Thiện Tâm
By Allen McCorstin.
If historians define the “end” of war as the ceasing of all actions
that have to do with the hostilities surrounding that conflict, the
Vietnam War has yet to end. Even though the last shot was fired
more than 30 years ago.
While April 1975 meant the end of direct American involvement in
Vietnam, it did not mean the end of suffering. Not for the thousands
of the men left behind – members of the Army of the Republic of
Vietnam who fought bravely for their country. For most of them, the
end of the war was only the beginning of a new kind of suffering: a
life under communism filled with degradation. Officially ignored
and abandoned, the communist government has refused to allow
even the International Red Cross to help. While American soldiers
came home to a number of safety nets, there has never been such a
resource for the South Vietnamese who fought on behalf of their
country. Even American diplomatic efforts to help have been
rebuffed by the communists.
Many older Vietnamese living in the United States today know
these men. Every younger Vietnamese living in the United States
today should know their story. And what he or she can do to help
them.
We in America are living the lives these men wanted – lives of
peace, perhaps a family, and the freedom to follow their dreams.
Each of these men, in his own way, has helped make our dreams
possible.
These men need your help. The better end to this chapter in
history starts with you.
The solution is not easy because nothing of great value is ever
achieved easily.
First, a non-profit foundation with a legal footing has been
established to help these men. Your tax-free donation is the first
step. It might buy a hot meal or a night’s shelter – things most of us
in America take for granted.
Second, you can learn the history of the Vietnam War.
Third, write your congressional representative demanding that the
brutal regime now in power allow humanitarian efforts to help
formerly brave soldiers reduced to begging.
Except for fate, any older Vietnamese living a free life in America
– and they will tell you if you ask them – could be one of these, one
of those left behind.
Americans believe that much its expected of those to whom much
has been given. They also believe that we are to help the homeless,
the widow, the orphan, and the prisoner. It is within your power to
help to helpless, and to give hope to the hopeless. The first step
begins with your financial support. Who knows where the second
step might take you.
The last chapter of the Vietnam War has yet to be written. But it is
yours to write.
Allen McCorstin, a semi-retired writer and teacher who live
in Garland, served in the United States Air Force from September
1966 to September 1970. He has never met a Vietnamese who was
not hard-working person of integrity, honesty, and intelligence.
If historians define the “end” of war as the ceasing of all actions
that have to do with the hostilities surrounding that conflict, the
Vietnam War has yet to end. Even though the last shot was fired
more than 30 years ago.
While April 1975 meant the end of direct American involvement in
Vietnam, it did not mean the end of suffering. Not for the thousands
of the men left behind – members of the Army of the Republic of
Vietnam who fought bravely for their country. For most of them, the
end of the war was only the beginning of a new kind of suffering: a
life under communism filled with degradation. Officially ignored
and abandoned, the communist government has refused to allow
even the International Red Cross to help. While American soldiers
came home to a number of safety nets, there has never been such a
resource for the South Vietnamese who fought on behalf of their
country. Even American diplomatic efforts to help have been
rebuffed by the communists.
Many older Vietnamese living in the United States today know
these men. Every younger Vietnamese living in the United States
today should know their story. And what he or she can do to help
them.
We in America are living the lives these men wanted – lives of
peace, perhaps a family, and the freedom to follow their dreams.
Each of these men, in his own way, has helped make our dreams
possible.
These men need your help. The better end to this chapter in
history starts with you.
The solution is not easy because nothing of great value is ever
achieved easily.
First, a non-profit foundation with a legal footing has been
established to help these men. Your tax-free donation is the first
step. It might buy a hot meal or a night’s shelter – things most of us
in America take for granted.
Second, you can learn the history of the Vietnam War.
Third, write your congressional representative demanding that the
brutal regime now in power allow humanitarian efforts to help
formerly brave soldiers reduced to begging.
Except for fate, any older Vietnamese living a free life in America
– and they will tell you if you ask them – could be one of these, one
of those left behind.
Americans believe that much its expected of those to whom much
has been given. They also believe that we are to help the homeless,
the widow, the orphan, and the prisoner. It is within your power to
help to helpless, and to give hope to the hopeless. The first step
begins with your financial support. Who knows where the second
step might take you.
The last chapter of the Vietnam War has yet to be written. But it is
yours to write.
Allen McCorstin, a semi-retired writer and teacher who live
in Garland, served in the United States Air Force from September
1966 to September 1970. He has never met a Vietnamese who was
not hard-working person of integrity, honesty, and intelligence.
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