Biden was one of the reasons...as a Democrat Senator who cut off funding for the South Vietnamese in 75...that precipitated the country's immediate collapse.
So. Yeah. Biden (and his cohorts following the Democrat Playbook on Losing Wars...which of course can be had in French...) did that.
A work mate... last name Nguyen... was born in Poland.
Her mom is native Polish who met her father, a North Vietnamese student sent there to study engineering, and who stayed after the wall fell.
In the aftermath of that happening, her mother emigrated to Chicago (which has a huge Polish population). Her father stayed in Germany (and couldn't get a visa to the US until recently), and my work mate bounced between the two growing up. So she speaks fluent German and Polish, and reasonable Vietnamese.
She and her father are going to Dalat in the fall...
Hope Hung, will be able to help the SEC DEF cut thru the BS...and build ships that are functional, in the quantities that we need them including oilers & tenders.
Hand wringing and a constant string of contract mods is always a sure way to slow a program down. Anyone remember the initial Big Navy statement that we were going to buy clones of the FREMM frigate? But that wouldn’t have sold enough bits and bobs from the U.S. big three defense contractors, so here we are. Every mechanic in the country has a set of metric wrenches and welding really doesn’t care if your detailed drawings are in inches or millimeters. But here we are. Difficult logistics by buying new equipment? If our Supply Corps people can’t get that squared away before the ship is completed, then maybe we need new Supply Corps people.
Hung will be good for the Navy...the Under Secretary position is not his career High Water Mark however, that pinnacle of career success was while he was CO of the Dive School. Maybe I have a bias...
As I was finishing up my degree, the veterans center and local PBS affiliate sponsored a showing of “The Last Days in Vietnam” at the university library. After, an Iraq vet friend saw this, and said he got the same feelings from the film as he did when reading about places he served fell to ISIS.
And there was an old man, who had been in the boat people, who had an enormous respect for us as fighting Americans. English was not his first language, but he was happy to be here.
The first time I watched that amazing documentary was with Poppa Scoobs and he was in tears by the end - a dozen of his former shipmates are memorialized on The Wall in DC. The second time I watched it was in August 2021 shortly after the fall of Kabul and I was the one in tears - several of my classmates rest in Section 60 at Arlington and others are permanently maimed.
Adm Steele and BG Carey, USMC were proactive and forward looking. The US Amb Martin was concerned about appearances and complying with the Paris Accords long after the NVA drove an armored Div into Hue. The local DoD had to work around Martin
Some of the very same CH-46 'Phrog' airframes seen in Kabul a couple years ago were used by the Marines during the evacuation of South Vietnam in 1975...
What was it Mark Twain allegedly said - history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes! Those Phrogs certainly saw some history - it's a pity they couldn't be brought home.
Fullbore - Papa Scoobs was repeat visitor to the Gulf of Tonkin between 1965 and 1971; he rubbed shoulders with some well known names. He later attended NPS with a group of RVN naval officers with whom he stayed in touch - some went missing after April 1975, others eventually ended up as American citizens.
KIRK's saga was awesomely depicted in the recent PBS documentary "The Last Days in Vietnam" - it's a hard program to watch without getting a little misty eyed!
CDR Sal, articles like this make me proud. I was of an age with them, a freshman at a "military institution of higher learning" at the time. The military has its problems, yes, and they are legion. Beyond that, if we are to turn the nation's direction long term, past the next election, we MUST fix the K-12 and university systems. Teaching our young to be ashamed of their nation and that it isn't worth defending is a one-way ticket to ruin. Continued thanks to you and those like you who push to "right the ship" in the face of critics. BZ sir!
So does northern Virginia - Eden Center in Falls Church still flies the Republic of South Vietnam flag. Visit for the amazing food - stick around for some amazing stories from the regulars.
Sureal visit to Vietnam earlier this month, 4 days in 3 cities via cruise ship. My observation is that they are a hard working and kind people who appreciate life. Wish the best for them as a country after centuries of hardship.
“… and with this brought to our shores a great cohort of new Americans.”
Today’s administration wouldn’t even let them off the boat.
Biden was one of the reasons...as a Democrat Senator who cut off funding for the South Vietnamese in 75...that precipitated the country's immediate collapse.
So. Yeah. Biden (and his cohorts following the Democrat Playbook on Losing Wars...which of course can be had in French...) did that.
https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/secretaryofdefense/OSDSeries_Vol8_Chapter12.pdf?ver=5GI6ulewxbClrSmJyIixPw%3D%3D
bragged about it
Freedom men no more
What will the exodus from Taiwan look like?
Evergreen Air cargo 747s to Manila filled with people.
You sure the runways at Manila will be in the least tenable?
We’ll see about that. Depends on how limited the PLAN makes the war.
True...
But it sure looks to me that they are already spooling up to take the Philippines off the table as a bastion...
https://www.voanews.com/a/china-flexes-military-muscle-in-indo-pacific-testing-us-and-allies/7990197.html
Also, it was a smartalec response about using cargo aircraft to move displaced persons.
Time to remember the tragedy of the first flight in Operation Babylift...
https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/329657
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4-syR5h8mw
but all was not lost...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evg1Tm2E0_M
Life imitates smartalecs.
my granddaughter is in Nam, teaching. I've sent her this, because. Thankyou CDR
A work mate... last name Nguyen... was born in Poland.
Her mom is native Polish who met her father, a North Vietnamese student sent there to study engineering, and who stayed after the wall fell.
In the aftermath of that happening, her mother emigrated to Chicago (which has a huge Polish population). Her father stayed in Germany (and couldn't get a visa to the US until recently), and my work mate bounced between the two growing up. So she speaks fluent German and Polish, and reasonable Vietnamese.
She and her father are going to Dalat in the fall...
Hope Hung, will be able to help the SEC DEF cut thru the BS...and build ships that are functional, in the quantities that we need them including oilers & tenders.
The bar is at toe height to surpass his recent predecessors.
Hand wringing and a constant string of contract mods is always a sure way to slow a program down. Anyone remember the initial Big Navy statement that we were going to buy clones of the FREMM frigate? But that wouldn’t have sold enough bits and bobs from the U.S. big three defense contractors, so here we are. Every mechanic in the country has a set of metric wrenches and welding really doesn’t care if your detailed drawings are in inches or millimeters. But here we are. Difficult logistics by buying new equipment? If our Supply Corps people can’t get that squared away before the ship is completed, then maybe we need new Supply Corps people.
Hung will be good for the Navy...the Under Secretary position is not his career High Water Mark however, that pinnacle of career success was while he was CO of the Dive School. Maybe I have a bias...
Mark: may I ask, what was your connection to Dive School?
As I was finishing up my degree, the veterans center and local PBS affiliate sponsored a showing of “The Last Days in Vietnam” at the university library. After, an Iraq vet friend saw this, and said he got the same feelings from the film as he did when reading about places he served fell to ISIS.
And there was an old man, who had been in the boat people, who had an enormous respect for us as fighting Americans. English was not his first language, but he was happy to be here.
The first time I watched that amazing documentary was with Poppa Scoobs and he was in tears by the end - a dozen of his former shipmates are memorialized on The Wall in DC. The second time I watched it was in August 2021 shortly after the fall of Kabul and I was the one in tears - several of my classmates rest in Section 60 at Arlington and others are permanently maimed.
My understanding is that the ships were in the area against orders from DC to maintain significant distance from Vietnam.
Adm Steele and BG Carey, USMC were proactive and forward looking. The US Amb Martin was concerned about appearances and complying with the Paris Accords long after the NVA drove an armored Div into Hue. The local DoD had to work around Martin
Some of the very same CH-46 'Phrog' airframes seen in Kabul a couple years ago were used by the Marines during the evacuation of South Vietnam in 1975...
https://youtu.be/YxevgsVSc-I?si=Us1AHPprEzTnoyEN
https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-pilots-story/
See a pattern here?
What was it Mark Twain allegedly said - history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes! Those Phrogs certainly saw some history - it's a pity they couldn't be brought home.
Fullbore - Papa Scoobs was repeat visitor to the Gulf of Tonkin between 1965 and 1971; he rubbed shoulders with some well known names. He later attended NPS with a group of RVN naval officers with whom he stayed in touch - some went missing after April 1975, others eventually ended up as American citizens.
KIRK's saga was awesomely depicted in the recent PBS documentary "The Last Days in Vietnam" - it's a hard program to watch without getting a little misty eyed!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRyiVgHw3fE
CDR Sal, articles like this make me proud. I was of an age with them, a freshman at a "military institution of higher learning" at the time. The military has its problems, yes, and they are legion. Beyond that, if we are to turn the nation's direction long term, past the next election, we MUST fix the K-12 and university systems. Teaching our young to be ashamed of their nation and that it isn't worth defending is a one-way ticket to ruin. Continued thanks to you and those like you who push to "right the ship" in the face of critics. BZ sir!
My barber is a boat person. His English is excellent, except that he says "Communists" when he means "Democrats".
My barber is a boat person too. He has a hatred for Communists. We have something to talk about when he cuts my hair.
So. Cal. has a huge community of Vietnamese. Hard working. Patriotic. Family oriented and successful, from what I see.
So does northern Virginia - Eden Center in Falls Church still flies the Republic of South Vietnam flag. Visit for the amazing food - stick around for some amazing stories from the regulars.
CDR SAL: Hung will be an awesome UNDER! A great human being, family man, and American.
A fantastic story, thank you!
Another excellent pull. Fullbore comes in many varieties. Thanks for the repost, missed it the first time and it's a story worth retelling.
Sureal visit to Vietnam earlier this month, 4 days in 3 cities via cruise ship. My observation is that they are a hard working and kind people who appreciate life. Wish the best for them as a country after centuries of hardship.