Existing comment:
Surviving the Dragon:
The Vietnam War officially ended with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973. When the United States left Vietnam, it left behind more than abandoned base camps and empty ammunition crates. The ruins of Hue City are still there. So are the jagged cliffs and isolated perches of the Rockpile. Ghosts still hover in the forests of My Lai. Even today, the difficult memories of Vietnam still remain. Veterans returned without fanfare or thank you, unsure of their place in the world. For some veterans, it has taken the 33 years since the war ended to fully understand the significance of Vietnam, with others still trying to find their way.
Each veteran's Vietnam experience was unique -- there is no one story. No other group of Vietnam veterans had such a diverse set of wartime experiences as those who served in I Corps. The terrain was as formidable as the enemy. I Corps veterans had to deal with the cool, rugged mountains and the damp, searing heat of the jungle, all the while fighting both the NVA and "Charlie." In the end, over 20,000 Americans lost their lives in I Corps; the rest made it home. They battled themselves, the enemy, the land, the policymakers and the dragon -- and survived. For veterans of I Corps, surviving the dragon became the greatest victory of all. |