Now, as President, that “man” gains political mileage from the deaths of
those who died to protect his freedom - which he spurned, betrayed, and reviled.
I *SO* despise that man. Mere vulgarities fail me. I sit here choking back tears of guilt, sadness, and rage....
(quote - stress added)
Clinton Watches Muddy MIA Search in Vietnam
November 18, 2000 8:00 am EST
By Randall Mikkelsen
TIEN CHAU, Vietnam (Reuters) - President Clinton Saturday visited a muddy
pit northwest of Hanoi where workers are searching for a U.S. pilot shot down
in 1967, saying his sons deserved "finally to take their father home."
Standing amid rice paddies and vegetable fields, Clinton turned to some of
the Vietnam War's unfinished business: the sad task of digging for the
remains of the 1,498 Americans missing in action from a conflict that ended
25 years ago.
"At this spot 33 years ago this month, Captain Lawrence Evert's F-105 was
shot down. No parachute was seen, the area was heavily defended, and there
was no chance for a search," Clinton said in a subdued voice.
"I am honored to be here with Captain Evert's sons Dan and David," he
said.
"We believe we owe them and all Americans like them what they came here
for -- a chance finally to take their father home."
David Evert said a childhood fantasy of bringing their father home was
becoming real.
"When we were younger, about six and eight, we used to talk about how we
would come over to Vietnam and come get him out of jail. We thought he was
alive, so we thought we'd come get him and take him home and rescue him,"
he said.
"And we kind of feel that's what we're doing right now," he said, his voice
choked with emotion.
FULLEST POSSIBLE ACCOUNTING
In the middle of his historic three-day visit to Vietnam, Clinton said the
United States was committed to seeking the fullest possible accounting for
the U.S. servicemen who fell in the war and to helping Vietnam search for the
estimated 300,000 Vietnamese still missing.
Accounting for the missing has been a top priority of U.S. veterans' groups
and is politically essential to Clinton's efforts to normalize U.S. relations with
Vietnam.
Clinton is the first serving U.S. president to visit the former enemy since the
war.
Many of the three million U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War, in which 58,000
Americans and three million Vietnamese died, have been resentful toward
Clinton because of his opposition to the war and efforts to avoid the draft as a
young man.
Communist North Vietnam reunified the divided country in 1975 with a
military victory over U.S.-backed South Vietnam, two years after the United
States withdrew.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea accompanied Clinton
to the site about 29 km (17 miles) northwest of Hanoi.
The Clintons watched women in a knee-deep pit digging out the dense clay
where Evert's plane is believed to have crashed on November 8, 1967.
The women passed their buckets along a brigade to 28 workers in purple
ponchos and conical straw hats who sluiced the mud through a mesh sieve
searching for the scraps of flesh and bone that might permit Evert's remains
to be identified.
Clinton was later shown three trays of blue metal scraps thought to come
from the plane, and a .38 caliber bullet of the type Evert was known to carry.
The president has sought Vietnam's cooperation in accounting for the U.S.
soldiers as a condition for any expansion in ties with its former enemy and
Saturday he warmly thanked the Vietnamese for their help.
"Once we met here as adversaries, today we work as partners," Clinton said.
He said the United States wanted to end "the anguish of not knowing" for
U.S. families, pledged to help Vietnam search for its own missing, including
through the release of U.S. documents.
Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong, speaking at a state banquet Friday
night, said Washington should do more to alleviate suffering caused by the
war to the Vietnamese.
"The war has left very serious consequences for Vietnam. All Vietnamese
people think that the U.S. government needs to have a recognition of its
responsibility for the huge losses that Vietnamese people suffered," Luong
said.
David Evert said he held no ill feelings toward the Vietnamese over his
father's death. "We want them to know that we love them and we don't hold
any animosity toward them at all and we feel it's a time for healing for
everybody," he said.
FOCUS ON WAR'S LEGACY
Later Saturday, Clinton was to highlight the war's continuing impact on
Vietnam by visiting an exhibit on de-mining activities and by attending a
repatriation ceremony for recovered remains being returned to the United
States.
A U.S. official said Vietnam had one of the world's worst problems with land
mines and unexploded bombs from decades of war with the United States
and, before that, France. Vietnam says 38,000 people have been killed by the
devices since 1975.
The U.S. official said the United States began to help Vietnam last summer
by paying for de-mining equipment and providing records of U.S. bombing
missions over Vietnam.
Late Saturday Clinton he was to fly to Ho Chi Minh City, the former South
Vietnamese capital Saigon.
He returns to Washington the following evening.
Saturday afternoon, Clinton met Communist Party chief Le Kha Phieu, the
man considered the Southeast Asian country's most powerful figure, for 45
minutes of talks expected to cover business and trade but also to touch on
human rights.
Phieu and Clinton met at the headquarters of the ruling party, a French
colonial-style building close to the mausoleum of Vietnam's late revolutionary
hero Ho Chi Minh.
Sitting beneath a giant bust of Ho, America's Vietnam war nemesis, the two
exchanged pleasantries about Clinton's visit, the first ever by a U.S. president
to Hanoi, White House spokesman Jake Siewart said.
"I hope you've enjoyed your stay, you've had a long flight. How are you
adjusting?" Siewart quoted Phieu as saying.
"I've had some time to adjust and the people have been very kind," Clinton
replied. "I'm very much enjoying my time here."
Clinton then moved across the road to bid a formal farewell to President
Luong, with whom held talks Friday.
Standing with the Vietnamese president with his back to another enormous
bust of Ho, Clinton said: "I love this room!"
At a state banquet Friday, Luong hailed Clinton's role in normalizing ties but
responded to his urgings for Vietnam to improve its rights record by saying
Washington should avoid interference in Hanoi's affairs.
(unquote)
those who died to protect his freedom - which he spurned, betrayed, and reviled.
I *SO* despise that man. Mere vulgarities fail me. I sit here choking back tears of guilt, sadness, and rage....
(quote - stress added)
Clinton Watches Muddy MIA Search in Vietnam
November 18, 2000 8:00 am EST
By Randall Mikkelsen
TIEN CHAU, Vietnam (Reuters) - President Clinton Saturday visited a muddy
pit northwest of Hanoi where workers are searching for a U.S. pilot shot down
in 1967, saying his sons deserved "finally to take their father home."
Standing amid rice paddies and vegetable fields, Clinton turned to some of
the Vietnam War's unfinished business: the sad task of digging for the
remains of the 1,498 Americans missing in action from a conflict that ended
25 years ago.
"At this spot 33 years ago this month, Captain Lawrence Evert's F-105 was
shot down. No parachute was seen, the area was heavily defended, and there
was no chance for a search," Clinton said in a subdued voice.
"I am honored to be here with Captain Evert's sons Dan and David," he
said.
"We believe we owe them and all Americans like them what they came here
for -- a chance finally to take their father home."
David Evert said a childhood fantasy of bringing their father home was
becoming real.
"When we were younger, about six and eight, we used to talk about how we
would come over to Vietnam and come get him out of jail. We thought he was
alive, so we thought we'd come get him and take him home and rescue him,"
he said.
"And we kind of feel that's what we're doing right now," he said, his voice
choked with emotion.
FULLEST POSSIBLE ACCOUNTING
In the middle of his historic three-day visit to Vietnam, Clinton said the
United States was committed to seeking the fullest possible accounting for
the U.S. servicemen who fell in the war and to helping Vietnam search for the
estimated 300,000 Vietnamese still missing.
Accounting for the missing has been a top priority of U.S. veterans' groups
and is politically essential to Clinton's efforts to normalize U.S. relations with
Vietnam.
Clinton is the first serving U.S. president to visit the former enemy since the
war.
Many of the three million U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War, in which 58,000
Americans and three million Vietnamese died, have been resentful toward
Clinton because of his opposition to the war and efforts to avoid the draft as a
young man.
Communist North Vietnam reunified the divided country in 1975 with a
military victory over U.S.-backed South Vietnam, two years after the United
States withdrew.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea accompanied Clinton
to the site about 29 km (17 miles) northwest of Hanoi.
The Clintons watched women in a knee-deep pit digging out the dense clay
where Evert's plane is believed to have crashed on November 8, 1967.
The women passed their buckets along a brigade to 28 workers in purple
ponchos and conical straw hats who sluiced the mud through a mesh sieve
searching for the scraps of flesh and bone that might permit Evert's remains
to be identified.
Clinton was later shown three trays of blue metal scraps thought to come
from the plane, and a .38 caliber bullet of the type Evert was known to carry.
The president has sought Vietnam's cooperation in accounting for the U.S.
soldiers as a condition for any expansion in ties with its former enemy and
Saturday he warmly thanked the Vietnamese for their help.
"Once we met here as adversaries, today we work as partners," Clinton said.
He said the United States wanted to end "the anguish of not knowing" for
U.S. families, pledged to help Vietnam search for its own missing, including
through the release of U.S. documents.
Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong, speaking at a state banquet Friday
night, said Washington should do more to alleviate suffering caused by the
war to the Vietnamese.
"The war has left very serious consequences for Vietnam. All Vietnamese
people think that the U.S. government needs to have a recognition of its
responsibility for the huge losses that Vietnamese people suffered," Luong
said.
David Evert said he held no ill feelings toward the Vietnamese over his
father's death. "We want them to know that we love them and we don't hold
any animosity toward them at all and we feel it's a time for healing for
everybody," he said.
FOCUS ON WAR'S LEGACY
Later Saturday, Clinton was to highlight the war's continuing impact on
Vietnam by visiting an exhibit on de-mining activities and by attending a
repatriation ceremony for recovered remains being returned to the United
States.
A U.S. official said Vietnam had one of the world's worst problems with land
mines and unexploded bombs from decades of war with the United States
and, before that, France. Vietnam says 38,000 people have been killed by the
devices since 1975.
The U.S. official said the United States began to help Vietnam last summer
by paying for de-mining equipment and providing records of U.S. bombing
missions over Vietnam.
Late Saturday Clinton he was to fly to Ho Chi Minh City, the former South
Vietnamese capital Saigon.
He returns to Washington the following evening.
Saturday afternoon, Clinton met Communist Party chief Le Kha Phieu, the
man considered the Southeast Asian country's most powerful figure, for 45
minutes of talks expected to cover business and trade but also to touch on
human rights.
Phieu and Clinton met at the headquarters of the ruling party, a French
colonial-style building close to the mausoleum of Vietnam's late revolutionary
hero Ho Chi Minh.
Sitting beneath a giant bust of Ho, America's Vietnam war nemesis, the two
exchanged pleasantries about Clinton's visit, the first ever by a U.S. president
to Hanoi, White House spokesman Jake Siewart said.
"I hope you've enjoyed your stay, you've had a long flight. How are you
adjusting?" Siewart quoted Phieu as saying.
"I've had some time to adjust and the people have been very kind," Clinton
replied. "I'm very much enjoying my time here."
Clinton then moved across the road to bid a formal farewell to President
Luong, with whom held talks Friday.
Standing with the Vietnamese president with his back to another enormous
bust of Ho, Clinton said: "I love this room!"
At a state banquet Friday, Luong hailed Clinton's role in normalizing ties but
responded to his urgings for Vietnam to improve its rights record by saying
Washington should avoid interference in Hanoi's affairs.
(unquote)
