The Returning Casualty Blog

In April, we continued to expand our presence on the web through YouTube and Facebook.  Through these networking sites, we’ll be able to reach more people and connect you all more intimately with the inner workings of our project and the people involved.

On our YouTube channel, TheReturningCasualty, you’ll find brief video excerpts from our recovery missions in Vietnam.  Once we get our video footage translated, we’ll be able to post trip commentaries, interviews, and more in depth films of the process.  Click here to view our YouTube channel.

If you’re on Facebook, click here to see our newly launched Facebook page.  Become a fan and share the page with your friends. Doing so will help us spread our message to a larger community. As a fan, you’ll also be first to know about upcoming events, new blog entries, and new photo and video uploads.  Check it out now.

You can see one of our short YouTube videos below. Be sure to follow the links above to see more. Thank you for your continued support.

April 20th, 2009 | Category: Web Updates

Recording a tombstone discovered at Lang Da

Today, the TRC envoy returns from Vietnam. We received these updates and look forward to sharing more details on the success of the trip.

While overseas, the families of Major Duc Minh Hua, Captain Minh Van Nguyen, Police Sergeant Major Sau Van Duong, and Captain Vu Van Phu were able to collect their relative’s remains. The wife of Captain Hai Van Doan was ill in Saigon and unable to make the trip to Yen Bai to collect her husband’s remains as intended, so she will try again later. A TRC employee, while making his final checks at Cay Khe Hill before the families arrived, discovered that the tombstone of Lieutenant Colonel Tang Duy Nguyen had been removed. The family was advised and is waiting for more information before they travel to the site. Finally, the wife of Captain Son Hong Dang was unable to collect enough money to make the trip to Vietnam, and with our tight budget, we were unable to support her. When we have raised enough money, we will try again. If you wish to assist Ms. Dang with a donation, please click on the new “Donate Now” button at the top of the sidebar to the left.

We are still waiting on a permit to examine the graves found in Thanh Hoa and Nam Ha. Instead, the envoy took the opportunity to explore Lang Da village, where they discovered 20 more graves.

More updates to follow. Until then, please visit the updated gallery to view some new photos from 2009.

March 9th, 2009 | Category: In The Field

In Bien Hoa, 2008

At the end of February, TRC will once again return to Vietnam to retrieve remains and honor those who perished in the post-war Vietnamese reeducation camps.

On this trip, the families of Captain Hai Van Doan, Captain Vu Van Phu, Captain Son Hong Dang, Captain Minh Van Nguyen, and Lieutenant Colonel Tang Duy Nguyen will finally visit their relative’s final resting place and honor him with a proper burial.

Much work lies ahead. While we have uncovered many isolated camp burial grounds, we need the local Vietnamese officials to provide us with the burial records so that we may identify unmarked and illegible graves. With this information, we will announce the names of those discovered over the radio to the Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Americans who have long lived without knowledge of their relative’s location and assist those who come forward with the recovery process. We are in the process of obtaining permits and letters of introduction to procure this vital information.

We will also continue to meet with US officials at Embassy and Consulate General to garner their assistance in obtaining information and permits from the Vietnamese government. We will continue to push the Chief of the Binh Duong Province for a permit to properly bury the remains of South Vietnamese soldiers discovered in a mass grave in Bien Hoa in the Bien Hoa cemetery (renamed Binh An in 2007).

Of the reeducation camps we have located, a site in Thanh Hoa province has proved the most overwhelming, with an estimated total of 150 graves. We have also uncovered a great number in Ha Nam province.

In the future, we hope to see the establishment of a national military cemetery in Vietnam honoring the fallen ARVN soldiers. A nation cannot deny its history and can only move forward once it recognizes the humanity of all of its citizens. Whether they came from the North or South, they were all Vietnamese who sacrificed their lives for their country.

January 28th, 2009 | Category: In The Field

Thuong Tiec, a memorial statue to the fallen ARVN soldiers, located at Bien Hoa before April 1975, when it was destroyed

Bien Hoa Cemetery, 2008

This scene of overgrown wild grasses and trees, broken headstones, and mounds of fresh earth was once the site of the national military cemetery of the former Republic of Vietnam. Inaugurated in 1966, it housed the remains of the soldiers of the South Vietnamese military who passed away in the latter half of the war. Now, decades later, this abandoned and vandalized cemetery outside of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) is the last resting place for the old South Vietnamese regime in Vietnam. Since the takeover, their cemeteries have been paved over and replaced with industrial parks and playgrounds, often without proper reburial of remains.

In 2006, the Vietnamese government opened the cemetery to public use, with a clear purpose: if anyone may bury their dead here, then it is no longer an ARVN military cemetery, and the final neglected monument to the old government will fade from the country’s memory. Now called Binh An Cemetery, a brick kiln and factory has already been established on a portion of the site where the honored graves of the dead once stood. Untended and desecrated, the cemetery throbs with the pain of an open wound, where those who should have been honored and respected were outcast instead.

Bien Hoa Cemetery in 1994, compared with a photo taken before 1975

Bien Hoa Cemetery in 1994, compared with a photo taken before 1975

A North Vietnamese military cemetery in Vietnam

A memorial statue in Vietnam honoring the North Vietnamese soldiers

Common Humanity

One need not look far to find historical examples of post-war respect for the dead. Just as history is littered with examples of prejudice, discrimination and vengeful behavior on the part of peoples and governments, it has also witnessed the overcoming of such prejudices in favor of a common future.

The American Civil War (1861-1865) deeply divided North and South in a bloody and brutal conflict that pitted brother against brother. For years after the war ended, the two sides remained hostile and embittered. Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia was founded during the war as a military cemetery by Union General Montgomery C. Meigs on the property of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. After the war, it was considered a Union cemetery, even though hundreds of Confederate soldiers were also buried there. As a result, families of the fallen Confederate soldiers were not allowed to decorate the graves of their relatives and, in some cases, were not even permitted to enter the cemetery.

Finally, in 1900, the US Congress authorized the establishment of a special section for Confederate war dead, as a gesture of national reconciliation. Almost 500 Confederate officers, soldiers, wives, and civilians rest in concentric circles around a towering monument to the Confederate dead. Of the many inscriptions on the base of the monument, this one, attributed to the Reverend Randolph Harrison McKim, captures the spirit of the memorial:

Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

(Photo by Vincent Lynch)

Monument at the center of the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

Not for fame or reward
Not for place or for rank
Not lured by ambition
Or goaded by necessity
But in simple
Obedience to duty
As they understood it
These men suffered all
Sacrificed all
Dared all-and died

(Photo by Bjarki Sigursveinsson)

La Cambe German Military Cemetery in France

(Photo by Paul LaRue)

Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery Memorial in Columbus, OH

Another example from the American Civil War, Camp Chase, located in Columbus, Ohio, was a Union POW camp for Confederate soldiers. Those who died while in captivity were buried here. After the war ended, the site was allowed to deteriorate until restored at the turn of the century. Now well tended as a historical site, at its center rests a memorial with the word, “Americans,” chiseled in its arch.

In 1954, less than 10 years after WWII, the German War Graves Commission extended its mission to the establishment and upkeep of cemeteries abroad. In Normandy alone, the Service d’Entretien des Sépultures Militaires Allemandes (German Military Burials Maintenance Service or S.E.S.M.A.) maintains six main German cemeteries honoring WWII war dead. In the UK, the Commonwealth Graves Commission oversees the Cannok Chase German War Cemetery of WWI and II dead. The fallen German soldiers, hardened enemies to the British and French in both wars, are treated with respect. Though they were enemy combatants, they share a common humanity, and should be allowed to rest in peace. It is difficult to recognize this in a wartime enemy, but it is necessary to reconcile with the past and move forward.

Moving Forward

These men may have fought on opposing sides, but they were all Vietnamese soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the future of their cherished country. How can we allow some to be glorified while others are cast aside and forgotten? The Vietnamese government shames itself by allowing these offenses to continue, yet the administration even now has a chance to do what is honorable by respecting each of its fallen countrymen. To do so, the government must cooperate with our efforts.

The Returning Casualty has applied for a permit to restore the Bien Hoa Cemetery. When given permission, we intend to properly bury the unidentifiable remains we discover in reeducation camp graves and a group of unknown soldiers found in a mass grave on the grounds. While those who died in the reeducation camps were civilians imprisoned by the Vietnamese government after the war ended, many were ARVN soldiers and officers, and all were servants of their country who deserve distinction for their sacrifice.

In Vietnam, there will be a place to remember the past. Left untended, the wounds of the war cannot heal.

Related Links

Selected articles on Bien Hoa Cemetery compiled by an American Vietnam War Veteran
German War Graves Commission Homepage (In English)
Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery
National Park Service Lesson on Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, USA

January 7th, 2009 | Category: In The Field

Timothy Swanson, Chief of the Humanitarian Resettlement Section at the US Consulate, meets with Chairman Thanh Nguyen of TRC in November

Brian Aggeler, Counselor of Political Affairs at the US Embassy, meets with Chairman Thanh Nguyen of TRC in October

While in Vietnam last October and November, TRC met with US officials at the Embassy and Consulate regarding our efforts in the reeducation camps.

Mr. Brian Aggeler, Counselor of Political Affairs at the US Embassy in Hanoi, pledged his support to our humanitarian project. During the meeting, we discussed the most efficient and tactful way to solicit information and permits from the Vietnamese government.

After this meeting, Mr. Aggeler introduced us to Mr. Timothy Swanson, Chief of the Humanitarian Resettlement Section at the US Consulate General in Saigon. He oversees the immigration of former US allies in Vietnam to the United States under the Orderly Departure Program (closed in 1994 and reopened in 2005). This program was established as the Humanitarian Operation in 1979 to allow for the immigration of former South Vietnamese officials and soldiers who would suffer discrimination and abuse under the new regime. It was later extended to include the wives and, under the McCain Amendment, the children of those who died in reeducation camps. These family members of the deceased must produce their relative’s death certificate with their application for resettlement.

In Saigon, we brought the cases of three families who were denied resettlement because they could not produce a death certificate to Mr. Swanson’s attention. While the reeducation camps were still in operation, many families were not informed of their relative’s whereabouts and some did not receive a death certificate upon their relative’s death. Having recently assisted these families with the recovery of their relative’s remains, Chairman Thanh Nguyen offered to act as a witness confirming that their relative had indeed passed away in the camps. The families also provided photos and other documents proving their relationship with the deceased.

In the future, we hope to be able to provide DNA testing of remains, so that the families will know for certain that they have finally found their loved ones. In lieu of a death certificate, DNA test results will prove invaluable to those who wish to apply for resettlement. We are currently seeking a meeting with the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) at the US Embassy in Hanoi, a detachment of the US Military already using DNA testing to confirm the identities of American remains discovered in Vietnam.

Related Links

US Embassy in Hanoi
US Consulate General in Saigon
US Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command (JPAC)

December 15th, 2008 | Category: Government

We’ve been hard at work on our official website and are finally ready to reveal it to the public. The new site will feature personal histories, a photo gallery, news, and more in depth information about The Returning Casualty. It also offers a chance to get involved by contributing through a secure online donation page.

We’re excited about expanding our presence on the web and connecting with more people in the community. Visit this web address on Monday, October 27, to experience our new website in action!

October 22nd, 2008 | Category: Web Updates

A marked grave located at Yen Bai, Dec 2007

Many sites are only accessible by motorcycle

On the train to Hanoi

The camp burial grounds are abandoned and overgrown

This morning, Chairman Thanh Nguyen and members of our Foundation boarded a plane for a 2 month trip to Vietnam. While overseas, they will engage in another round of remains recovery, assisting a new group of families locate and recover the remains of their relatives in the isolated jungle camps. Over the next 2 months, more of these brave family men will finally be reunited with their families and given the honorable burial they deserve.

Return to this blog in the coming weeks for specific updates from our members about their experiences and accomplishments as they travel in Vietnam.

October 9th, 2008 | Category: In The Field