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Ten Vietnamese
Vietnam
220 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1967
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September 4, 2016
Susan Sheehan, the wife of Neil Sheehan, inerviewed ten Vietnamese in 1966 from all walks of life. One problem I had was the Ms. Sheehan was filling in the interviews with her own knowledge, not from the person being interviewed. One person does not speak for a group also. All in all, it was fascinating to read. Dated earlier in the war as well.
I. The peasant knew nothing about the Geneva Convention or Ho Chi Minh or Ngo Dinh Diem. She just wanted to be left alone.
II. The landlord was interesting because he lived in the north before the partition. He fought against the Viet Minh and shared stories of their cruelty. When he fled to the south, he bought some land, built apartments, and made money.
III. The refugee felt lied to by both the Viet Minh and then by the Viet Cong. He thought the idea of a state where "everyone was equal and enjoyed the same rights and the same material benefits as everyone else" was something he would not like. Besides, they had already lied to him many times. This war was "far worse" than the last war. The fighting was everywhere.
IV. The politician, like others in this book, speaks of times from the 50s up to 1966. This helps in understanding how the war came about. He was a doctor who helped Viet Minh soldiers and peasants wounded during the French war. He travelled much and claims to have influenced many major decisions. He complains about the failure of the South Vietnamese governments to appreciate American help. Leaders are so afraid of sounding like they have no sovereignty that they avoid any appearance of being led by America. The North Vietnamese have no such qualms about help from Russia and China. His whole goal in life is to achieve a just democracy, like West Germany.
V. The montagnard was one of about a dozen montagnard tribes and sixty minority ones in South Vietnam. Ami Yoh was in the Rhade tribe. Other women in her tribe went bare-breasted, especially after childbirth. The government and missionaries discouraged them. Some have converted to Christianity. Most were animists. The VC often killed Christians because they were harder to convert to communism. Yoh is terrified of the VC at night.
In 1954, the Viet Minh left underground agents among the Rhade. These spies could squeal on others who helped the government or did other dastardly deeds. The Diem administration moved many Vietnamese to these highlands causing conflict. Montagnards hated to leave their family spirits. They felt the Vietnamese cheated them and looked down on them. Yoh warned about marrying a Vietnamese man. The VC promised them autonomy once they took over. We now know, of course, that is nonsense. The VC drugged up some young men to get them to attack villages. Then they regretted what they had done.
The US worked to convince the government to give autonomy to the region but to no avail. It was tough to go too strongly against the main leaders. If the Americans pushed harder, the Montagnards may have been able to accomplish much in the highlands.
VI. The orphan was a thirteen-year-old boy selling ice cream in Da Nang. I knew many children like this one. Le Quang has no idea where Saigon is. He never met a French person, so why is he studying French he wonders. Because his father was a soldier, the VC killed his mother. Other mothers were forced to attend VC lectures. The father converted to Catholicism to get more promotions.
On rainy days, Quang cannot sell popsicles, so he visits Marine barracks. They buy from him and help him sell more. But the Vietnamese soldiers chase him away. He doesn't know why. And older boys try to steal his money and ice cream.
The VC attacked his hamlet and wiped out the militia. He can't go back because the VC control it now and would force him to fight.
With his father's death, Quang knows that education is important. He wants to improve his life and join the Army. He has no interest in adoption. He wants the war to end so he can go back to his hamlet.
He says, "Here in Da Nang, I'm too busy in the daytime to feel sorry for myself. Sometimes I cry at night, after I've said my prayers and before I fall asleep--when I realize that I don't mean anything to anyone and that I'm alone in the world."
VII. Hanh Duc saw the futility of life and convinced his parents finally to let him become a Buddhist monk. He has long nails, the traditional Vietnamese affectation of a man who does not work with his hands. About 70% of Vietnamese were Buddhists often with a mixture of Confucianism, Taoism, and animism.
It was, of course, the self immolation of monks that helped bring about the end of President Ngo Dinh Diem. The irony then was that Buddhism was fettered by the Communist North, and the irony today is that Buddhist monks are strictly controlled by the Communist government.
VIII. Pham Van Loc was an ARVN private. He liked school, especially math but hated dictation. He was drafted in 1957. He was stationed far from home because the government feared he would not fight well if he was close to home. Desertion was always a concern. He has been on hundreds of patrols and ambushes. He has not been able to even get a two-week leave. His parents have not replied to his letters. Have the VC taken over his hamlet? He worries. But his wife has followed him with their two daughters. He wants to get a better education to get promoted. He believes his side will win in the end. That people are hating the VC even more than before. He says, ". . . if there were an honorable way to get out of the Army tomorrow, I would. That's one of my greatest wishes. That's what we all wish."
IX. Huynh Van Kim joined the VC in 1958. It wasn't like he had much choice. He was forced to attend lectures. He finally joined. He had no idea about what he was being told. He then went to a rigorous indoctrination camp. He was finally assigned to a military team. Their duty was to assassinate pre-selected government officials and supporters of the government in the village. Ten people were beheaded, including his village chief. Kim killed three men and two women.
When he has doubts, he realizes he can't express them. He had to go to a reeducation center. He was told the government would torture defectors to death. But he was tired of fighting, so he ran at his first opportunity. The ARVN had better equipment and more troops, but their intelligence was poor. He never heard of them infiltrating the VC.
Now he no longer believes the US wants to take over Vietnam. He no longer places much value on his life. He knows the VC have infiltrated the Open Arms program and will kill him when they have the chance.
X. Nguyen Ngoc Vinh is a North Vietnamese soldier. His family were poor peasants. In 1953, the North Vietnamese initiated "land reform." Communists wanted to create a new rural society amenable to their rule. Villagers were divided into categories with landowners in a category all their own. They were not allowed to give their land to the state to prevent being designated as landowners. They were denounced and accused of all sorts of crimes. Some were shot, others sentenced to hard labor. By 1956, it was a total purge. Insecurity and civil disorder was the result. Ho admitted to committing "errors" in land reform. Some prisoners were released. But the hatred created meant they were targets for terror. There were even peasant revotls against the Communists in the North. But they were crushed violently. Estimates of deaths range in the hundreds of thousands.
Vinh says he is opposed to terrorism. He knew nothing abut the assassinations of teachers, government workers, medical workers, and others who opposed the VC.
One common element of Communism seems to be the meetings to publicly denounce everyone.
Radio Hanoi never played love songs, only propaganda. I listened to Hanoi Hannah, and it was very weird.
Vinh has only been beaten by the Vietnamese, never the Americans. He likes them but not the government. He has no intention of defecting. He would like to earn English because it is a universal language. He believes his side will win the war.
I. The peasant knew nothing about the Geneva Convention or Ho Chi Minh or Ngo Dinh Diem. She just wanted to be left alone.
II. The landlord was interesting because he lived in the north before the partition. He fought against the Viet Minh and shared stories of their cruelty. When he fled to the south, he bought some land, built apartments, and made money.
III. The refugee felt lied to by both the Viet Minh and then by the Viet Cong. He thought the idea of a state where "everyone was equal and enjoyed the same rights and the same material benefits as everyone else" was something he would not like. Besides, they had already lied to him many times. This war was "far worse" than the last war. The fighting was everywhere.
IV. The politician, like others in this book, speaks of times from the 50s up to 1966. This helps in understanding how the war came about. He was a doctor who helped Viet Minh soldiers and peasants wounded during the French war. He travelled much and claims to have influenced many major decisions. He complains about the failure of the South Vietnamese governments to appreciate American help. Leaders are so afraid of sounding like they have no sovereignty that they avoid any appearance of being led by America. The North Vietnamese have no such qualms about help from Russia and China. His whole goal in life is to achieve a just democracy, like West Germany.
V. The montagnard was one of about a dozen montagnard tribes and sixty minority ones in South Vietnam. Ami Yoh was in the Rhade tribe. Other women in her tribe went bare-breasted, especially after childbirth. The government and missionaries discouraged them. Some have converted to Christianity. Most were animists. The VC often killed Christians because they were harder to convert to communism. Yoh is terrified of the VC at night.
In 1954, the Viet Minh left underground agents among the Rhade. These spies could squeal on others who helped the government or did other dastardly deeds. The Diem administration moved many Vietnamese to these highlands causing conflict. Montagnards hated to leave their family spirits. They felt the Vietnamese cheated them and looked down on them. Yoh warned about marrying a Vietnamese man. The VC promised them autonomy once they took over. We now know, of course, that is nonsense. The VC drugged up some young men to get them to attack villages. Then they regretted what they had done.
The US worked to convince the government to give autonomy to the region but to no avail. It was tough to go too strongly against the main leaders. If the Americans pushed harder, the Montagnards may have been able to accomplish much in the highlands.
VI. The orphan was a thirteen-year-old boy selling ice cream in Da Nang. I knew many children like this one. Le Quang has no idea where Saigon is. He never met a French person, so why is he studying French he wonders. Because his father was a soldier, the VC killed his mother. Other mothers were forced to attend VC lectures. The father converted to Catholicism to get more promotions.
On rainy days, Quang cannot sell popsicles, so he visits Marine barracks. They buy from him and help him sell more. But the Vietnamese soldiers chase him away. He doesn't know why. And older boys try to steal his money and ice cream.
The VC attacked his hamlet and wiped out the militia. He can't go back because the VC control it now and would force him to fight.
With his father's death, Quang knows that education is important. He wants to improve his life and join the Army. He has no interest in adoption. He wants the war to end so he can go back to his hamlet.
He says, "Here in Da Nang, I'm too busy in the daytime to feel sorry for myself. Sometimes I cry at night, after I've said my prayers and before I fall asleep--when I realize that I don't mean anything to anyone and that I'm alone in the world."
VII. Hanh Duc saw the futility of life and convinced his parents finally to let him become a Buddhist monk. He has long nails, the traditional Vietnamese affectation of a man who does not work with his hands. About 70% of Vietnamese were Buddhists often with a mixture of Confucianism, Taoism, and animism.
It was, of course, the self immolation of monks that helped bring about the end of President Ngo Dinh Diem. The irony then was that Buddhism was fettered by the Communist North, and the irony today is that Buddhist monks are strictly controlled by the Communist government.
VIII. Pham Van Loc was an ARVN private. He liked school, especially math but hated dictation. He was drafted in 1957. He was stationed far from home because the government feared he would not fight well if he was close to home. Desertion was always a concern. He has been on hundreds of patrols and ambushes. He has not been able to even get a two-week leave. His parents have not replied to his letters. Have the VC taken over his hamlet? He worries. But his wife has followed him with their two daughters. He wants to get a better education to get promoted. He believes his side will win in the end. That people are hating the VC even more than before. He says, ". . . if there were an honorable way to get out of the Army tomorrow, I would. That's one of my greatest wishes. That's what we all wish."
IX. Huynh Van Kim joined the VC in 1958. It wasn't like he had much choice. He was forced to attend lectures. He finally joined. He had no idea about what he was being told. He then went to a rigorous indoctrination camp. He was finally assigned to a military team. Their duty was to assassinate pre-selected government officials and supporters of the government in the village. Ten people were beheaded, including his village chief. Kim killed three men and two women.
When he has doubts, he realizes he can't express them. He had to go to a reeducation center. He was told the government would torture defectors to death. But he was tired of fighting, so he ran at his first opportunity. The ARVN had better equipment and more troops, but their intelligence was poor. He never heard of them infiltrating the VC.
Now he no longer believes the US wants to take over Vietnam. He no longer places much value on his life. He knows the VC have infiltrated the Open Arms program and will kill him when they have the chance.
X. Nguyen Ngoc Vinh is a North Vietnamese soldier. His family were poor peasants. In 1953, the North Vietnamese initiated "land reform." Communists wanted to create a new rural society amenable to their rule. Villagers were divided into categories with landowners in a category all their own. They were not allowed to give their land to the state to prevent being designated as landowners. They were denounced and accused of all sorts of crimes. Some were shot, others sentenced to hard labor. By 1956, it was a total purge. Insecurity and civil disorder was the result. Ho admitted to committing "errors" in land reform. Some prisoners were released. But the hatred created meant they were targets for terror. There were even peasant revotls against the Communists in the North. But they were crushed violently. Estimates of deaths range in the hundreds of thousands.
Vinh says he is opposed to terrorism. He knew nothing abut the assassinations of teachers, government workers, medical workers, and others who opposed the VC.
One common element of Communism seems to be the meetings to publicly denounce everyone.
Radio Hanoi never played love songs, only propaganda. I listened to Hanoi Hannah, and it was very weird.
Vinh has only been beaten by the Vietnamese, never the Americans. He likes them but not the government. He has no intention of defecting. He would like to earn English because it is a universal language. He believes his side will win the war.
July 27, 2024
Susan Sheehan’s introduction encapsulates the purpose and content of this book. She interviewed people from “the ninety-five per cent that don’t count” …“the war is being fought over them and they are its chief participants and chief victims.”
The interviews opened up avenues rarely or never discussed: Vietnamese racism toward ethnic minorities; life being better under the French than under the Viet Minh; education as brainwashing; love songs played on Southern radio stations, not in the North; calendars were common in the South, Uncle Ho portraits served as substitutes in the North; the ‘Rectification of Errors’ error, ironically culminating in a Northern peasant mass murder.
The interviews opened up avenues rarely or never discussed: Vietnamese racism toward ethnic minorities; life being better under the French than under the Viet Minh; education as brainwashing; love songs played on Southern radio stations, not in the North; calendars were common in the South, Uncle Ho portraits served as substitutes in the North; the ‘Rectification of Errors’ error, ironically culminating in a Northern peasant mass murder.
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