‘In the End We Felt Betrayed’: Vietnamese Veterans See Echoes in Afghanistan
The New York Times
Those who continued fighting for South Vietnam in 1975 know what it’s like when an American-made military is suddenly left with little support.
WESTMINSTER, Calif. — After the longest period of war in United States history, the Americans announced they were finally pulling out. Troops boarded jets and left. The White House pledged continued support for local allies, but appetite for the war had dried up at home, and soon so did funding. “We wanted to fight, but no supplies, no fuel, no rockets. And the Americans did not help like they said they would,” Uc Van Nguyen said on a recent morning as he remembered the slide toward defeat. “I think in the end we felt betrayed.” He was recalling the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975. But Mr. Nguyen, who was a lieutenant colonel commanding a helicopter wing in the South Vietnamese Air Force, sees parallels today with the conflict in Afghanistan.More Related News