Ho Chi Minh Trail

Re your July 20 article on the Ho Chi Minh Trail: It is always interesting to see one’s former place of employment on the front page.

We were mostly U.S. Army Special Forces with some Navy SEALs and Marine personnel attached. Our job was to gather intelligence along the trail and in the DMZ by inserting small “‘recon” teams consisting of usually six people, two U.S. and four indigenous personnel--Vietnamese, Chinese Nung, Cambodian, Chien Hoi (North Vietnamese who wisely defected south) and, of course, the faithful Montagnards.

I did enjoy the article, but found some of the flowery romanticism a little sickening. Many of the hard-core North Vietnamese army personnel who came down the trail didn’t “hunger for love” or “feel too guilty,” as the “fairy princesses” were innocent Montagnard girls who were considered free game from age 5 on. These Montagnards lived in that area for centuries and were some of the most peaceful people I have ever encountered. Their villages were destroyed, men slaughtered and females of all ages brutally raped. It wasn’t all backbreaking work, either. The North Vietnamese often had Russian vehicles. I had the distinct pleasure of watching a road crew work one starlit night with an old bulldozer. It didn’t work a second night, as I called in an air strike.

I would enjoy, however, some day driving down the Ho Chi Minh Highway, listening to Barry Sadler sing “The Ballad of the Green Berets” on my CD.

CLIFF NEWMAN

Long Beach

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David Lamb says that “military might is . . . no match for nationalism.” Well said. As recently proven in Kosovo, the American military is an overfed, cowardly bunch of misfits, masquerading as a tough, hard-hitting military unit trying to live up to its Hollywood image.

The time is long overdue when we give the North Vietnamese our congratulations and respect for their bravery and courage against overwhelming odds. They beat us. Their feat will provide many other suppressed nations with hope and encouragement. And therein lies the problem for the U.S.

ROBERT MEYERHOF

Los Angeles