Four Decades On edited by Scott Laderman and Edwin A. Martini

7/28/2019 Four Decades On edited by Scott Laderman and Edwin A. Martini

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Vietnam, theUnited States,

and the

Legacies

of the Second

Indochina WarFour Decades OnSCOTT LADERMAN AND EDWIN A. MARTINI, EDITORS


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Vi, h

Ui Ss,

h

Lis

f h S

Ihi W

S cott Lad erm an and ed WIn a . m artInI , ed ItorS

Duke Uverty Pre Durham and London

Four Decae O


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Duke Uverty Pre

All rght reerve

Prte the Ute State o Aerca o ac-ree paper

Typeet Mo y Teg Iorato Syte, Ic.

Lrary o Cogre Catalogg--Pulcato Data

Four ecae o : Veta, the Ute State, a the legace o the

Seco Iocha War / Scott Laera a Ew A. Mart, e.

page c

Iclue lographcal reerece a ex.

isbn ---5- (cloth : alk. paper)

isbn ---5- (pk. : alk. paper)

. VetaHtory5 . Ute StateHtory

. Veta War, 5Iuece. . Veta War, 5

Veta. 5. Veta War, 5Ute State.

i. Laera, Scott. ii. Mart, Ew A.

ds55..

5.c


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For oUr parentS


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c o nte ntS

Ackowleget x

Itroucto: Natoal Aea, Traatoal

Meory, a the Legace o the Seco Iocha WarScott Laderman and Edwin . artini

1. Legace Foretol: Excavatg the Root o Potwar Vet Na

Ngo Vinh Long

2. Vet Na a Veta Aerca Htory a Meory

Walter L. Hixson

3. The Maprg Th Coutry Ha Bee Broke:

Aerca Battere See o Sel a the Eergece othe Veta Syroe

lexander Bloom 5

4. Col War a Vetaee Couty

Heonik Kwon

5. The Avalece o Recoclato Coteporary

Vetaee Meorycape

Christina Schwenkel


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6. Reeerg War, Dreag Peace:

O Coopolta, Copao, a Lterature

Viet Thanh Nguyen

7. Vt Na Growg Pa: Potocalt Cea

Developet a Traatoal Poltc

ariam B. Lam 55

8. A Fhy Aar: Vetaee Seaoo a the

Corotato wth U.S. Neoleral

Scott Laderman

9. Aget Orage: Cog to Ter wth a

Traatoal Legacy

Diane Niblack Fox

10. Reuge to Reue: Seekg Balace the

Vetaee Evroetal Iagato

Charles Waugh

11. Mg Acto the Twety-Frt Cetury

H. Bruce Franklin 5

Blography Aout the Cotrutor Iex 5


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acknoWLedgmentS

Ths collecton orgnate wth a seres o conversatons about what

eee to u the urprg lack o cholarhp o the Ute State a

Veta ce 5. It ha ee qute oe te ce thoe tal cu-

o, a oe preve work ha ee pulhe the ter, ut

we are conent that ths book stll represents soethng sgncant: a

roa, tercplary aaly o a uer o the war ot portat

legace. We are grateul to t outtag cotrutor, whoe perever-

ace wa truetal copletg the volue, a to the aoyou

reeree or ther excellet uggeto. We thak Sua Maher o the Col-

lege o Leral Art at the Uverty o Meota, Duluth, or provg

u or the ex a the Burha-Maclla eowet the De-

partment o History at Western Michigan University or unds enabling us

to reprt, a upate vero, H. Bruce Frakl eay ro Vietnam

and Other merican Fantasies (Uverty o Maachuett Pre, ).

We thak Bh Dah or o geerouly allowg u to ue h work o the

ook cover. A we thak Valere Mllholla, Mra Agre, Sua

Alury, a Ay Buchaa at Duke Uverty Pre or ther woer-

ul avce, guace, a atacea ther patece. Mot o all, we

thank our wonderul amilies, whose love and support continue to uel us.


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Whs i n?

The Vetna War. The Aercan War. The Vetnaese-Aercan War.

The Aercan War n Vet Na. The Secon Inochna War. All wars

have ultple ae, ut the Seco Iocha War ee to have ore

tha ot.1 Eee the wor a phrae ue to ecre the log

war, ought y ultple ette o ultple rot ro at leat to at

leat 5, are aupto a ae aout who wa to lae, who

the ghtg, a how th war t to larger htorcal arratve. A wth

ot ae, however, thee ocure uch ore tha they reveal.

The Veta Warthe ae o choce the Ute State, Autrala,

New Zealan, an uch o the Westncates how ths war ts nto

the larger thrut o Aerca htory, ecrg the choce o the Ute

State a t alle to ght a war Vet Na, a oppoe to Lao, Korea,

or Iraq. Ths nae carres wth t connotatons o a global war aganst

communism, a deeply divided home ront, and the o-repeated but rarely

answere queston, Why Vetna? Conversely, the Aercan War, as

ay Vetaee call t, place the war agat the Ute State urg

the 5, , a a loger le o war ought or Vetaee

nepenence aganst Chna, Japan, an France. It stuates the Unte

State a the latet a log le o aggreor a woul-e coloer

Scott Laera a

Ew A. Mart

IntrodUctIon

nil asi,

tsil m,

h Lis f h

S Ihi W


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IntrodUctIon

that attepte unsuccessully to pose ther wll on the Vetnaese

people.

Other ae, uch a the Vetaee-Aerca War or the Aerca

War Vet Na, carry lar eag a lar queto, ut what

thee ae all have coo ther relace o ato-tatetheUnte States an Vet Naas the prary reerence ponts or who

ought th war a why. They rely o the ary logc o uject a

object, aggressor an vct, vctor an vanqushe, that serves as the

ounaton or any hstorcal narratves, partcularly Aerca-centrc

arratve aout the Col War a, ore recetly, the War o Terror,

whch, accorg to propoet o thee yth, the worl ca e -

ve ealy to alle a eee, goo a evl. But ae that rely

o the ue uject uppoely ge y Aerca a Vetaocure ot oly the local ut the teratoal a traatoal ature

o th partcular war that crtcal to uertag t htory a t

legace.

The Seco Iocha War, whle ar ro perect, prove the -

cursve space or scholars an ctens to wrte an speak back aganst

htory, to ll the traatoal gap the arratve that have ee

th coct, a to prove a ore coplete uertag o a legthy

a coplex truggle that wll log erve a a eg oet the h-

tore o ay ato a, ee, the worl. Th a war that rectly

nvolve, aong others, the Unte States, the Deocratc Republc o

Vet Na, the Republc o Vet Na, Caboa, Laos, Australa, New

Zealan, the Republc o Korea, Chna, the Sovet Unon, Canaa, an

Thala a rectly volve uerou other. Th a war whch

atoal orer were raw, reraw, cotete, volate, tragree,

gore, eee, occupe, eolate, a oe. The eect o that

war have ee larly traatoal, ot eately or Vet Na,

Caboa, an Laos, but also or ts llons o veterans aroun the

worl an or the asporc populatons ro Southeast Asa who have

prea out gloally ce the early . Thee traatoal uject

ther oe, ther experece, a ther htoreele ay arratve

that rely on stable natonal subjects an stable natonal borers. I we

thk aout traatoal a ocal el, ette, a relatohp

cotructe acro geographc, cultural, a poltcal orer, t ecoe

clear that traatoal arratve a terveto are requre to a-

re the htory a legace o the Seco Iocha War.2


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IntrodUctIon

nis nis

Act o war, Jll Lepore re u, evtaly geerate act o arrato,

a the Seco Iocha War ha geerate a uch arrato a ay

war htory. Wagg, wrtg, a reeerg a war, Lepore wrte,all shape ts legacy, all raw bounares.3 Year aer year ore hsto-

re, eor, ovel, l, war tore, ghot tore, a other act o

arrato tervee the el o cultural eory, ghtg a reght-

g the Veta War, the Aerca War, a the attle over the co-

teste eory an eanng o ths long an blooy conct, however

t s labele, rawng, tracng, renscrbng, an renorcng geographc

and temporal boundaries. For the thousands o scholarly works published

o the war, the overwhelg ajorty have reae locke rae-work that place the ato-tate at the ceter o aaly a ocu o the

year o ofcal coct etwee the Ute State, t clet outh-

er Vet Na, a the revolutoary orce throughout the Vetaee

ato. The reult ha ee the pertece o a raework that ha re-

ere largely vle the Vetaee geeral a the vo wth

Vetaee ocety partcular.4

Over the pat ecae or o, thee ouare have ecoe uch ore

u a porou. Sce the e o the Col War, cholar ro arou

the worl have ought to teratoale the htory o the Iochee

conct.5 More recently, a new generaton o Western scholars has ex-

plore the early pero o U.S. volveet Vet Na, oe reclag

a greater ee o Vetaee agecy the proce.6 Other tue have

ecetere ot oly the Ute State ut the ato-tate geeral y

ocusng ore on the ways n whch the Vetnaese revoluton shape

a wa hape y everyay le outher Vet Na.7 A recet pecal

eto o theJournal of Vietnamese Studies took th tre eve urther,

ocusng on the attely ronc topc o the Vetnaaton o Vet-

a War Stue.8

Oly very recetly, however, have we ee the eergece o work ro

ether U.S.-centrc or Vetnaese-centrc perspectves that takes as ts

ocal point the period aer 1975. This growing body o literature addresses

the poltcal, evroetal, a cultural legace o the war, potwar re-

lato etwee the Ute State a the Socalt Repulc o Vet Na,

tour a gloal ecooc traorato, a the ythologe the

war egeere, partcularly the Ute State.9 A thee tue have


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IntrodUctIon

how, the pero aer 5 prove a rch ource o topc a evel-

opet or tuy.

When the Unte States nally le n 97, two years aer the wth-

rawal o t coat troop, Vet Na ace the challege o recotruct-

g t evatate ato a ocety whle at the ae te ghtg waragat Cha a the Kher Rouge. Wahgto, havg ale to ully

acheve t poltcal a ltary ojectve Southeat Aa, ture to

ecooc a cultural warare agat t Vetaee oe. At the gra-

root oth ato, the uerg perte. For Vetaee, the phy-

cal legaces o Agent Orange, lannes, an unexploe ornance

not sspate wth the Aercan wthrawal; rather, these enaces

clae te o thoua o ew vct. Aerca vetera, too, ealt

wth the phycal a pychologcal harhp the war uleahe, ygro allegely war-nuce seases an experencng the soetes

paul challege o cog hoe. Thoua o Vetaee choe to

ee ther hoela or ew hoe the Ute State, Frace, Autrala,

a elewhere the Wet. Other, too youg to gue ther ow ete,

uwttgly etere the rak o the aopte. Scholar, wrter, a art-

t oth coutre et eore theelve the tak o tropectoor

eala reewal. Vetera ro a varety o ato ought to t-

ate traatoal healg. At the roaer level o the ecooy, the Ute

State reae ellgeret, eekg to puh Vet Na or t tuor

resstance to the Aercan nterventon. Vet Na, havng ought or a

ocalt revoluto, uccue to the orce o teratoal captal

that, with the collapse o the Soviet Union, rendered the hegemony o the

arket evtale.

Wth ew excepto, ot o the recet work o the pot-5 pero

rea lte part y the tate-ae raework they aopt. We a-

tcpate that the ext geerato o cholarhp o the legace o the Sec-

o Iocha War wll coe ro tercplary cholar eployg

transnatonal perspectves. Thus, the essays gathere here, representng

cholar workg a varety o el, ro a varety o ackgrou, a

at varou tage o ther career, eek collectvely to trace a tra-

gre the chroologcal a atoal ouare that have charactere

uch o the earler scholarshp. Whle the Unte States an Vet Na

rea the ocal pot o th collecto, the legace o the Seco Io-

cha War or thoe ato a or a varety o actor wth a eyo


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IntrodUctIon 5

ther orer are tuate y the cholar here gloal a traatoal

raework through a varety o cplary a tercplary lee.

th esss

Whe the Seco Iocha War aruptly ee 5, t Vetaee

vctor were le wth lttle te or reecto. They ace a ato to re-

bul an reunte, a socalst revoluton to consolate, an renewe

threat to regoal a atoal ecurty o ther orer. O eate

gcace, the Cout Party wa orce to recocle eore o

the hort-lve Repulc o Vet Na (South Veta) wth pot-5

polce a htorcal arratve that legte the Vetaee revolu-

to. How the revolutoare arrve at th partcular oet a torywith which most Americans remain unamiliar. In Legacies Foretold: Ex-

cavatg the Root o Potwar Vet Na, Ngo Vh Log prove a h-

torcal ouato or our uertag o potwar Vetaee ocety,

exag the tll largely uexplore topc o South Vetaee poltc

between 970 an 97. Hs essay seeks to ove beyon exstng treat-

et o the challege acg a reue Vet Na, ot o whch ocu

o pltc orulato that pt the ea o a cetrale cou-

nst state aganst the challenges o arkets, prvataton, an eoc-

racy. Instea, Long locates any o the challenges acng the Socalst

Repulc o Vet Na the poltcal repreo o the Theu rege e-

ore an aer the Pars Accors o 97. By elnatng any possbl-

tes o poltcal plurals n the south, Long argues, the Theu rege

ae postwar reconclaton, poltcal accooaton, socal ntegra-

to, a evelopet that uch ore fcult. By recoverg the role

playe by the rege n estroyng the Provsonal Revolutonary Gov-

eret partcular, Log a aother eo to recet work y

Len-Hang T. Nguyen an Sophe Qunn- Juge on ths long-neglecte

topc a pero.10

I the Vetaee revolutoare ou theelve cotructg a

renorcng a narratve o the past that woul serve the postwar state,

they have harly ee aloe th proce o eory aageet. The

eory o the Seco Iocha War ha take o crucal atoal a

traatoal charactertc, aectg ot oly vual urvvor ut

alo the uequet acto o the coct varou ellgeret. Deo-


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IntrodUctIon

tratg the portace o th eory to the exerce o potwar Aer-

ca power, Walter L. Hxo eay Vet Na a Veta Aer-

ca Htory a Meory ceter o the cultural recatg the Ute

State o the htory o the Seco Iocha War a t plcato or

U.S. oreg polcy. He argue that through a varety o eaclu-g ltary revo, coure targetg atwar proteter a the

leral ea, a Hollywoo vetera-cetere Veta War l

Aercan culture recast the war n ways that allowe or the naton to

heal a reul popular upport or oreg terveto.11 Th pro-

ce o healg, he eotrate, argale arratve whch Vet-

nam could be viewed as a disastrous intervention illuminatingand thus

prg a traorato othe ato ltat atoal etty.

As Hxson shows, over the last quarter o the twenteth century anthe rt ecae o the twety-rt, the haow o the Veta experece

hug over U.S. oreg polcy, a well a over atttue o the hoe rot.

Th hautg aura o the Iocha war took o a ae o t ow, the

Veta yroe, ecrg the cycal, rutrate, a petc

sense wth whch Aerca approache the worl. Ths trouble Aer-

ca eeply, a they eare that ther vaute ee o o ha gve

way to eelngs o ltaton an hestancy. The success o every subse-

quet oreg terveto wa hale ot oly or t ow ake ut alo

a a eotrato that the ato ha ally put Veta eh t.

The a or thee eelg ca e trace to thoe rt oet that ol-

lowe the e o the war. Iee, oe o the yroe eleet ega

to coalece eve eore Aerca troop ha coe hoe or goo. Back

n another Aerca, people use to ance n the streets when a Pres-

et eclare the e o a war, Newsweek aerte May 5. Itea,

alost eately, there eerge a rano, pressonstc, an re-

quetly heartelt array o oervato aout a ato tryg to cope wth

a lo t oce coul ot have evoe ut that ow tare t quarely

the ace. Thoe repoe cotae the rt trrg o what woul oe

ee lke the atoal oo or the ext three ecae. I The Ma-

spring in This Country Has Been Broken: Americas Battered Sense o Sel

a the Eergece o the Veta Syroe, Alexaer Bloo ocue

o thee evelopet the pero that eately ollowe the e

o the war. Scholar have log ote how raply Aerca wet ro a

Seco Worl War rae o to a Col War et. Bloo how

that with equal or even greater rapidity, they went rom the era o the Viet-


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IntrodUctIon

a War to that o the Veta yroe. H eay a portat ew

eo to the recet exploo o work o the cultural, tellectual,

a poltcal htory o the , ug the legace o the Veta War a

a way to coect to the ecae that ollow.12

Even ore severely than the Unte States, Vet Na eerge rothe Seco Iocha War a eeply ve ocety. The ay challege

o reconclaton an ntegraton n postwar Vet Na were not easly

overcoe. Iee, a Heok Kwo how Col War a Vetaee

Couty, thoe challege are tll very uch o play throughout

the country, contnung to ve regons, vllages, an, n soe cases,

ale. Leavg ae the ore alar tale o ecooc reor a

the growng eans o global econoc ntegraton, Kwon eon-

trate how the eory o the Aerca war rea a powerul orce the everyay le o ay Vetaee. By cog the ocal htory

o the Aerca war at the vllage level wth the gloal, potcoloal h-

tory o the Col War, Kwon hghlghts the challenges acng nvual

ale a cholar o the war alke. Illuatg what he call the cre-

atve everyay practce o Vetaee ale overcog the pa-

ul legace o war, Kwo thu alo oer a way orwar or a ore ter-

cplary, teratoal htory o the Seco Iocha War.

Consistent with Kwons desire to divert our gaze rom states to citizens,

nclung the ractous eores wth whch they oen ust conten,

Chrta Schwekel, The Avalece o Recoclato Cote-

porary Vetaee Meorycape, ul o extat tue that are

Aerca vetera retur to Vet Na a potwar tourt eekg rec-

onclaton wth ther onete aversares by explorng the oen ar-

gale a largely aet role o vetera o the Ary o the Repu-

lc o Vet Na (that , the South Vetaee Ary) traatoal

healng projects. Drawng on ntervews an noral scussons wth

ormer Vietnamese soldiers, her analysis moves rom the reconciliation o

orer eee to rrecoclato aog alle a the reultg uex-

pected solidarities that emerge. Schwenkel shows how two memoryscapes

partcularthe Ho Ch Mh Cty Martyr Ceetery Be Hoa a

the orer eltare oe (dmz) cetral Vet Natragre

the rg ouare that are oe raw etwee coute o e-

ory, eanng, an practce. Her scusson o the dmz n partcular

brngs to lght what she calls ntersectng topographes o eory,

richly describing how the ormer Khe Sanh/Ta Con military base has been


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IntrodUctIon

traore to a pace o rtual care or the oul o the war ea, r-

repectve o e, eology, or atoalty. I lght o thee g, he

argue that the coplex a teral teo that have eerge uer

the potwar ocal a ecooc coto o Vet Na ea ore

coplcate a ultlayere uertag o the eag a prac-tce o healg a recoclato that take place the aerath o war.

Contnung the exploraton o postwar legaces beyon the real o

state actors an ofcal scourses, Vet Thanh Nguyen raws on texts

ro Aercan, South Korean, Japanese, an Vetnaese cobatants,

veterans, and novelists to show how writers rom Asia and North America

have raw o the lterary tool o copao a coopolta to

aga ght the war, though th te eory, wth the purpoe o llu-

minating a path to peace. His essay, Remembering War, Dreaming Peace:On Cosopoltans, Copasson, an Lterature, sweepngly covers

thee work to prove a ore gloal ocu tha ou ot prev-

ou Aerca tue o the lterature o the Veta War. Placg thee

work a traatoal raework, Nguye ecre how a varety o

narratves rae by copasson, cosopoltans, an epathy con-

ect the terror o the war Vet Na to ore coteporary preoccu-

patons wth the war on terror n the Mle East, North Arca, an

Cetral Aa.

One o the ost lastng transnatonal legaces o the war, o course,

the apora o llo o Vetaee cte a the coplex cul-

tural eory o the war a t legace th aporc proce create.

In Vt Nas Growng Pans: Postsocalst Cnea Developent an

Transnatonal Poltcs, Mara B. La explores the contours o trans-

national Vietnamese cultural production, delineating how a rapidly grow-

g gloal cultural tour that requre the terepeece o the ew

traatoal crculato o cultural or, uch a Vetaee l, wth

a states poltcal-econoc nees reveals ways n whch acaec ap-

proache ake aet coplex cotructo o ocal a worl cul-

tural eory. Socalst realst cnea, cultural hstory an eucatonal

currcula, U.S. l etval a tour, a atcout protet all -

ect the conteporary stuy o Vetnaese an asporc l. Travel-

ng lakers an artsts, as well as postcolonal crtcs, she argues,

ust conten wth such probles when nvokng alternatve ors o

ocal a ecooc jutce wth the potwar ocalt Vetaee tate

a acro teratoal water whe the tate tel larly workg


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IntrodUctIon

towar strengthenng ts global cultural value an authorty wthn the

teratoal couty. By explorg the terecto o thee local a

gloal orce through the work o laker uch a g Nht Mh,

Bu Thc Chuy, Luu Huh, a Mraelle Ag, La alo how how

the tool o acaec cplg create the coto o polty orthe proucto o Vetaee cultural tue.

It ot oly at the level o culture that Vet Na ha ought to e-

velop a broaer nternatonal presence. Export-orente trae has lke-

we rve the coutry evelopg gloal prole, though oe wthout

the war erace t cultural tratege have egeere. I A Fhy A-

air: Vietnamese Seaood and the Conrontation with U.S. Neoliberalism,

Scott Laeran exanes the evelopng blateral trae relatonshp o

the Unte States an Vet Na snce the last ecae o the twentethcetury, ocug partcular o how U.S. poltca a trae ofcal

attepte to uere Vetaee ecooc growth the area o cat-

h export. Wth Vet Na utatal etry to the Aerca eaoo

arket, U.S. proucers, wth the assstance o electe ofcals, ought

back, atteptng not only to argue that the Vetnaese were gulty o

upg ther prouct at uar prce ut alo rawg o ract argu-

et a the war legacy partcular, the Aerca eployet o

Agent Orange in the 1960s and 1970sas a rationale or denying the entry

o Vetaee eaoo to the Ute State. Never trut a cath wth

a oregn accent, one ant-Vetnaese avertseent nstructe, whle

Aerca parta the trae pute ware agat ox-ete

catsh that grew up appng aroun n Thr Worl rvers an n-

ng on whatever [they] coul get [ther] grubby lttle ns on. Laer-

an shows how all ses rew on the eory an legaces o the war,

leang to stuatons n whch Aercan catsh arers an ther alles

cotructe arratve o vctato the ace o uwarrate Vet-

aee aggreo. For the Vetaee, th wa a oerg a roc

leo what the coutry tur to arket reor portee, a the

Ute State, whch or o ay year attepte to reake the outher

Vetnaese econoy n ts own captalst age, was now usng state-

ae protectot eaure to puh Vetaee arer who ha e-

race the prcple o gloale ree trae.

Few war-relate ue reoate ore eeply aog Vetaee a

Aerca toay tha the legacy o thoe checal eolat eploye

by the Unte States n Southeast Asa. In Agent Orange: Cong to


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IntrodUctIon

Ter wth a Traatoal Legacy, Dae Nlack Fox upack a u-

er o the tercplary threa tghtly wove to the arc o what

we ean when we talk about Agent Orange: ecal scence, publc

polcy, law, huantaran eorts, hstory, an lve experence. Wth

Aget Orage, a egatc ue that ha perte or early hal a ce-tury epte varou attept to ee a reolve t through cece a

poltc, Fox lk local to gloal a vual lve to atoal polce

across ves o te an space, across borers o natons, as well as

thoe o cla, wealth, geer, a ethcty, wth eag that lp ro

person to person an ro context to context an reerents that range

ro the techcal to the experetal a the etaphorc. Through her

explorato o Aget Orage a t ultvalet, locato-pecc ea-

ings, Fox explores how individuals and institutions within and beyond theouare o the ato-tate have cotructe the eag o the ter

Aget Orage a, og o, rge the gap etwee coure at

the ofcial, diplomatic, and state levels and the experiences o victims who

are oth the oject a the uject o thoe coure.

Brgng perspectves ro the Unte States an Vet Na, Charles

Waugh nvestgates cultural atttues towar the envronent n con-

teporary Vetnaese an Vetnaese Aercan lterary wrtng. Hs

essay, Reuge to Reuse: Seekng Balance n the Vetnaese Envron-

ental Iagnaton, begns wth a scusson o the longstanng en-

vronental thee n Vetnaese culture that s ubqutous n ts olk

tales, olk wso, an olk poetry. Durng the Aercan waran n

the lterary representatons o that warths olk relance on the env-

ronent was valate n another way: as a reuge or, soetes, as a

acre place where the prt o the ea tll lgere. The oret pro-

tect our oler ut ecrcle our eey, reportely a Ho Ch Mh,

who wa photographe at Tet platg a tree a act eorale

everal pulc ervce poter urg the war. More recetly, however,

that te-hoore a war-tete cultural a the evroet ha

ee challege, ot upplate, y a ee o expeecy or ecooc

growth and development. There is something startling, or instance, in the

act that the checal copae Dow a Moato, whch are wely

epe or ther warte colluo wth the U.S. ltary over the pray-

ng o Agent Orange, toay o a brsk busness supplyng Vetnaese

armers with agricultural chemicals and the general public with all sorts o

houehol prouct. Waugh alo explore a evato etwee th oler


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IntrodUctIon

cultural bass n the envronent an the exponentally ncreasng e-

a or uppoe vrlty ehacg wlle prouct, whch pro-

ably not a concence, snce nustral pollutants are known to cause

eocre- a reprouctve-yte prole. A a eorou arket

ha opee or Vetaee e to coue ear le, rce we xewth varous snake parts, an all sorts o other, oen crtcally enan-

gere, wlle pece, the reult that the preet the Vetaee e-

vroet ha yet aga alle uer a erou, ultproge attack, oly

th te t the Vetaee theelve who are repole. Drawg

on a range o literary sources, Waugh examines how economic expediency

ha aage to upplat th trato.

Fally, H. Bruce Frakl, Mg Acto the Twety-Frt

Century, explores what has been perhaps the ost explosve an sus-tane poltcal an cultural legacy n the Unte States o the Aer-

can experence n Southeast Asa: the /mi ssue. For two ecaes

ollowg the war, the Ute State reue, coerale part ue to

the potency o the bele that Vet Na contnue to hol lve Aer-

ca proer, to orale relato wth t orer eey, choog -

stea to squeee Vet Na both econocally an ploatcally. Syn-

theg h groureakg work o the ue M.I.A., or, ythmaking

in America an, ore recently, Vietnam and Other American Fantasies,

Frakl rg th htory up to ate y areg the reurrecto o

cocer aout /mi the rt ecae o the twety-rt cetury,

such as n the Iraq war n 200 an the presental capagn o John

McCa . Whle the portat recet work o Mchael Alle ha

eepee a coplcate our uertag o the root o the /

mi ue, the actvt a everyay actor who carre the torch o the

/mi oveet, a the role o oth recet Aerca poltc,

Frakl work cotue to prove a roa raework or uerta-

g the poltc o eory pot-Veta Aerca.13

I cii i tsil m

Taken as a whole, these essays eonstrate a nuber o thees that

eerge ro tercplary a traatoal approache to the lega-

ce o the Seco Iocha War. Frt, they how covcgly the lk

between naton an narraton to whch postcolonal lterary crtcs an

eory scholars have long plore hstorans an other socal scen-


19/22

IntrodUctIon

tt to pay greater atteto. At the level o tate-ae actor a ofcal

scourse, Walter Hxson, Alexaner Bloo, an H. Bruce Frankln all

eonstrate the probleatc ways n whch state-sanctone narratves

that eote the eag o the war have ee put to a varety o ue,

ro justyng puntve trae ebargoes an arket- base reorsto jutyg a reewe a ehace ltar. I each o thee cae,

we are ree o Eret Rea axo that orgettg, a eve h-

torcal error, a crucal actor the creato o a ato.14 The Ute

State a Vet Na have ee ae a reae ot oly y war a

the arratve they egeer, ut alo y what thoe arratve a the

ttuto a vual who prouce a eate the ree-

er a orget.

A a hot o other eay the collecto ake clear, however, eveofcal narratves ust conten wth the ways n whch eory, con-

ct, an traua are nscrbe n an through artstc expresson, cul-

tural coote, a everyay le. I th orulato, oth Heok

Kwons stuy o everyay practces o eory an reconclaton an

Vet Thanh Nguyens exploratons o cosopoltans, epathy, an

copao erve a powerul couterarratve to the eort ecre

y Hxo a Frakl purpoeully to orget the eect o war o the

oject o t volece a to gore the eect o war o thoe who ght

t. Slarly, Mara La tuate varou or o cultural proucto

y aporc Vetaee actor a traatoal challege a altera-

tves to state-base narratves, practces, an polces proote by the

Vetaee goveret. The relatve o the llo o Vetaee ar-

tyr who populate the coutry gravearke a uarke, ofcal

an provseacross stes throughout the regon also serve as a re-

ner o both the power an lts o state-sanctone narratves. In

Chrstna Schwenkels tellng, the coplex transnatonal eoryscape

o Khe Sanh both copleents an coplcates state-ntene ean-

g a reveal[] the way whch urecocle pat a the traua

that endures in landscapes, bodies, and memory are provisionally, though

uevely, reolve.

The gloal ow o people, captal, a ea that or the heart o the

transnatonal raeworks escrbe n these essays n any cases have

uere ofcal tate practce, partcularly Vet Na. Iee, the

eay le weght to the arguet ae recetly y Mark Braley that,

ce the egg odoi moi, the Vetaee tate ha creagly lot


20/22

IntrodUctIon

the ablty to control the eory o the war.15 But other essays n the

volue re u o the tuor pertece o tate authorty a tate

power oth the Ute State a Vet Na. The ae type o roe

a cotracto that are ro cotet over cultural proucto a

eoralaton practces can be seen n the pleentaton o globalpoltcal a ecooc raework at atoal a local level. The ae

gloal ow that o ealy trace a tragre atoal ouare

are oen negotiated, sanctioned, and supported by the very states they are

supposedly undermining. Scott Laderman provides a powerul example o

th, explog the yth o gloal ree arket o regularly chapoe

y the Ute State y howg how lateral ree trae agreeet

a the gloal captalt ratructure o whch they retca e ealy

ture to tool o ofcal protecto, ervg powerul teret apowerul ato at the expee o erache proucer a evel-

opg tate. Slarly, Charle Waugh how how, t ruh to erace

that very evelopet oel, the Vetaee goveret ha jettoe

that nations long tradition o balanced environmentalism and, along with

t, ha wllgly expoe t cte to the percou ocal a evro-

etal eect o gloal captal. Dae Fox alo how u oe o the way

whch ato tll atter a great eal, gve the reual o the Ute

States to come to terms with the legacy o the chemical war it waged in Viet

Na over ay year. Whle a uer o vual actor have hape

a ee hape y the ultple eoet o Aget Oragea c-

ece, law, htory, a experecethe ght or evroetal a ocal

jutce arou thee coure rea thwarte y the tate-ae ov-

eregty o the U.S. goveret repole or the prayg a y the

increasingly elusive and disembodied power o the transnational chemical

corporato who acltate t.

All o the eay th volue ugget that a tercplary a

traatoal approach to the legace o the Seco Iocha War ut

e groue the pace, roe, a cotracto eoe the

arratve, polce, a practce that hape a are hape y the ter-

sectons o naton-states an transnatonal ows, state an nonstate

actor, the gloal a the local. They re u that the legace o the

Veta War are gcat ot oly or the way whch they hape

geopoltc a teratoal relato the eco hal o the tweteth

cetury ut alo or the way whch they cotue to hape everyay

le or llo o cte arou the worl. I Rea wa rght, ally


21/22

IntrodUctIon

natons are ene largely by what they collectvely orget about the

patthe perhap th collecto alo ugget a way orwar: that y

eracg a traatoal approach to war a eory, we ca oer at

least a oest nterventon aganst the seengly nexorable arch o

htorcal aea.

a qUIck note on StyLe: Reaer wll otce that oe author have choe

to use the Vetnaese acrtcs; others have not. We opte or conss-

tency wthn chapters rather than the entre volue. Reaers wll also

notce that Vetna an Vet Na both appear n the text. Ths s

ot a etoral overght. We have ue Vet Na to reer to the place

calle Vet Na, a we wh to reorce that Vet Na ot plyat oe treate the Ute Statea Aerca curve cotruc-

to. We have, however, retae the ue o Veta whe t appear

quote ateral, ttle, or ae, or whe reerrg to the Veta War,

Veta vetera, the Veta yroe, a other eotato o the

Aerca agato. Th woul clue, our vew, North Veta

a South Veta.

ns

. Lepore, The Name of War, xv. For ore o the poltc o laguage aocate

wth the war, ee Laera, Tours of Vietnam, xx.

. Th eto ae o the approach la out Bach et al., Nations Un-

bound, .

. Lepore, The Name of War, xx.

. For ore o th tre the htorography, ee Braley, Vietnam at War, .

5. For a aplg o thee work, ee Gauk, The Soviet Union and the VietnamWar; Zhai, China and the Vietnam Wars; Daum et al.,America, the Vietnam War, and

the World; Lawrence,Assuming the Burden; Rabel, New Zealand and the Vietnam

War; Braley a Youg,aking Sense of the Vietnam Wars.

. Aog the ay recet work th area are Catto, Diems Final Failure;

Jacobs, Americas Miracle Man in Vietnam; Mller, Vson, Power, an Agency;

Chapan, Stagng Deocracy; Carter, Inventing Vietnam; Masur, Exhbtng

Sg o Retace. Much o the tre oth teratoalato a a earler

chronologcal ocus ollowe the publcaton o Braley, Imagining Vietnam and

merica.. Ellott, The Vietnamese War; Hut, Vietnams Southern Revolution.


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IntrodUctIon 5

8. Mller an Vu, The Vetna War as a Vetnaese War. Accopanyng

eay that ue o theJournal of Vietnamese Studies y Frao Gulleot, Bu-

sarawan Teerawchtchanan, Shawn McHale, Dav Bggs, an Peter Hansen ex-

plore a rage o acatg topc wth th larger thee.

. Aog the laark work o the pot-5 pero U.S.Vet Na rela-

to a the cultural eory o the Seco Iocha War are Duker, Vietnam

since the Fall of Saigon; Frankln, M.I.A.; Lebcke, The Spitting Image. More re-

cet work that have ought to ul o thee tue clue Schulger, Time

for Peace; Mart, nvisible Enemies; Laera, Tours of Vietnam; Kuarov, The

yth of the ddicted rmy; Alle, Until the Last an Comes Home. Fro the per-

spectve o Vetnaese, Ta, In the Country of Memory, pave the way or recent

tue o war eory that have tee to coe ro ore athropologcal a

traatoal perpectve, clug Kwo, Ghosts of War in Vietnam; Schwekel,

The merican War in Contemporary Vietnam. See alo the routale o the pul-cato oThe Diary of ng Thy Trm theJournal of Vietnamese Studies , o.

(Jue ).

. Nguye work o the pot-Tet war a o Hao role uerg

the possibility o greater reconciliation vis--vis the Provisional Revolutionary Gov-

eret Nguye, Col War Cotracto; Nguye, Hanois War. Qu-

Juge oratve eay Fro the Quiet merican to the Par Peace Coerece

oer yet aother take o the polte, a ultate ee, o the Provoal

Revolutoary Goveret.

. For ore on the Aercan nee or postwar healng, see Hagopan, TheVietnam War in merican emory.

12. Among the large number o ascinating recent works on the 1970s, see Borstel-

a, The 1970s; Zaretky, No Direction Home; Schula a Zeler, Rightward

Bound; Kalman, Right Star Rising; Rodgers, The Age of Fracture; Cowie, Stayin Alive.

. Alle, Until the Last an Comes Home.

. Rea, What I a Nato?, .

5. Braley, Vietnam at War, 5.

Four Decades On edited by Scott Laderman and Edwin A. Martini

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