Robert F. Turner discusses the impacts of the Vietnam War during a briefing at the National Press Club.
By Taylor Thornton
WASHINGTON – On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which expanded the role of U.S. forces in the Vietnam war, pro-war veterans of that conflict took to the National Press Club in Washington to debate anti-Vietnam issues. But one necessary piece of the debate was missing: the anti-war side.
Pro-war leaders like Robert F. Turner wanted to show the factual evidence of the war and to urge the U.S. defense not to repeat its mistakes in the future.
“We are the only country right now capable of keeping the peace. I’d rather see us work through the UN and through international organizations,” said Turner, a Vietnam veteran and member of the Vietnam Veterans for Factual History, an educational non-profit .
The controversial Gulf of Tonkin Resolution brought the United States presence in Vietnam into full force. On August 7th, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the use of “conventional” military force in Southeast Asia, which dragged U.S. forces deeper into one of the country’s most controversial wars.
This resolution, also known as the Southeast Asia Resolution, escalated the use of U.S. military forces to protect South Vietnam and other “protocol states” of Cambodia and Laos from what the Johnson administration said was the rapid spread of communism. The resolution is also controversial because of reports the Johnson administration based the expansion off of false reports of attacks on two U.S. destroyers.
The Southeastern Asian Treaty Organization was an international defense alliance among Southeastern countries to ban together in order to block communism.
“I think a lot of people came away from Vietnam thinking our soldiers were immoral, our government was incompetent and that this wasn’t any of our business,” Turner said.
Turner and his colleagues with the Vietnam Veterans for Factual History, outlined their case in support of the war in a strategic manner explaining, why the United States went to Vietnam, the military strategy of Vietnam, and why the war is still so important today.
Colonel Andrew R. Finlayson, a retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran, says during one of his tours in Vietnam he had the chance to interview North Vietnamese, and when he asked them the question “What was the biggest vulnerability you had?” Colonel Finlayson said almost all of them responded, “Mostly our logistics were the problem.”
“This is what we would call the center of gravity. That’s where if you attack a key vulnerability of your enemy you will thwart their objectives,” Finlayson said.
As each of the Vietnam veterans stood up and gave their explanations for the war, its hard not to have a critical eye. Hindsight is always 20-20, and of course we could say we should have done this, or maybe things could have gone a certain way. But at the end of the day, the Vietnam War caused tens of thousands of American casualties.
According to a military record by the National Archives, the United States sustained nearly 58, 220 casualties during the Vietnam War. And a new study conducted by the American Psychological Association that was funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs and reported in an L.A. Times article, stated that 11 percent of Vietnam veterans still suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
These lasting affects still haunt us today. As for why the Vietnam War is still an issue, Professor Nguyen Ngoc Bich, an author of Vietnam literature says the simple fact is that the task was not completed. “The United States left Vietnam an unfinished job. And because it was an unfinished job, that’s why we are still here today,” he said during the briefing at the National Press Club.
But even with misconceptions and harsh realities of the war, veterans still believe in the power of the United States defense and the power we have among the world.
“The more we can promote democracy around the world not forcefully but convincing people its in their interest, the more likely we are to have a peaceful world,” Turner said.
