David Hartness
History 195
Professor Escobar
4/13/2013
The experiences expressed by Phan Xuan Sinh had greatly gained my attention throughout the course of part one of Appy's book. War isn't expressed as a black and white experience, as there are regular people who are subjected to the act's of the world around them, even if they hold no part of those actions. The witnessed accounts of Sinh appear to have undeniable amounts of creditability as a veteran of the Vietnam War. The experiences that Sinh lived through would be unforgettable: such as losing his leg, the mistaking of Vietnamese fisherman as Viet Cong, and as well as the account of the elderly peasants in the free-fire zone. These past accounts have little attribution to subjectivity, as the events were recollections of anguish caused to the Southern Vietnamese. No amount of time passage could possibly to really alter the thoughts of these events, so the creditability of Mr. Sinh would still appear to be legitimate in the eyes of the reader. The views of real people going about their regular lives are exposed as they're trying live with a war around them. The instance with the fisherman getting fired upon was especially heartbreaking, simple people trying to make a living with their loved ones as their fishing poles are mistaken for rifles. It's amazing how much war can affect people just trying to live, even when the side that's supposed to be supporting them gets them mistaken for the enemy. Regardless of whatever views one might have, this event would be hard to feel justified as a precaution against an enemy you can't distinguish from your own people.
War has negative affects on people from either side, and can produce unfavorable views on individuals, even from their own side. The accounts of John Singlaub were perceived in a very negative light, as he spoke poorly of the Northern Vietnamese as well as his fellow countrymen. His accounts of abducting Northern Vietnamese seemed unsavory in attempts to indoctrinate their views for the south as well as how he bashed anti-war sentiments back at home in the United States. How can the hearts and minds of the enemy be won over with abductions that aren't really meant to care for the enemy, but in return expect them to give you some kind of upper hand? Singlaub's reaction to America's accepting that the war in Vietnam was unjustified and a wasted cause was not proper. At what means it worth the countless lives of American's and Vietnamese in the name of stopping communism? Sometimes accepting defeat is appropriate in the name of saving blood and treasure. There was never any paradise gained from that island.
In the history of warfare it has been common for enemies to take in prisoners of war, but those experiences different from person to place. To be a prisoner during a large portion of the longest war in the history of the United States must have been extremely unbearable. The case for Lyuen Nguyen really showed some of the harsh realities for those locked away for over a decade. Nguyen had to experience his children growing into adulthood without their father and his wife remarrying to another man. But there's much to be admired about Nguyen's character as he endures his life as a POW. He refuses to write to his family as he doesn't wish to give them more tears and he is able to accept his wife back though she had remarried with another man. The prolonged effects of suffering within a cell and learning how much life has changed since you've been gone and the ability to handle and accept those changes for someone under those circumstances is remarkable. The chance to be reunited with his family was something of luck that not everyone was privileged enough to receive.