Sirs,

In December of 1966, I was an 18 years American soldier when I first set foot on Vietnamese soil at the harbor of Vung Tau. My unit the 199thLight Infantry Brigade was headquartered in Long Binh. We were pretty unique in the fact that we were advised and fought alongside the Beit Dong Quan, The tough red beret wearing, 5th ARVN Rangers. In April of 67 I went to Tay Ninh to fly as a gunner with the 187th Assault Helicopter Company. I spent the next 14 months flying in and around the lll corps area. I witnessed many things that a combat soldier endures. I was wounded flying Helicopter gun support in the bloody, desperate fighting of the TET-68 offensive in the Hoc Mon area.

To this day I can never forget the heroism of the South Vietnamese soldier. Sadly in my country the blood of these hero's have been slandered in the media and 'popular' opinion in the United States.

Recently I attended a party for the American Veterans of the Vietnam war that took part in filming of the ' Learning Channel's' six-part television series. The media was heavily in attendance. There was a question and answer session that followed. Inane stupid questions followed endlessly.....I was very happy when it was over. As I got up I noticed five or six weathered Vietnamese in long-faded fatigues, standing alone amongst the crowd, and a older Vietnamese man with them, carrying a tattered manuscript that spoke English. I introduced myself to them and welcomed then to the party. They all to a man burst out great grins and we talked and joked for some time.

To my astonishment I found that these were the men of the Vietnamese Special Forces that were parachuted into North Vietnam as 'leave behinds', under the auspices of the CIA in 1962-63. Not one of the America's finest hours. I had heard of these men who for 19 years were held under the harshest conditions imaginable. I felt very honored and humbled to be among men such as these giants. I asked about the manuscript and the man in civilian clothes smiled, and replied it was a memoir of his 19 years in NVA prisons and he hoped to get it published someday.

I forgot his name, and don't know if his book will ever get published in English. I can only pray that the truth will win out. I will never forget men such as these.

Warmest Regards,

PS: Thought you might like this picture taken on top of Nui Ba Dinh in 1967