{"id":160161,"date":"2020-05-11T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T11:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=160161"},"modified":"2020-05-06T06:43:15","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T05:43:15","slug":"meet-the-us-veterans-returning-to-make-amends-in-vietnam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/05\/meet-the-us-veterans-returning-to-make-amends-in-vietnam\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the US Veterans Returning to Make Amends in Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<div class=\"lead mb-2\"><em>Forty-five years after the fall of Saigon, U.S. veterans are returning to Vietnam to find peace \u2014 and to atone for the damage they left behind.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_160164\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/vietnam-war-veterans-usa.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-160164\" class=\"wp-image-160164\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/vietnam-war-veterans-usa-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/vietnam-war-veterans-usa-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/vietnam-war-veterans-usa-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/vietnam-war-veterans-usa-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/vietnam-war-veterans-usa-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/vietnam-war-veterans-usa-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-160164\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">On behalf of Veterans for Peace, David Clark and his wife Ushi organize annual motorcycle trips across Vietnam to raise money for war relief efforts.<br \/>(WNV\/Rebecca R\u00fctten)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><em>30 Apr 2020 &#8211; <\/em>Many American veterans remember the first moment they stepped foot on the shores of Vietnam in vivid detail. But for David Clark, who arrived in 1968 as a 19-year-old combat engineer, the memory is much hazier. Mostly, he remembers the overwhelming heat \u2014 and how badly he wanted to make it out of the mountainous landscape alive.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row mt-3 mb-3\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-6 offset-xl-3 col-lg-8 offset-lg-2\">\n<div class=\"article\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p>\u201cI kept thinking there\u2019s been thousands of guys who did this before me, and they got to go home,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThat\u2019s all I wanted to do. I just wanted to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 50 years later, \u201chome\u201d means Vietnam \u2014 a country that Clark, now 70, believes is \u201cthe most beautiful, peaceful place in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since 2010, Clark has lived in Da Nang, a coastal city only a few miles away from the Marble Mountains, an ancient Buddhist sanctuary. His home is not far from where he was once stationed in the Marine Corps. At that time, leaving his camp without a weapon was considered a court-martial offense. \u201cBack then, I did not hesitate to put that M-16 in front of any man, woman or child\u2019s face,\u201d Clark said. \u201cI wanted them to fear me \u2014 because I felt if they feared me, my chances of going home were a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the violence carried out by American troops during the war, Clark\u2019s presence in Da Nang has been met with nothing but warmth from the local community. \u201cWhen the Vietnamese people find out that you are an American veteran, they treat you like a comrade-in-arms,\u201d Clark said. \u201cBecause they know that you were here in the same bucket of shit that they were in. It\u2019s a very humbling feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"display-posts-listing\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"listing-item\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/2019\/11\/anti-vietnam-war-moratorium-mobilization-nixon\/\" class=\"image\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-12-at-12.08.42-PM-615x407.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-12-at-12.08.42-PM-615x407.png 615w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-12-at-12.08.42-PM-180x120.png 180w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-12-at-12.08.42-PM-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-12-at-12.08.42-PM-768x508.png 768w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-12-at-12.08.42-PM.png 1158w\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"407\" \/><\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/2019\/11\/anti-vietnam-war-moratorium-mobilization-nixon\/\" class=\"title\" >How anti-Vietnam War protests thwarted Nixon\u2019s plans and saved lives<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>April 30 is the 45th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the North Vietnamese offensive that definitively ended the war on April 30, 1975. Since relations between the countries were normalized in the 1990s, thousands of former servicemen have journeyed to Vietnam. However, Clark is a member of a small community of veterans who have established permanent residence there. Many of them come seeking inner peace after years of battling PTSD, addiction and grief \u2014 and often, they find healing by immersing themselves in reconciliation efforts and working to alleviate the consequences of war.<\/p>\n<p>A few years after moving back to Vietnam, Clark met his wife, a Vietnamese woman named Ushi, who runs a restaurant often frequented by American vets. Through her, Clark was introduced to Veterans for Peace, an organization that seeks to expose the true costs of militarism while advocating for a culture of peacemaking. For Clark, this means raising money for young victims of Agent Orange and supporting efforts to remove the unexploded bombs that remain beneath the soil decades later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was here in \u201868, I was a very small part of the problem,\u201d Clark said. \u201cSo it\u2019s very meaningful for me to be here today and be a very small part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Unraveling the lies of war<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The U.S. veteran most widely known by the Vietnamese community is Chuck Searcy, a lanky, soft-spoken Southerner who served in Vietnam in 1965. Like Clark, he is a member of Veterans for Peace who now lives in Vietnam. I interviewed him on the top floor of a hotel in Hanoi, the city he has called home for the past 25 years.<\/p>\n<p>During the war, Searcy served as a military analyst in Saigon. His position required him to learn about Vietnamese culture and the nation\u2019s centuries-long resistance against foreign occupation by imperial and colonial forces. The more he read, the more he questioned what he was being asked to tell the American people. Often, when his unit\u2019s reports would go up the chain of command, they came back with revisions. \u201cWhat we were writing was not the same as what they were saying in Washington,\u201d Searcy said. \u201cAnd so our reports would come back with a clear message: \u2018Get it right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After only a few months, most of the men in his unit had turned against the war. \u201cWe began to realize that what we were doing made no sense,\u201d Searcy said. \u201cWe had been lied to, and we were also part of the lie. We were part of the institutional machinery that was creating those fabrications.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-55680 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/searcyy-615x411.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/searcyy-615x411.jpg 615w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/searcyy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/searcyy-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/searcyy-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/searcyy-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/searcyy.jpg 1072w\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption><strong>Chuck Searcy works with a team of first responders to track down cluster bombs in the Quang Tri province. (Project RENEW)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Searcy returned home shortly after the Tet Offensive of 1968, a series of North Vietnamese attacks aimed at encouraging the United States to scale back its involvement in the war. The attacks left hundreds of civilian bodies lining the streets \u2014 and by the time Searcy returned home, he was bitter and confused, with more questions than answers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had just witnessed so much destruction, and so much of it had been caused by us,\u201d Searcy said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know who I was as an American. Everything that I\u2019d been taught growing up about the values of America, and that our government could do no wrong \u2014 all of that had just been cut out from under me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A few months after his homecoming, Searcy was asked to speak at an anti-war rally at the University of Georgia, where he voiced his dissent in front of thousands. His views on the war alienated his conservative military family, who feared their son had come back from Vietnam a communist. It would be two years before he spoke to his family again.<\/p>\n<p>Despite their opposition, Searcy was determined to bring an end to the bloodshed any way he could. Soon after the rally, Searcy became active in the resistance group Vietnam Veterans Against the War \u2014 thus beginning his lifelong journey as an activist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Americans left behind<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 1995, Searcy returned to Vietnam to take part in reconciliation efforts. He has been living in Vietnam \u2014 and working to reverse the painful aftermath of the war \u2014 ever since. In 2001, he helped launch an initiative called Project RENEW, which stands for Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of War. The project aims to unearth the unexploded bombs that remain in the land, especially in the Quang Tri Province. In addition to locating and cleaning up munitions, they offer aid to families with members who have survived explosions.<\/p>\n<p>Between 1957 and 1975, the United States dropped more than seven million tons of bombs on Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia \u2014 more than twice what the U.S dropped on Europe and Asia during World War II. For many in Vietnam, the war may have ended, but the bombing has never truly stopped. Ten percent of the ordnance dropped by the United States never detonated when deployed, meaning that many of these bombs, also known as UXOs, remain buried beneath the ground to this day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose bombs aren\u2019t designed to destroy buildings,\u201d said Clark, who aids in Project RENEW\u2019s education efforts. \u201cThey\u2019re only to kill people.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote alignright\"><p><em><strong>Elementary school children in Vietnam are as accustomed to identifying grenades as American children are to fire drills.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s impossible to tell how many people have been injured or killed by UXOs in Vietnam since the war ended, but some estimate that there have been more than <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/the-vietnam-war-is-still-killing-people\" >40,000 deaths.<\/a> Those who encounter the bombs but survive often lose limbs or are blinded, a particularly devastating occurrence for those living in poverty in areas with few options for income. According to Clark, many of these victims are rural farmers working in rice paddies or collecting scrap metal to sell for survival. It\u2019s also not uncommon for children to stumble upon the bombs while playing outside \u2014 which is why much of Project RENEW\u2019s work is done in a classroom setting.<\/p>\n<p>Because of Project RENEW, children in the Quang Tri Province learn about UXOs in elementary school \u2014 and they are as accustomed to identifying grenades as American children are to fire drills. When they encounter UXOs, they are instructed to stay away from them and notify a team of first responders, who will arrive with an ambulance and evacuate the neighborhood within the hour. Upon assessing the land, the team will often find three or four more bombs in the area \u2014 and after the roads are blocked, the bombs will be strategically detonated.<\/p>\n<p>According to Searcy, safe, controlled explosions done by first responders happen in the province four or five times every day. \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as stepping back and saying, \u2018okay, we did it. It\u2019s finished. Vietnam is safe,\u2019\u201d Searcy explained. \u201cVietnam will never be safe. This will go on for centuries \u2014 but people can be safe. They now live with the confidence that they know what to do, and how to control the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Finding peace<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Despite their surprise at where life has taken them, both Clark and Searcy believe they are where they are supposed to be. \u201cWhen I\u2019m in the United States, the Vietnam War haunts me every day and every night,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m in Vietnam, the American War has been over for 45 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Searcy first moved to Vietnam almost 30 years ago, he wasn\u2019t sure how long he would stay \u2014 but his role as a bridge between Americans and the Vietnamese people has kept him there. \u201cEvery year since I\u2019ve moved here I\u2019ve thought, \u2018This might be the year. I\u2019ll probably go back to Georgia and sit on my front porch,\u2019\u201d Searcy said. \u201cBut each year, there\u2019s a tangible step towards the goals that we\u2019ve all been seeking.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote alignleft\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>\u201cOne of the greatest things that\u2019s happened to me is that, after all these years, I am going to die in Vietnam \u2014 but I get to die here of my own choosing.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Because of Project RENEW\u2019s efforts, casualties from unexploded ordnance in the Quang Tri Province have declined drastically. In 2001, when the project began, 89 people in the area were killed or injured by UXOs. By 2017, that number had dwindled down to two \u2014 and for the past two years, the area has seen zero accidents.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to their work with Project RENEW and Veterans for Peace, Clark and Searcy spend their days visiting the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange, or VAVA. In Da Nang alone, there are 1,000 children living with serious medical conditions caused by toxins sprayed by the U.S. military. The VAVA center provides these children with rehabilitation, schooling and vocational training, as well as plenty of dance parties to keep their spirits up. The children are always excited to get visitors \u2014 when Clark and his wife Ushi walk into the center, they are often bombarded by hugs.<\/p>\n<p>After a lifetime of addiction, nightmares and PTSD, Clark has found peace in the last place he ever expected. \u201cWhen I first went to Vietnam, I was ready to die for my country,\u201d Clark said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m grateful that I didn\u2019t. But one of the greatest things that\u2019s happened to me is that, after all these years, I am going to die in Vietnam \u2014 but I get to die here of my own choosing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article_footer\">\n<div class=\"mb-3\">\n<p>______________________________________<\/p>\n<p class=\"author-bio\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Loretta Graceffo is a writer, artist and activist from New Jersey. She currently attends Saint Peter&#8217;s University.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/2020\/04\/meet-us-veterans-returning-to-make-amends-vietnam\/\" >Go to Original &#8211; wagingnonviolence.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>30 Apr 2020 &#8211; Forty-five years after the fall of Saigon, U.S. veterans are returning to Vietnam to find peace \u2014 and to atone for the damage they left behind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":160164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[1817,813,120,442,444,1243,95,70,1416,1953,118],"class_list":["post-160161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglo-america","tag-anti-militarism","tag-cold-war","tag-conflict","tag-conflict-transformation","tag-nonviolence","tag-nonviolent-action","tag-us-military","tag-usa","tag-veterans-for-peace","tag-vietnam-war","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}