It is fitting that America sets aside at least one day every year to honor those who served in the county’s armed forces. Demonstrating respect for veterans encourages young people to step forward to serve the country, which in turn keeps us strong and prepared to meet challenges posed by our adversaries. Despite the indecisive outcomes of our conflicts following the Second World War–Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan–there should never be any question that the service of our military men and women is appreciated by a grateful nation.
When Communist forces took over Saigon on April 30, 1975, many of us who had served there were devastated. I thought of those many thousands of Americans (58,220, at final count) who died in the conflict and the hundreds of thousands who came home with physical and mental wounds. The sad outcome was not because our service personnel did not give their all for their country, but due to serious mistakes made by those at the highest echelons. The same could be said for our Iraq and Afghanistan wars. We must always honor those who served the country, regardless of the war outcome, and direct our anger at those who erroneously called the shots.
Every time I think about Vietnam, waves of grief and anger sweep through my mind and body, mourning the many lives shattered and lost in that ill-fated conflict–both our service personnel and our South Vietnamese friends. Yet, I treasure the experience of serving my country. It taught me so much about myself and the awesome capabilities of our armed forces. More than anything else, it demonstrated how Americans from all backgrounds, with a wide assortment of beliefs, can come together as a team to serve the national interest. I wish that our present-day civil society could do the same.
One of my very best experiences was helping an orphanage that was operated by the Cao Dai Church in Tay Ninh City. I lived and worked alongside South Vietnamese forces and had free run of the city, which was off limits to most American troops. That allowed me to visit the kids fairly often when there was a break from my artillery duties. There were about 70 kids, ranging from infants to mid-teens. We furnished rice, firewood, playground equipment, a generator, an electric water pump, clothes and a wide range of supplies. It was a wonderful break from the ugly business of war.
When it came time to return home, I was invited to have an audience with the Cao Dai Pope, Cao Hoai Sang. He had joined together with two others in 1926 to found a new religion that would bring all world religions into the same fold. The Cao Dai Holy See is located in Tay Ninh City and is currently a must-see attraction for tourists. The Pope, a kind and gentle man, thanked me for helping the orphans. He gave me a certificate of appreciation for my work, a number of photos from the 1950s of the church congregation and the Cao Dai Army (which was disbanded by the government in the late 50s), as well as materials explaining the tenets of the Cao Dai faith. It was a highlight of my service and I have greatly valued and displayed his gifts ever since.
After the Communists took over in 1975, the Cao Dais were out of favor with the new regime and suffered many years of repression. My wife and I went to Vietnam in 2018 and found that the situation had much improved. There are Cao Dai Churches in many areas of the south and they can operate with relative freedom. We paid a visit to Tay Ninh and made contact with a woman who had worked at the orphanage. She said the orphanage had been closed by the Communists when they took over, but she didn’t know where the kids had gone. She still worked for the church in another capacity.
Over the years I’ve thought of giving the Pope’s gifts to the Cao Dai Church in the U.S. Many Cao Dais came to America in the wake of the war and are now citizens. The main Cao Dai Temple is in Garden Grove, California, and I’ll be meeting there with Cao Dai officials on November 7 to turn over Cao Hoai Sang’s gifts. It will bring a small measure of closure to my part of a troubling chapter in American military experience.
Please be sure to let veterans know that you appreciate their service on Veterans Day, November 11, and every day of the year thereafter. It will help keep the country strong.
