I spent about 45 minutes Jan. 25 in Hilo at the Vietnam War memorial, “Wall That Heals,” viewing the educational displays. There was no overt recruiting taking place, but the large numbers of American flags portrayed a bravado image. I saw no mention in the educational displays about the 7 million Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians killed in the war, nor any mention of the U.S. dropping 7 million tons of bombs.
A wall for the 7 million Southeast Asian victims of the U.S. war would be 120 times larger than the “Wall That Heals,” which includes the names of the 58,281 Americans who died. There is a lot more to the story than was portrayed in the displays.
While it was noted that by 1971, 60% of Americans opposed the war, there was really nothing to show the massive protests, including Vietnam vets against the war. In a single day in 1970, more than 13,000 were arrested in Washington, D.C., for peaceful protest against the war, including many Vietnam War veterans.
Jim Albertini
Kurtistown
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