259 War Remembrance Museum

214-war-crimesThe War Remembrance Museum is the same story we know just told from a different perspective. To the Victor goes the spoils and one of spoils is the history.

So why wouldn’t the victor, The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army tell the story from their perspective? To them the USA committed many WAR CRIMES. When you walk through and see the pictures you can see several atracities.  We’ll post just a few of the most graphic and writings of some of our own military leaders of that time.

 

211-it-started-with-ikeIt all started with Ike! When he recognized Diem as the President of Vietnam it provided the spark that flared. We wonder whether Ike knew that by recognizing a Catholic he was shunning the Buddhist who were the largest religion at that time. It added fuel to  Ho Chi Min and his follower’s fiery rhetoric.  

In his final year of office Ike began the “Military Advisers” program that of course led to escalation during the Kennedy Administration

Thich Quang Duc, Born Lâm Văn Toc in 1897 – died June 11, 1963) A Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on June 11, 1963. Thích Quang  was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam’s Ngô Đình Diem administration. Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diem regime. Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his iconic photo of the monk’s death, as did David Halberstam for his written account. After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact. This was interpreted as a symbol of compassion and led Buddhists to revere him as a bodhisattva, heightening the impact of his death on the public psyche.
Thích Quang Đuc’s act increased international pressure on Diem and led him to announce reforms with the intention of mollifying the Buddhists. However, the promised reforms were implemented either slowly or not at all, leading to a deterioration in the dispute. With protests continuing, the Special Forces loyal to Diem’s brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, launched nationwide raids on Buddhist pagodas, seizing the holy heart and causing deaths and widespread damage. Several Buddhist monks followed Thích Quang Đuc’s example and burned themselves to death. Eventually, an Army coup toppled and killed Diem in November. The self-immolation is widely seen as the turning point of the Vietnamese Buddhist crisis which led to the change in regime.
Above thanks to Wikipeda