-
derivative filename/jpeg
-
363-04763.pdf
-
Digital Object Identifier
-
363-04763
-
Title
-
Peace Marches Worry Vietnamese but Not Gis
-
Description
-
Article published in the New York Herald Tribune about the Vietnamese and US Military reactions to anti-war demonstrations in America, page unknown
-
AI Usage Disclosure
-
Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.
-
Transcript
-
--------------------
- Page 1
--------------------
By Beverly Deepe
A Special Correspondent
SAIGON.
The anti-Viet Nam demon-
strations in the United States,
including the latest march on
Washington, have worried the
Vietnamese more than they
have worried American troops
or officials here.
The Americans are more in-
clined to dismiss the demon-
strators and draft-card burn-
ers as "adolescents or idiots"
-in the words of one major.
Few see the anti-Viet Nam
agitation as Communist influ-
enced or inspired.
However, Vietnamese citi-
zens, especially staunchly an-
ti-Communist Roman Catho-
lics are more inclined to be-
lieve there is some Communist
influence in both the anti-
Viet Nam protests and the
civil rights demonstrations
because such tactics have
been used by the Communists
in Viet Nam.
Vietnamese who recall the
French Indo-China war fear
the demonstrators ultimately
will force the Johnson ad-
ministration to soften its
stance here.
EXPLANATION
One Vietnamese explained:
"Everyone knows that the
French did not lose the war
at Dien Bien Phu (the fort-
ress overrun by the Commu-
nists in 1954 just before the
French government agreed to
the Geneva Convention end-
ing the conflict). The French
lost the war in Paris when
the Paris government no
longer supported the French
Army and wouldn't send in
more funds and troops. The
French could easily have won
the war after Dien Bien Phu
if they had maintained the
support of their government
and people at home. The dem-
onstrators in America may
produce the same thing in the
coming years."
The Vietnamese are more
exposed to news about the
anti-Viet Nam demonstrators
because
many consistently
listen to the Hanoi radio,
which broadcasts long editor-
ial commentaries about "the
great American people rising
up against the Johnson
clique." Vietnamese language
newspapers in Saigon were
Peace Marches Worry
Vietnamese but Not GIs
[Dec 3, 1965]
heavily censored about the
Nov. 27 march on Washing-
ton.
The American GI in combat
areas, isolated from current
newspapers and too busy to
listen to the radio, is more af-
fected by the foods of letters
of
support being received
from Americans as part of the
"Viet Nam mailcall" program.
One box of 10,000 letters
recently arrived at the 1st
Cavalry Division headquarters
at An Iche.
One official in an
embassy said:
Allied
"We in the diplomatic corps
in Saigon are more concerned
about American casualties
here than we are about the
anti-Viet Nam demonstrators
in America. If the American
casualties continue to rise as
they have been lately, the
American mothers and fathers
who now support the war may
reverse their viewpoint-some-
what like happened during
the Korea conflict."
in
One American official dis-
missed the importance
America or in South Viet Nam
of the Anti-Viet Nam demon-
strations, but was worried that
"the demonstrations encour-
age Hanoi to continue the
war. Hanoi sends in more
men to stretch out the war,
hoping the American public
opinion will turn against the
Johnson administrationes-
pecially at the ballot box."
HANOI
The Sunday afternoon after
the Nov. 27 demonstrations in
Washington, a half-dozen GIs
of the 1st Division sat in their
steaming tent pitched in a
dusty salt flat north of Saigon
and mulled over the protests.
A sergeant from California.
said, "The most typical re-
action to all this is: Let them
demonstrate over her, on some
long
range patrols. These
patrols are a lot tougher than
demonstrations."
Another reaction was "We're
not as worried about what's
happening in Washington as
what's happening in Lai Khe
(a nearby town and scene of
bloody fighting the day be-
fore)."
LETTER
Another, an officer, ex-
plained, "Some of us are dis-
gusted with draft-card burn-
ers, but some of us also think
they are more helpful than
harmful. They have put more
focus on the troops in Viet Nam
and we're getting a lot of let-
ters of support. One private
called them 'draft-card burn-
ing punks' and that pretty
well sums up the attitude of
most of us."
He pulled out one letter,
handwritten by Linda Taco-
nelli of Newton Square, Pa.,
which began, "Dear soldier-
I don't know who you are, but
that doesn't really matter.
Thank you for being who you
are and fighting for such a
from precious thing as peace
the same
A recent traveler
Hanoi expressed
viewpoint.
"The Hanoi officials think
that if they keep pushing the
war just a little longer pretty
soon the American people will
clamor for peace on their
terms," he said. "Radio Hanoi
continuously blares out about
this it helps their morale in
North Viet Nam and Hanoi
hopes that it will gain support
for them in South America,
Africa and other underdevel-
oped countries."
please don't ever loose (sic).
faith in people and especially
in God
An American civilian added
the comment, "This encour-
ages Hanoi-they think these
demonstrators are a majority
of the American people."
A sergeant chimed in:
"When we get the news-
papers-usually three days
late-we read about the dem-
onstrations and then we turn'
to the sports page. They're
not a big thing. If there's any
talk about them among the
troops it's as offhanded as
'Maybe it will rain today'
or 'Maybe there will be an-
other demonstration tomor-
row.' Some of us have been
bitter in the past-we can't
understand why they are
doing things like this."
Another added, "The dem-
onstrations are not an alarm-
ing thing mostly they're
done by students, and in-
stitutions of higher learning
have been doing things like
this for a long time. But
these young people are not
Communist sympathizers."
BIG NAMES
After the Nov. 27 march
one Vietnamese intellectual
expressed amazement that
"big names, like Arthur
Miller," joined in. A refugee
from North Viet Nam con-
tended, "The Americans have
too much democracy and so
they allowed the peace-
makers to do what they want.
For instance, they carried the
Viet Cong flags during the
demonstrations. That is too
much."
Agreeing in part was a
Vietnamese officer who felt
the marchers were a very
small minority. But they con-
sciously or unconsciously serve
the Communist propaganda.
The Vietnamese in Saigon
are influenced by these
marches, which are blown up
by the Viet Cong."
A Vietnamese Army officer
who recently returned from
the United States felt Chinese
Communists financed and
sparked the demonstrations.
Some Vietnamese were im-
pressed by the intensity of
reactions among some Amer-
icans.
A cyclo-driver asserted, "I'm
not impressed much by the
peace marchers, but the
Americans who burn them-
selves really have the guts.
Before I thought only the
dare to commit
Japanese
hara-kiri, and then thé Viet-
namese Buddhists did it. I
believed the Americans were
only materialistic people who
would not dare to do it. Any-
way, I'm concerned only about
the Vietnamese who are killed
every day."
-
Date
-
1965, Dec. 3
-
Subject
-
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Public opinion--United States; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements--United States; United States--Relations--Vietnam (Republic); Vietnam (Republic)--Relations--United States
-
Location
-
Saigon, South Vietnam
-
Coordinates
-
10.8231; 106.6311
-
Container
-
B4, F6
-
Format
-
newspaper clippings
-
Collection Number
-
MS 363
-
Collection Title
-
Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
-
Creator
-
Keever, Beverly Deepe
-
Copyright Information
-
These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
-
Publisher
-
Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
-
Language
-
English
