“Gooooood morning, Vietnam!” The memorable greeting, immortalized by Robin Williams in the 1987 film of the same name, wasn’t a creation of Hollywood. It was inspired by the true story of DJ and Air Force Sgt. Adrian Cronauer, who hosted a morning radio show on the American Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN) in Saigon during the … Read more
“I had no illusions about my military role in the Special Forces,” writes Captain Lanny Hunter in “Exit Wounds: A Vietnam Elegy” (Blackstone). “I was not a two-fisted, grenade-heaving, knife-fighting, tunnel-blasting, cliff-rappelling, bush-busting, snake-eating, steely-eyed warrior. “I was supposed to be able to keep up. I was supposed to be where they needed me and provide first-line … Read more
It was — and still is — the biggest banquet in White House history. In a tent on the South Lawn on May 24 in 1973, 1,600 people gathered to honor 591 prisoners of war who had finally been released from Vietnam. On Wednesday dozens of the survivors of the 591 will be honored again … Read more
In April 1975, the Vietnam War was as good as over, and the communists had won. The American military was gone, save for a tiny contingent of 50 Marines, with the South Vietnam capital of Saigon surrounded by both encroaching Viet Cong rebels and the North Vietnamese Army. The South Vietnamese in Saigon who had … Read more