In 1969 LIFE magazine published a cover story called โThe Faces Of The American Dead In Vietnam: One Weekโs Toll.โ Page after page of images of young men, 242 of them, killed in seven days of fighting the war in Vietnam. life.com/history/faces-ofโฆ
Only one man in history has ever turned down the Nobel Peace Prize: Vietnamese revolutionary, diplomat and politician, Le Duc Tho. For his role as Vietnamโs chief negotiator in the Paris Peace Accords, in 1973 he was jointly awarded the prize alongside his American counterpart, Henry Kissinger. chaohanoi.com/2021/01/04/โฆ
Serial killer Richard Ramirez spent time in his youth with his Vietnam Veteran cousin who spoke of his love for killing, polaroids of severed heads, and taught him military tactics until the cousin shot and killed his wife in front of Ramirez. He plead insanity and was not charged. stmuhistorymedia.org/creaโฆ
In 1998 the Vietnam Unknown remains were removed from the Arlington Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after the serviceman's identity became known through DNA testing. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micโฆ
Ho Chi Minh, before becoming the first president of Vietnam, spent years travelling the world. He once worked as a cook in a hotel in Boston pri.org/stories/2017-09-1โฆ
James Stockdale, a Vietnam War POW who didn't want to be in Vietnam, spent over seven years in a POW camp - four of them in solitary confinement and two in leg irons - and credits his Stoic philosophy studies for allowing him and his men to survive the constant torture and interrogation newsletter.butwhatfor.comโฆ
During the Vietnam war, the CIA created "ghost tapes" designed to frighten Vietcong solders. the tapes were of fallen Vietnamese souls wandering the jungle telling of their suffering, and to go back to their loved ones. These were played loudly at night from helicopters. psywarrior.com/wanderingsโฆ
So many Purple Hearts were produced in anticipation of the allied invasion of Japan in WWII they have still not been used up, through Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and all other conflicts. (The Purple Heart is awarded for wounds sustained in combat with the enemy). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purโฆ
Martin Luther King Jr. considered running for president in 1968 after being urged to by anti-Vietnam Democrats, but ultimately decided against the proposal as he felt uneasy with politics and considered himself better suited for his morally unambiguous role as an activist. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marโฆ
Today I learned of Thรญch Quแบฃng ฤแปฉc, a Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Vietnam to protest the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. A photograph of his self-immolation won the 1963 World Press Photo of the Year. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%โฆ
The popular door knock "dah dah dah dah dah...dah dah" is know as the "Shave and a Haircut" and was used by POWs during the vietnam war to identify new US prisoners. They would tap the first five notes, and wait for the last two notes in response en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaโฆ
During the Vietnam War, the 1st Infantry Division captured a vital road by sending the division band to march and play music on it. The North Vietnamese troops holding the area thought the music meant a major assault was on the way and fled. governorsfootguard.com/hiโฆ
In โForrest Gump,โ when his microphone is cut off at the rally, what you donโt hear him say is โSometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they donโt go home at all. Thatโs a bad thing. Thatโs all I have to say about that.โ mentalfloss.com/article/6โฆ
As many as 1 million Vietnamese people are disabled or have health problems as a result of U.S. use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. Nearly 20 million gallons of various herbicides and defoliants were sprayed over Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 by the U.S. military. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageโฆ
Lt. Pham Quang Khiem managed to escape South Vietnam in April 1975 with 53 relatives and friends by stealing a C-130a and flying to Singapore. They were later flown to Guam and then the US, where Pham became a pilot for US Airways. The C-130a is currently at the National Warplane Museum. newyorkupstate.com/southeโฆ
ABBA's song Happy New Year is one of the most spirited and revered songs in Vietnam, even though it wasn't successful in Sweden or the US e.vnexpress.net/news/persโฆ
Today I learned about Jeremiah Denton, a North American POW in North Vietnam. He was held prisoner and tortured for 8 years before being forced to participate in a televised press conference. During this, he blinked out morse code for "T-O-R-T-U-R-E", confirming that the POWs were being tortured latimes.com/archives/la-xโฆ
The first flight of Operation Babylift crashed, killing 50 adults and 78 South Vietnamese orphans being transported to the United States just weeks before the end of the Vietnam War. npr.org/2015/04/26/402208โฆ
Today I learned of Doug Hegdahl, who was captured during the Vietnam War, who remembered the names of about 256 fellow POWs to the tune of "Old Macdonald Had A Farm" and revealed the conditions of the POW camp to the world en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douโฆ
US war dogs were designated as expendable equipment and were either euthanized or turned over to an allied army prior to the US departure from South Vietnam. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogโฆ
Operation Wandering Soul was a psychological warfare campaign used by the United States during the Vietnam war where eerie sounds and altered screams were played in battlefields. This exploited the Vietnamese belief that unburied soldiersโ souls would wander in constant pain and suffering en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opeโฆ
The "crazy Asian war" in the song "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" was the Pacific Theater of World War 2, not the Vietnam War as is commonly believed. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubโฆ
Street food in Vietnam is so available, fast and cheap that international fast food chains like McDonaldโs flopped after entering youtu.be/l9pthhpd7So/
The My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War ended only after Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, an Army helicopter pilot on a reconnaissance mission, landed his aircraft between the soldiers and the retreating villagers and threatened to open fire if they continued their attacks. history.com/topics/vietnaโฆ
On his second day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned all the Vietnam War draft evaders by issuing Proclamation 4483. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proโฆ
Today I learned of the US contingency plan "Fracture Jaw", a plan to deploy nukes from the South against North Vietnam. It was abandoned by the White House in February 1968. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraโฆ
On September 2, 1945, Vietnam's independence was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh. His first words were "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." cfr.org/blog/remembering-โฆ
During James Stockdale's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he slit his scalp and bashed his face in with a stool to prevent being paraded around as a propaganda piece, and later slashed his own wrists to show that he would rather die than submit and cooperate with his captors. usna.edu/Ethics/bios/indeโฆ
Today I learned of the MT Vulcanus, a freighter ship that was converted into an incinerator ship to burn hazardous waste, including Agent Orange from the Vietnam War. The ship burned hazardous waste at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, and South Pacific from 1972 until 1990. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MT_โฆ
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military plied its servicemen with speed, steroids, and painkillers to help them handle extended combat. theatlantic.com/health/arโฆ
The longest serving Vietnam draftee retired from the US Army in 2014 after 42 years of service. Ralph Rigby was drafted in 1972 at the age of 19 and went on to retire as Chief Warrant Officer 5. armytimes.com/news/your-aโฆ
Today I learned of 'Project 100,000.' 25% of US Army soldiers in the Vietnam were intentionally-recruited "misfits" who couldn't read and write, had an IQ of below 75, and/or dropped out of high school. Some didn't even know the US was at war. They had 3x the casualty rate of regular soldiers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proโฆ
Pham Xuan An, one of the first Vietnamese live in Orange County, California (1957-1959). He was a journalist and correspondent for Time, Reuters and the New York Herald Tribune, stationed in Saigon during the war in Vietnam. Also he was a perfect spy of North Vietnam. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%โฆ
During the Vietnam War the US tried to weaponize the religious beliefs of the Vietnamese. They believed anyone improperly buried would wander the earth in agony. So the US played horrifying sounds of a wailing Vietnamese man over the jungle at night as part of a psyop campaign. youtu.be/eMPQXOqjidI
Actually there were two Statues of Liberty: a famous one in New York, US and a much smaller version in Hanoi, Vietnam. The one in Vietnam was put down in 1945 because it was considered a remnant of French colonialism before being used to sculpt another statue by the locals in 1952. hanoiebuddies.com.vn/the-โฆ
A Marine Corps veteran by the name of John "Chick" Donohue snuck into Vietnam in 1967 during the ongoing war simply to deliver beer to his friends in combat. chickdonohue.com/the-greaโฆ
From 1965 to 1968, the United States was dropping 32 tons of bombs per hour on North Vietnam. 7 million tons of bombs including 400,000 tons of napalm were dropped in Southeast Asia during the conflict. This is more than three times as many tons of bombs than were dropped in all of World War II currentaffairs.org/2018/0โฆ
Baseball has a โgolden ticketโ that gives free admission to any game. Itโs given to players after 8 years in the major leagues, people who have worked for a team for 25 years, and other VIPs. NASA astronauts, returning Vietnam POWs, and the the 1979 hostages in Iran were all given one. mentalfloss.com/article/8โฆ
Today I learned of Patrick Tadina a 30yr Army veteran who was the longest continuously serving Ranger in Vietnam. Due to his completion & small size he could often pass as Vietcong while wearing pajamas & sandals to get within feet of the enemy. He earned two silver stars & 10 bronze stars, 7 with valor. stripes.com/news/patrick-โฆ
In Vietnam's Cinderella, the heroine was killed thrice by her stepmother but she kept reviving. She eventually made her stepsister into paste and fed it to her stepmother en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theโฆ
The first American to die in Vietnam was actually murdered by a fellow soldier in 1956. Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. gave candy to local children when he bumped into a drunk colleague that shot him on sight. It took 43 years for his name to be added to the Vietnam War Memorial. wbur.org/news/2015/04/24/โฆ
The father of Jim Morrison of the Doors was in command of American naval forces during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Incident, a heavily disputed event that basically cemented America becoming more involved in the Vietnam War. businessinsider.com/jim-mโฆ
Today I learned of the term "Thunder Run" a US improvised method of clearing land mines from Highway 19 during the Vietnam War. It involved two M48 tanks driving side by side along the road whilst firing all of their guns until they reached their destination or hit a landmine. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M48โฆ
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is part of the Department of Commerce because President Nixon's Secretary of the Interior publicly criticized the administration's Vietnam War policy. Nixon punished him by putting the new agency under a different department. sciencemag.org/news/2012/โฆ
The US never cut off military aids to South Vietnam, even after the Paris Peace Accords. It sent $1.126 billion in 1974 and $700 million in 1975 jtp.cnki.net/bilingual/deโฆ
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