Dateline Saigon: 1975

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The last helicopter has left the United States Embassy and we are left behind waiting for the army from the North to see what happens to our people. Although frightened, I feel a sense of inner peace that years of bloodshed will possibly come to an end. It is impossible to be terrified of death when I have constantly been witness to the cruelty of this war for so many years.

I have lost family and friends. I have seen entire neighbourhoods destroyed. The rebuilding of this country seems impossible but it is the will and spirit of all Vietnamese people to survive as we have for so many centuries.

War is not a game. When I see children playing with toy guns or pretending to be in combat I am sickened because I know that it is a living hell.

They say that our country will be reunified and I hope and pray that the bloodshed will end. The streets of Saigon are frenetic with panic, delirium and uncertainty. It is almost as if we have been caught in a never-ending nightmare. I wake up each day to destruction and hope and pray that one day I will wake up and enjoy simple things: sunshine, flowers, people strolling in a park...the blood flows in our streets, faces ravaged with grief...please God, remove us from this vortex of misery.

In our country, we value and cherish four symbols...the unicorn, the dragon, the turtle and the phoenix. We are the phoenix. We will rise from the ashes and rebuild this beautiful country. We will shake hands with all our people and remember that we share a regal and noble ancestry. We must never forget what has happened but we must always look in the direction of the future.

Nobody "won" the war. It offends me to hear any talk of victory. I am certain that the parents, both Vietnamese and American, who have buried their children who served in this bloody conflict do not feel as if they are "winners". I am sure the POW's who were brutalized and continue to relive their nightmares do not feel victorious. I know that the citizens who dress their wounds from the terrible chemicals used throughout this battle do not think in such a way...we will always be reminded that in war...nobody wins.

Vietnam is the lotus flower. We closed our petals as the darkness of war descended upon us. Day will come and we will embrace the sunshine once again and open our souls to the heavens.

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Comments

[Jude]

Dateline Saigon: 1975
I will always think of the Lotus Flower in a different way now. Thank you for sharing, such a sad war, no winnners. I am learning more and more that there is only one Race, The Human Race and how we should be so respectful of one another