I was very concerned about traveling to Vietnam the first time, and then once I got there I was shocked and relieved at how nice everybody was to me, and then one guy explicitly mentioned he felt bad Vietnam beat the US so bad in the war.
he even shrugged and did a “you know…because the US lost the war…but that’s behind us. and you are welcome, it’s very nice you are visiting!” and I was like ohhhh of course. i would be gracious too in his situation.
'We’re sorry for beating you guys that hard in the war" has to be the most passive-aggressive insult I have ever heard.
“wow you had every advantage too but all you did was invent new war crimes and give your own army cancer”
you know what, he really sounded sincere when he said it, and literally every Vietnamese person who welcomed me to their country(which was every single one I was able to communicate with over 3 months) sounded so happy that an American was visiting.
it seemed like they were all as nervous as I was about our relations. but the fact that I was there and trying to poorly speak Vietnamese and just interested in their country really meant a lot to them.
though yeah, winning a war with “the most powerful country in the world” probably soothes a lot of the awkwardness.
there’s this crazy site called. the B-52 lake, even though it’s only a few dozen meters across, and a B-52 is stuck in this pond in the middle of a residential neighborhood where it was shot down by the Vietnamese during the war, and it’s sticking out by one wing the way it landed when it was shot down.
I rented an apartment right next to it and had no idea until I walked out of the building and saw a B-52 sticking out of a pond.
The wars ended in mutual breakups.
Can’t lose a war if you stop declaring them!
American Algerian War
War of 1812
Formosa (Taiwan) Expedition
Korean War
Vietnam War
Bay of Pigs
Afghanistan
