2025 Wrap Up: 50th Joint Commemoration, Stories I Wish They’d Tell About the War in Vietnam

When the United States used false information to invade Iraq, many of us wondered, “Didn’t we learn anything from the War in Vietnam?” Several years later, we organized a World Storytelling Day event, SEVEN STORIES I WISH THEY’D TELL ABOUT THE WAR IN VIETNAM. There was the My Lai Massacre, the Pentagon Papers, Military rape, and the “boat people”, refugees who fled to America. My writer friend, Gary Melom, shared the tale of being assigned duty to escort the body of the star football player back to small town Minnesota. Like so many other Vietnam Veterans, he experienced the understandable rage of those who attacked Veterans because it was easier than standing up to the leaders who lied us into the War. Gary was Tim O’Brien’s high school friend, and is quoted liberally in the recent O’Brien biography, PEACE IS A SHY THING. Minnesota Veteran Tim O’Brien is most well-known for writing the war in Vietnam “novel”, THE THINGS THEY CARRIED.

Last fall the Minnesota Humanities Center, famous for highlighting what they call “absent narratives”, organized two weekends commemorating 50 years since the end of the War in Vietnam. They consulted with American Veterans of that time, but also with civilians and Veterans of the Hmong, Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese communities. These are the folks who came here after the war disrupted and destroyed everything they knew. The event was filled with dance, music, stories, and talks reflecting the cultural experience of all of us, blasting out the message, “We all belong here, joyfully together.”

I had the opportunity to play TAPS and tell stories about being a Medic and finding my name 11 times on the Vietnam Wall. I make music on items rescued from the landfill. THEME FROM MASH, which I played on a SWING RESPIRATORY HOSE, says “suicide is painless”. It is not, and Veterans fall to it much too frequently. The American Legion BE THE ONE program encourages Veterans to check in with friends and get them to seek help. Veteran Resilience Project (VRP) is my first choice for help, and VRP had a table at the event. Sam Verdeja, U.S. Vietnam Veteran, spoke forcefully about the need for policy that prevents leaders from sending us to war for bad reasons, then neglecting Veterans and families harmed by such actions. David West and some of his FIREROAST MOUNTAIN BOYS, played peace and protest songs, including IMAGINE which was banned from many radio stations during the War in Iraq. Gary Gilson’s film, AND A TIME TO HEAL, and Kim Heikkila’s book, SISTERHOOD OF WAR, highlighted the too often forgotten service of nurses during the War in Vietnam.

Perhaps best for me was reuniting with Col Khao Insixiengmay, a leader in the so-called “Secret War in Laos”. Many Asian soldiers fought with Americans in an effort U.S. leaders insisted was not happening. When life forced the “secret soldiers” to the U.S. as immigrants, they couldn’t get Veteran benefits. The false refrain was, “You’re not a Veteran. There was no fighting in Laos.” Now long time American citizens, these soldiers have struggled for years to be recognized as Veterans to get the basic services afforded to U.S. Veterans. Though American Veterans get good help from many quarters, this is not unlike the treatment of Vietnam Veterans exposed to toxins like Agent Orange. I met Col Khao about 15 years ago because I did some regular storytelling and writing work in the Lao Youth Center he directed on the north side. When I learned of his efforts to get Veteran recognition for his “secret soldier” comrades in America, I helped with legislative advocacy. I was thrilled to once again encounter this humble, but great man.

And then there’s the dance. A wonderful young woman named Mimi helped Elaine and I learn to “dance Lao” at the LAO50 banquet. Then our Vietnamese storytelling friend, Phuoc Tran, invited all of us up to dance in a story she performed with a group of children. Thank you, Minnesota Humanities Center for the Commemoration, for helping us tell more of the stories missing in action from the War in Vietnam.

*This was originally written as one of the monthly Sun Post columns Larry writes to keep the world safe for children, gardening, and storytelling.