Why are US troops returning to Vietnam?

Last Updated on January 6, 2025 6:37 am

The United States was defeated in a nearly two-decade-long defensive war. Thousands of US troops left Vietnam with the shame of defeat. Nearly 50 decades have passed since then. Many of those soldiers who returned home have died. Some of those who survived are returning to Vietnam again.

The question is, why are US troops still going to Vietnam after so many years of war? An Al Jazeera report has given a detailed answer to that question. According to the report, US troops are returning to Vietnam mainly in search of mass graves.

The Vietnam War is a much-discussed event of the last century. It began in 1957 and lasted until 1975. In this 18-year-long war, 350,000 Laotians and Cambodians and 1.3 million Vietnamese were killed.

On the other hand, about 58,000 American soldiers were killed and another 150,000 were injured. Many of them still carry the scars of the war.

As part of the healing process for the trauma they endured as a result of the war, veterans are rushing to the battlefield 50 years after the war to identify the graves of their missing comrades. There, they work hand in hand with their “old enemies” (now friends), former Vietnamese soldiers.

Four US soldiers last visited Vietnam in August 2022. They are now in their 70s. Quy Nhon is a city of about 500,000 people on the south-central coast of Vietnam and the capital of Binh Dinh province.

The four veterans landed at a small airport outside the city. With the lush green forests and beautiful tropical beaches stretching across the horizon of Quy Nhon, no one would believe that this is where the fierce fighting of the Vietnam War began.

Shortly after, the four US soldiers emerged from the airport. There, they were greeted by an elderly Vietnamese man in uniform. He is Major Dang Ha Thuy. Who fought bravely against the US troops five decades ago.

Half a century ago they used to shoot at each other. And that day they shook hands with each other and exchanged smiles like old friends. But how was this possible?

Al Jazeera’s report says that one and the same goal brought them together again in one place. Major Thuy had been searching for the remains of his missing Vietnamese comrades for a long time. Those who had disappeared or been killed during the war.

Thuy spent 20 years searching for them. When he was unsuccessful, these four US soldiers finally came to his aid. Because they were the only ones who knew where the graves of his comrades were. Because they were the ones who buried them.

Leaving the airport, the five of them boarded a shuttle train with a group of journalists. The train took them all to Xuan Son Hill, a remote area of ​​​​Kim Son Valley. Fifty years ago, there was a large US military base here. It was the site of a brutal war. It is also home to a mass grave containing the remains of 60 people.