Fighting A Long Gone War

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I met this soldier In Saigon 1993/4.

Ten years ago, if someone (Vietnamese) went back to Vietnam for any reasons, he (or she) would tell a lie that he took a vacation at somewhere in the States. Today, It's quite different. The guy or gal, young or old, male or female would boast with their friends in public about their wonderful Vietnam trip. Not enough, they would email to friends or post on Internet the many beautiful photos that they took during the "home coming journey." When seeing those pictures of "the mother land", one would think how "open" and Westernized Vietnam today is! It's true because most of the pictures have been taken at the luxurious places where only foreign tourists and new high-class Vietkieu can afford.

Unfortunately, most of the tourists have failed to see a war that is still going in Vietnam, waged by the stubborn ARVN disabled vets. The very plain, bottom rank soldiers of ARVN who bore the real burdens and fought the war long before the Americans came and even after the Americans cut and ran. Most of them are wounded but refuse to die and they have been carrying out an "Urban Warfare."

 Without American military advisors, without fire supports from the Seventh Fleet, and without the carpet bomb runs of USAF B-52's, those ARVN disabled vets have been fighting street by street, block by block, bus station after train station in the enemy territories. Today they don't arm themselves with rifle M-16's any more, but worn-out guitars. They sing! Yes, they sing all the old epic songs that no one bothers to listen to the lyrics. Their singing voices sound terrible, because of battle fatigue and constant hunger. Today they fight neither in the name of FREEDOM nor for the sake of DEMOCRACY, they fight because of the soldiers' instinct: TO SURVIVE.

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