(PICTURE: A quote from McNamara.)
While in HCMC, Huyen and I went to the American War Atrocities Museum. This was my second time at the museum. The first time I went I felt deeply ashamed to be an American. After having lived here for three years and being taken in by the graciousness and kindness of the people, that shame has reached new heights; I feel absolute disgust at what our country did in Vietnam.
In school, we don't really learn about the horrific things we did in Vietnam. Why is that? I would say that the vast majority of Americans have complete apathy when it comes to the mass murder and war crimes our country has been responsible for in Vietnam and in other places around the world. Personally, I think that America should build our own war crimes museum in Washington as acknowledgment of the evils we've done and as a reminder to never do them again.
Here's a few exhibits that struck me at the museum:
(PICTURE: Huyen's uncle is part of that three million and part of the 300,000 missing.)
(PICTURE: A good senator who was sadly in the minority.)
(PICTURE: Kerrey WON a bronze star for this massacre.)
(PICTURE: The city by Huyen's house. This is where my family and friends stayed the night before our wedding.)
(PICTURE: Why weren't members of our government charged with war crimes?)
(PICTURE: Does this look familiar? Did we learn any lessons from Vietnam?)
