 On
April 30th, 1975 Saigon fell to the forces
fighting for Vietnamese independence under
the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist
Party and the last foreign troops were
banished from Vietnamese soil. It had been
almost 30 years from September 2, 1945 when
Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh first declared
their independence in Hanoi. American
involvement was not long in following and
that same September 1945 saw the first U.S.
protest against the War in Vietnam. United
States Merchant Marine
sailors protested the use of U.S. ships to
transport French soldiers to Vietnam. The
first American to die in that war was Lt.
Col. A. Peter Dewey who died on September
26, 1945. He was mistaken for a Frenchman.
What followed was 30 years of war that cost
over 3 million Vietnamese lives, as well as
thousands of American, French, Korean,
Cambodian, Laotian and other lives. So they
had a lot to celebrate today:
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam
(AP) — Thousands of people have been
lining the parade route in Ho Chi Minh
City waving red and gold communist
flags. Vietnam is marking the 35th
anniversary of the end of the country's
civil war. Celebrations included a
re-enactment of the day North Vietnamese
tanks smashed through the gates of the
former Presidential Palace and ousted
the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese
government.
And AP released
a new poll this week than indicates that
most Vietnamese are quite happy with the
results of their revolution:
AP-GfK Poll: Vietnamese upbeat about future
A new
Associated Press-GfK Poll, one of the
most exhaustive surveys to date of
contemporary Vietnamese attitudes,
underscores how rapidly life has changed
in Vietnam. Under a single-party
Communist government, the country has
embraced market-oriented reforms and
lifted tens of millions out of poverty.
Eighty-five percent said the economy is
stronger than it was five years ago, and
87 percent said they expect it to be
even stronger in another five years.
Eighty-one percent said the country is
moving in the right direction.
Their
optimism stands in stark contrast to the
widespread pessimism in the United
States, where recent polls show many
Americans believe their nation is on the
wrong track.
Meanwhile, back
in the states, it looks like some students
will finally get the commencements they
missed 40 years ago when they were canceled
because of widespread anti-war protests
after the state killings of demonstrators at
Kent State in 1970.
Associated
Press - April 30, 2010 3:25 PM ET
CINCINNATI (AP) -
Students whose college graduations were
disrupted or canceled by the 1970 Kent
State University shootings are getting
another chance at commencement.
Members of the
Class of '70 are returning to
institutions such as the University of
Cincinnati, Ohio University and Boston
University to experience the
end-of-college celebrations they never
had.
Here, the
healing continues.
We at Linux Beach would like congratulate
the Vietnamese people on their historic
victory.
Come celebrate with us at our People's
Victory Party on May 22nd.
--
Clay Claiborne, Producer
Linux Beach
116 Rose Ave., Ste. 9
Venice, CA 90291
(310)581-1536
(323) 219-6507 cell
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