Vietnam vet discovers there's more work to be done
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, August 24, 2008
Ralph Swain, right, is shown with Vu Xuan Hong, National Assembly member and President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship, during Swain's visit to Vietnam this month. (Photo submitted)
SIOUX CITY -- Ralph Swain pulled back 500 yards one day two weeks ago and watched a bomb explode.
It let him know the group he's helping fund in a small, small way is doing big, big things in Vietnam.
Swain, the chair for the Humanities Division at Western Iowa Tech Community College, returned to Vietnam for a 10-day visit this month. It marked the first time he'd been back since serving a year-long tour of duty in and around Saigon for the U.S. Army in 1969-70.
Sadly, there are still elements of the fight hanging around. And banging around.
Thousands of unexploded ordnance remain in the countryside, left to kill and maim children and farmers when they detonate. Swain, a contributor to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, traveled with a delegation invited by leaders with the group. During a stop in Quang Tri province, Swain watched one of teams the group funds in action.
"We have three teams over there finding and deactivating these ordnance, many of them cluster bombs," said Swain.
Some are 500-pound bombs dropped by B-52s nearly four decades ago.
"We pulled back 500 yards and the village was evacuated as a bomb was found and detonated," Swain said. "We also visited a shop where blind farmers -- they were blinded by explosives -- now make bamboo toothpicks and brooms."
Swain noted that Quang Tri has the highest number of UXOs (unexploded ordnance) remaining to be discovered. All told, there are an estimated 3.5 million land mines and 300,000 tons of unexploded ordnance that remains buried in Vietnam.
Since the end of the war in 1975, there have been an estimated 35,000 civilian deaths due to land mines and unexploded ordnance in the country.
"The week before I arrived, an 8-year-old child was killed," he added.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund also funds two mobile van units and pays for two technicians that fabricate artificial limbs on-site for victims of these bombs.
The group checked on some of the 26 collection sites across Quang Tri for unexploded devices. Members also received updates on an education campaign about this plague.
'The Wall' that heals, literally
Swain returned home with a mission to educate folks around his adopted hometown, Sioux City.
"This wasn't just old soldiers visiting old sites," said Swain. "We worked. We try to see what more we can do."
Readers here, he said, may do their part by checking out www.vvmf.org, the Web site for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, an nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 1980 to fund and build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The group was incorporated in 1979 by a group of veterans led by Jan C. Scruggs, who was wounded and decorated for service in Vietnam. Scruggs, incidentally, was part of this 14-member delegation.
Swain said "The Wall" was a tangible symbol of recognition of those who served in the war from the American people. Twenty-five years after its dedication, "The Wall" attracts more than 4 million annually, making it the most visited site in the nation's capital. Swain was in Washington, D.C., on the Veterans Day weekend last November for an annual reading of names from the monument. He asked for -- and received -- a time slot in which he read the name of a friend who was killed while they served.
Vietnam springs ahead
Sadly, remote areas like Quang Tri aren't visited enough. The experience moved Swain.
"The Communist officials we met with in Vietnam were incredibly gracious," he said. "They had issues with American policy, but they realize now the war is over. They look to the future and don't hold grudges."
The culture there, he added, is very forward thinking, forward moving.
Saigon, Swain said, has changed greatly since he was there. While he recognized the street upon which his headquarters was located, the area is now home to several skyscrapers.
The gross domestic product in the country has averaged annual growth of 7 percent the past eight years, he said.
"Vietnam is the second fastest growing Asian economy behind China," he said. "As an example, Vietnam began producing coffee in the late 1980s and now it's the world's No. 2 exporter of coffee."
There was a down-side to Swain's visit, a down-side besides the jet lag, that is. He failed to reconnect with civilians he met while serving in Saigon.
"I showed photos of some of the kids who were orphans or refugees, kids we took to the Saigon Zoo or for a burger," he said. "I have no idea what became of them."
Swain wrote back to friends in the area after he left Saigon, but never heard a response. He has no idea if his letters ever got to their intended subjects.
His duty
Ralph Swain, who is half-Japanese, said he had no interest in shooting Asians when it came time to enlist for military service. So, the graduate of Colorado State University told his recruiter he wanted to serve as an operating room technician. He was also trying to follow in the footsteps of an aunt, who served as a surgeon during the Korean War.
"Then, because I could type, it paid off," he said. "A lieutenant at the medical training center needed a clerk. For 18 months I did clerk work in San Antonio, Texas."
With 11 months remaining in his three-year commitment, Swain thought he was headed to Ethiopia to work as an undercover listening post. His orders changed, however, and he ended up going to Vietnam, assigned to a headquarters company northwest of Saigon. He and 29 fellow soldiers, all college graduates, worked in logistical support, processing orders of things like marriages, travel orders, sending soldiers home, etc.
"I was there at the peak, when we had 540,000 troops in-country," Swain said. "Of that, I think only 20 percent were field troops."
Swain admitted he believes he was extremely fortunate to have his duty over that of navigating the deep jungle.
That's not to say Swain didn't deal with stress in Saigon. He served on a quick reaction force unit that provided security for high-ranking officials (like Vice President Spiro Agnew) and guarded potential attack destinations (like the Armed Forces TV station in downtown Saigon).
While in Vietnam, Swain said 17 facilities within his jurisdiction were blown up, including one he was about to enter.
"Thank goodness I was held up in traffic for a few minutes that day," he said.
In a year of duty, he added, he did not engage an enemy soldier in uniform. The enemy at the time moved in plain clothes on the streets of Saigon.
"I think that's much like how it is for our soldiers in Baghdad today," he said. "You just lived with it and you counted the days until you could leave."
And now that he's been back, Ralph Swain counts the days until his return.
"I'll continue my involvement with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and, yes, I'll certainly go back," he said.
Important work remains to be done.
Veterans fund info
See www.vvmf.org, the Web site for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, an nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 1980 to fund and build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. "The Wall," a symbol of recognition of those who served in the war, attracts more than 4 million visitors annually, some 25 years after its dedication. It is the most visited site in the nation's capital.
It let him know the group he's helping fund in a small, small way is doing big, big things in Vietnam.
Swain, the chair for the Humanities Division at Western Iowa Tech Community College, returned to Vietnam for a 10-day visit this month. It marked the first time he'd been back since serving a year-long tour of duty in and around Saigon for the U.S. Army in 1969-70.
Sadly, there are still elements of the fight hanging around. And banging around.
Thousands of unexploded ordnance remain in the countryside, left to kill and maim children and farmers when they detonate. Swain, a contributor to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, traveled with a delegation invited by leaders with the group. During a stop in Quang Tri province, Swain watched one of teams the group funds in action.
"We have three teams over there finding and deactivating these ordnance, many of them cluster bombs," said Swain.
Some are 500-pound bombs dropped by B-52s nearly four decades ago.
"We pulled back 500 yards and the village was evacuated as a bomb was found and detonated," Swain said. "We also visited a shop where blind farmers -- they were blinded by explosives -- now make bamboo toothpicks and brooms."
Swain noted that Quang Tri has the highest number of UXOs (unexploded ordnance) remaining to be discovered. All told, there are an estimated 3.5 million land mines and 300,000 tons of unexploded ordnance that remains buried in Vietnam.
Since the end of the war in 1975, there have been an estimated 35,000 civilian deaths due to land mines and unexploded ordnance in the country.
"The week before I arrived, an 8-year-old child was killed," he added.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund also funds two mobile van units and pays for two technicians that fabricate artificial limbs on-site for victims of these bombs.
The group checked on some of the 26 collection sites across Quang Tri for unexploded devices. Members also received updates on an education campaign about this plague.
'The Wall' that heals, literally
Swain returned home with a mission to educate folks around his adopted hometown, Sioux City.
"This wasn't just old soldiers visiting old sites," said Swain. "We worked. We try to see what more we can do."
Readers here, he said, may do their part by checking out www.vvmf.org, the Web site for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, an nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 1980 to fund and build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The group was incorporated in 1979 by a group of veterans led by Jan C. Scruggs, who was wounded and decorated for service in Vietnam. Scruggs, incidentally, was part of this 14-member delegation.
Swain said "The Wall" was a tangible symbol of recognition of those who served in the war from the American people. Twenty-five years after its dedication, "The Wall" attracts more than 4 million annually, making it the most visited site in the nation's capital. Swain was in Washington, D.C., on the Veterans Day weekend last November for an annual reading of names from the monument. He asked for -- and received -- a time slot in which he read the name of a friend who was killed while they served.
Vietnam springs ahead
Sadly, remote areas like Quang Tri aren't visited enough. The experience moved Swain.
"The Communist officials we met with in Vietnam were incredibly gracious," he said. "They had issues with American policy, but they realize now the war is over. They look to the future and don't hold grudges."
The culture there, he added, is very forward thinking, forward moving.
Saigon, Swain said, has changed greatly since he was there. While he recognized the street upon which his headquarters was located, the area is now home to several skyscrapers.
The gross domestic product in the country has averaged annual growth of 7 percent the past eight years, he said.
"Vietnam is the second fastest growing Asian economy behind China," he said. "As an example, Vietnam began producing coffee in the late 1980s and now it's the world's No. 2 exporter of coffee."
There was a down-side to Swain's visit, a down-side besides the jet lag, that is. He failed to reconnect with civilians he met while serving in Saigon.
"I showed photos of some of the kids who were orphans or refugees, kids we took to the Saigon Zoo or for a burger," he said. "I have no idea what became of them."
Swain wrote back to friends in the area after he left Saigon, but never heard a response. He has no idea if his letters ever got to their intended subjects.
His duty
Ralph Swain, who is half-Japanese, said he had no interest in shooting Asians when it came time to enlist for military service. So, the graduate of Colorado State University told his recruiter he wanted to serve as an operating room technician. He was also trying to follow in the footsteps of an aunt, who served as a surgeon during the Korean War.
"Then, because I could type, it paid off," he said. "A lieutenant at the medical training center needed a clerk. For 18 months I did clerk work in San Antonio, Texas."
With 11 months remaining in his three-year commitment, Swain thought he was headed to Ethiopia to work as an undercover listening post. His orders changed, however, and he ended up going to Vietnam, assigned to a headquarters company northwest of Saigon. He and 29 fellow soldiers, all college graduates, worked in logistical support, processing orders of things like marriages, travel orders, sending soldiers home, etc.
"I was there at the peak, when we had 540,000 troops in-country," Swain said. "Of that, I think only 20 percent were field troops."
Swain admitted he believes he was extremely fortunate to have his duty over that of navigating the deep jungle.
That's not to say Swain didn't deal with stress in Saigon. He served on a quick reaction force unit that provided security for high-ranking officials (like Vice President Spiro Agnew) and guarded potential attack destinations (like the Armed Forces TV station in downtown Saigon).
While in Vietnam, Swain said 17 facilities within his jurisdiction were blown up, including one he was about to enter.
"Thank goodness I was held up in traffic for a few minutes that day," he said.
In a year of duty, he added, he did not engage an enemy soldier in uniform. The enemy at the time moved in plain clothes on the streets of Saigon.
"I think that's much like how it is for our soldiers in Baghdad today," he said. "You just lived with it and you counted the days until you could leave."
And now that he's been back, Ralph Swain counts the days until his return.
"I'll continue my involvement with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and, yes, I'll certainly go back," he said.
Important work remains to be done.
Veterans fund info
See www.vvmf.org, the Web site for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, an nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 1980 to fund and build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. "The Wall," a symbol of recognition of those who served in the war, attracts more than 4 million visitors annually, some 25 years after its dedication. It is the most visited site in the nation's capital.
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JG wrote on Aug 26, 2008 11:28 AM:
Nels wrote on Aug 24, 2008 8:58 AM: