South Vietnamese Veterans’ Perspective on End of Vietnam War

Bao Cam Lo and Hien Van Le served in the South Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. In this segment from Iowa Experience: Vietnam, they share their perspectives on the circumstances that led to the U.S. exit from Vietnam. The panel discussion was recorded at Iowa PBS in Johnston, IA on September 10, 2017.

(Bao Cam Lo speaking)

Bao Cam Lo, Lieutenant Colonel in the South Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War: So let's go back to the pressure that Caesar is talking about here. He talks about politics, the Paris Peace Talks had put South Vietnam at a disadvantage. The pressure from the people in America forbade the President to support the Vietnam War. The Congress forbade the U.S. government from continuing to supply the South Vietnamese government because of all of the demonstrations in America. The people in America were protesting, they didn't want the war any more. Yes, so here we are with our hands tied by many things right after the Paris Agreement was signed in 1973.

(Hien Van Le speaking)

Hien Van Le, Lieutenant Colonel in the South Vietnamese Marine Corps during the Vietnam War: South Vietnam was the outpost of fighting Communism at the time. You have to remember many countries in Southeast Asia had the Communist Party, but during the 20 years of fighting against Communism, the Communist Party was suppressed from Indonesia, from the Philippines, from Malaysia and also in Thailand.