army Gen. William Westmoreland was at the helm of the free-world armed forces for much of the early part of the war including the Tet Offensive of 1968 when an estimated 75,000 Viet Cong communist guerrillas supported by North Vietnamese main force troops attacked across the south. Virtually the entire attacking force was annihilated in just over a week, losing nearly 40,000 guerrillas killed in action, along with more than 20,000 North Vietnamese communist troops.

Tet 1968 was a crushing defeat for the communists and should have reinvigorated the American public in seeking a full military victory, which certainly was within sight. However, the American media, frantic that their dream of world communism was crumbling, hastened to Vietnam, led by Walter Cronkite, who was referred to as "the most trusted man in America," but in reality was a communist propagandist.

Cronkite, in late February 1968, standing in the rubble of the crushed communist offensive, called the war "a stalemate" and told his viewers back home that a negotiated settlement was the only possible outcome. To put it bluntly, Mr. Trusted Man lied through his teeth, and as such was directly responsible for the ultimate orgy of death that befell Southeast Asia.

Nonetheless, from that point on, after a year of continuing US and allied successes on the battlefield, the war was gradually turned over to the South Vietnamese. Their army, far improved and battle hardened compared to the early years, won the biggest battle of the war when they defeated an all out invasion by the North Vietnamese communists in the spring of 1972. Out of 250,000 communist invaders, an estimated 75,000 to 150,000 were killed in action and half of all the communists' armor and artillery was destroyed.

As a result of their crushing 1972 defeat the northern communists fired their top general, Vo Nguyen Giap, and placed him under house arrest. So how did the south fall only three years later? Perhaps a timeline of events relating to the Vietnam War will help in understanding what occurred there.

1862 – France begins occupation of Vietnam as a colonial power.

1920s – 1930s – Nationalist movements, encouraged by world communists begin organized opposition to French occupation. Ho Chi Minh is a minor player at this point, but ultimately outlasts those above him who are killed or imprisoned.

1941 – Japanese invade Indochina leaving the French bureaucracy in place to administer the country until 1944 when Japan takes full control.

1945 – Japan surrenders to western powers, and French forces return to power.

1945 – The Viet Minh, under control of Ho Chi Minh, assassinate leaders of rival groups, leaving the Viet Minh as the dominant communist organization in Vietnam.

1946 – Ho Chi Minh petitions American President Harry S. Truman for support for Vietnamese independence. Truman does not respond; guerrilla war breaks out.

1950 – United States establishes Military Advisory Assistance Group (MAAG) Vietnam.

1954 – France loses major battle to Chinese trained and equipped Viet Minh forces at Dien Bien Phu; loss leads to France ultimately leaving Vietnam. From end of WWII to mid-1954 the Viet Minh assassinate an estimated 150,000 Vietnamese civilians.

1954 – Geneva Accords conclude between France and the Viet Minh. More than 1 million North Vietnamese flee to the democratic South; far smaller numbers move north. Viet Minh prevent some 2 million more Vietnamese from moving to the south. Estimated 180,000 northerners are assassinated for being land owners, or landlords.

1956 – Reunification elections claimed by communists but not agreed to by US or South Vietnam are not held. Viet Minh cadre who had stayed in the south renew guerrilla attacks, aided by North Vietnamese regulars.

1956-1961 – MAAG Vietnam continues to expand; South Vietnam creates, expands and modernizes its armed forces.

1961-1962 – Major expansion of US troop levels in Vietnam. MAAG evolves into US Military Assistance Command Vietnam – MACV.

1962 – Agreement on Laotian Neutrality. This agreement removed Laos from the protective shield of the South East Asian Treaty Organization, and ties the military's hands in future fighting. US leaves Laos, but communist forces remain and begin expanding the Ho Chi Minh trail. US forces are largely prohibited from entering Laos to block NVA throughout the war.

1964 – Gulf of Tonkin incident; attack by North Vietnamese navy patrol craft against US destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy. President Lyndon Johnson uses the attack as a pretext to expand US military involvement in Vietnam to offset the already expanded presence of North Vietnamese main line communist units.

March 1965 – 9^th Marine Regiment and supporting units land at Da Nang in major escalation of US military role.

1965-1968 – US forces take over major ground and air combat operations. Army and Marine infantry units decimate Viet Cong and NVA forces in pitched battles throughout the period, while also fighting elusive enemy forces in guerrilla operations. Operation Rolling Thunder is launched; US Air Force begins bombing North Vietnamese ammunition facilities, power plants, storage facilities, air fields and factories. US Naval and Marine aircraft also take part in Rolling Thunder which begins in March 1965 and continues until October 1968. Total of 900 US aircraft are lost to what becomes the most sophisticated air defenses in the world.

February 1968 – Communists launch Tet Offensive across South Vietnam. Viet Cong assisted by North Vietnamese regulars attack cities and regional capitals and are crushed by allied forces. Estimated 40,000 VC killed along with 20,000 NVA

January-April 1968 – 40,000 NVA surround US Marine base at Khe Sanh, attempting repeat of French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. After months of shelling, repelled by counter-battery fire and massive air strikes NVA withdraw. Estimated communist losses – 15,000 troops.

February-March 1968 – NVA division infiltrates undefended Hue City, selecting civilians by name and occupation, killing 8,000 of them and their families before being defeated by US Marines and ARVN forces.

1969 – Responding to political pressure and abysmal knowledge of military matters, President Nixon announces beginning of troop withdrawals. Later announces "Vietnamization" policy, whereby southern forces take over their own defense.

Spring 1972 – Communist forces launch all-out invasion of the south, with estimated 250,000 troops including major armor and artillery units. Only 10,000 US combat troops remain in Vietnam most ready to deploy back to US in coming months. South Vietnamese ground units bear the brunt of the battle. After months of bitter fighting, southern forces, backed by US air power, rout the north. 75,000 to 150,000 northern troops killed in action; half of all armor and artillery destroyed. US 7th Air Force and Navy aircraft launch Operation Linebacker in support of South Vietnamese. Linebacker runs from May to October and in conjunction with South Vietnamese ground forces is instrumental at preventing Northern victory over South Vietnam. North Vietnam's bosses fire their top military leader, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap and place him under house arrest.
December 1972  - Operation Linebacker II bombing of North Vietnam forces communists to agree to US positions at Paris peace talks. US President Richard Nixon wants an accord before the new, Democrat dominated Congress convenes in January.

January 1973 – North Vietnam, South Vietnam and US agree to Paris Peace Accords, ending all fighting.

March 1973 – Last US troops leave Vietnam. Henry Kissinger claims all US prisoners of war have come home, neglecting to mention an estimated 300 American flight crews and pilots being held in Laos. These troops never come home.

June 1973 – US Congress passes Case-Church Amendment halting military aid to South Vietnam, contradicting promises President Nixon made to South Vietnamese. Amendment effectively negates the Paris Peace Accords for South Vietnam.

August 9, 1974 – Richard Nixon resigns as President of the United States.

October 1974 – Congress passes Foreign Assistance Act, again denying aid to South Vietnam.

December 1974-January 1975 – North Vietnam begins invading outlying provinces in the south. Invasion escalates as US politicians refuse to reconsider helping the south.

Spring 1975 – All-out communist invasion of the south. Province after province falls as US refuses to help the south, or to retaliate for blatant violation of Paris Peace Accord.

April 17, 1975 – Cambodia falls to communists.

April 23, 1975 – President Ford announces to cheering students at Tulane University that as far as America is concerned, “the war is over.”

April 30, 1975 – Saigon falls.

December 1975 – Laos falls to communists.

1975-1990 – Communist retributions against South Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian citizens lead to the deaths of more than 3 million people. Communist Vietnamese establish concentration camps, euphemistically referred to as "reeducation camps" by the American media, in which more than 1 million people are imprisoned; estimated 165,000 die. Millions of refugees, termed "Boat People" by media, flee South Vietnam, estimated 300,000 die. 2 million Cambodian citizens executed by communist Khmer Rouge.

1979 – Embarrassed by the excesses of slaughter in neighboring Cambodia, extreme even by communist standards, Vietnam invades and installs a more "moderate" government. China, which backs Cambodia, invades Vietnam in retaliation. Russia which backs Vietnam steps up its aid.

1975- Present – US media, politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats, etc., initiate and perpetuate a misinformation campaign blaming the military and Vietnam vets particularly, for "losing the war."

Question: What American general ever was defeated in which battle, was routed off the battlefield and/or surrendered his sword and/or his flag to the North Vietnamese? (Spoiler) Don't hold your breath waiting to find out. There wasn't one.