Tet finds Vietnamese thinking of U.S. bounty, not battle

Published Jan. 23, 2004
By Rafael D. Frankel
Special to the Tribune

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam--Thirty-six years after the Tet offensive that broke U.S. resolve in the Vietnam War, young Vietnamese have put the bitter struggle in the past and embraced an America they see as a source of hope.

Interest in the U.S. was evident here Thursday as the year of the monkey began with Tet, as the Lunar New Year is called in Vietnam.

A midnight fireworks display exploded above more than 100,000 people along the Saigon River. Among the thousands of young people were dozens wearing American flag T-shirts. Coupled with the ubiquitous American-flag pillows and bandannas here in the former Saigon, signs point to more than a simple profusion of U.S. culture.

Though the government in Hanoi has cool but improving relations with Washington, the display of the Stars and Stripes is emblematic of the way most Vietnamese see the U.S. three decades after the war.

Thirty-six years ago, during the height of the Vietnam War, Tet took on a different dynamic. In the 1968 Tet offensive, the Viet Cong captured numerous South Vietnamese cities and even stormed the U.S. Embassy.

Though the Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties and eventually lost all the territorial gains, the offensive is seen as a turning point in the war, after which Americans at home lost the stomach for the carnage U.S. soldiers were suffering in the faraway Asian brush.

The Vietnam War killed more than 3 million Vietnamese, yet it does not evoke strong passions here, let alone hatred for an enemy who inflicted so much death and suffering.

Instead, many Vietnamese yearn to travel to the U.S., and they see it much the way Americans like their country to be seen: as a shining example of freedom, opportunity and wealth.

"My friends who have gone to the U.S. are very lucky," said Huynh Hoa, 26. "If my daughter [7 months old] can go there one day, maybe I would miss her, but it would be very lucky for her."

More than half the the nation's population is younger than 20. For them, the war is not even a memory but a collection of artifacts and photographs confined to the War Remnants Museum.

Their parents and grandparents rarely speak to them of those times, said Xi, 53, who would not give a family name, citing fear of the communist government.

"There is no time for that," she said. "We work hard every day, for money for our families. ... What happened then is not important now."

"I love America," said Xi. "I always think American people are the best."

©2004 The Chicago Tribune