Diaspora and a National Tragedy
“At first they said bring food for ten days. But they kept me forever. No trial at all.” Kim's story is one that Uprooted touches on towards its conclusion. I met him at a family reunion in Florida a few years ago. We were in a small room, packed with forty people. Sunshine and laughter filled the air around us. A table creaked under its weight of food. People shouted to hear themselves above the excitable screams of a dozen children. Kim sat beside me. He was crying. Seeing
Errors Have Been Committed - Mai Dong after 1954
If you're reading this post I'm going to make the rude assumption that you've read Uprooted already. If not, then be aware of minor spoiler activity to follow. It should not reduce your enjoyment of my seminal, epoch-encompassing tome. Indeed, a brief glance at the table of contents will spoil more than I'm about to. While the book's focus moves southward after Tung's family leave Mai Dong, this post will share what took place in their village after the events of 1954. Persec
Missed Opportunities - Catholicism in Vietnam
Don't talk about religion or politics. Well, I've done plenty on politics so it's religion's turn. I guess I'll have to save the easy one, death, for another post. First of all, my disclosure that I am a Christian, is important as I tried to portray the church's role in Vietnam fairly and without positive or negative bias. There is plenty to render on both sides of the equation. It is however, important to recognize that the many failures of Catholicism and the church leaders
Hell Would Break Loose - Mitch's Story Pt.2
Christmas Eve, 1966. Mitch sits under an upturned boat with two fellow marines. Rain batters the hull over their heads and water creeps into their boots. His gung-ho, “get-some” attitude had drained away. Now the men in his unit are his motivation to fight, not the politics or ideology that had put him there. “[There was] a lot of downtime,” Mitch wrote home, “where you'd be set up in base camp or walking in column formation. You'd often be waiting around in your tent. Then a
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