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Books > History > American history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945
A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more
at www.luminosoa.org. What happens when refugees encounter
Indigenous sovereignty struggles in the countries of their
resettlement? From April to November 1975, the US military
processed over 112,000 Vietnamese refugees on the unincorporated
territory of Guam; from 1977 to 1979, the State of Israel granted
asylum and citizenship to 366 non-Jewish Vietnamese refugees. Evyn
Le Espiritu Gandhi analyzes these two cases to theorize what she
calls the refugee settler condition: the fraught positionality of
refugee subjects whose resettlement in a settler colonial state is
predicated on the unjust dispossession of an Indigenous population.
This groundbreaking book explores two forms of critical geography:
first, archipelagos of empire, examining how the Vietnam War is
linked to the US military buildup in Guam and unwavering support of
Israel, and second, corresponding archipelagos of trans-Indigenous
resistance, tracing how Chamorro decolonization efforts and
Palestinian liberation struggles are connected through the
Vietnamese refugee figure. Considering distinct yet overlapping
modalities of refugee and Indigenous displacement, Gandhi offers
tools for imagining emergent forms of decolonial solidarity between
refugee settlers and Indigenous peoples.
Beginning as a young boy, Jules takes you through the unique
process of becoming a Naval Aviator, engages you into his
experiences as a brand new pilot in a combat squadron and, finally
becoming a flying warrior. Having survived two combat cruises
aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk from 1966-1968,
compiling 332 career carrier take offs and landings, being shot at
daily by enemy fire while completing 200 combat missions over
Vietnam, he clearly shares the views of the aviators who flew along
with him on these missions while fighting this unpopular war. Jules
was awarded the Nation's Distinguished Flying Cross, 21 Air Medals,
and many other accolades. After reading this book the reader will
have a new understanding and appreciation about the Warriors who
protect not only their comrades in arms, but the defense of the
nation as well.
"Air Cav: History of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam 1965-1969
is the story of the small, close world of fighting men in action.
This volume can be many things to many people a book of memories, a
souvenir, a pictorial essay on airmobility, or simply a story of
gallant men at war. It can be many things, but one thing it is not,
nor does it pretend to be a complete history of the 1st Air Cavalry
Division in Vietnam.
The task and burden of history must lie with the objectivity of
future generations, far removed from current pressures and
restraints. It is true, of course, that much research for this book
has been done from available official records, the ultimate source
of written history. But even more has been drawn from the vivid
recollections of the Cavalrymen who fought, tasted the brassy bile
of fear, shared the fierce exultation of victory, or were drenched
in the dark despair of death.
This volume contains the memoirs of a fighting team the FIRST
TEAM. It is a memory
Postwar Journeys: American and Vietnamese Transnational Peace
Efforts since 1975 tells the story of the dynamic roles played by
ordinary American and Vietnamese citizens in their postwar quest
for peace-an effort to transform their lives and their societies.
Hang Thi Thu Le-Tormala deepens our understanding of the Vietnam
War and its aftermath by taking a closer look at postwar Vietnam
and offering a fresh analysis of the effects of the war and what
postwar reconstruction meant for ordinary citizens. This thoughtful
exploration of US-Vietnam postwar relations through the work of US
and Vietnamese civilians expands diplomatic history beyond its
rigid conventional emphasis on national interests and political
calculations as well as highlights the possibilities of
transforming traumatic experiences or hostile attitudes into
positive social change. Le-Tormala's research reveals a wealth of
boundary-crossing interactions between US and Vietnamese citizens,
even during the times of extremely restricted diplomatic relations
between the two nation-states. She brings to center stage citizens'
efforts to solve postwar individual and social problems and bridges
a gap in the scholarship on the US-Vietnam relations. Peace efforts
are defined in their broadest sense, ranging from searching for
missing family members or friends, helping people overcome the
ordeals resulting from the war, and meeting or working with former
opponents for the betterment of their societies. Le-Tormala's
research reveals how ordinary US and Vietnamese citizens were
active historical actors who vigorously developed cultural ties and
promoted mutual understanding in imaginative ways, even and
especially during periods of governmental hostility. Through
nonprofit organizations as well as cultural and academic exchange
programs, trailblazers from diverse backgrounds promoted mutual
understanding and acted as catalytic forces between the two
governments. Postwar Journeys presents the powerful stories of love
and compassion among former adversaries; their shared experiences
of a brutal war and desire for peace connected strangers, even
opponents, of two different worlds, laying the groundwork for
US-Vietnam diplomatic normalization.
On 30 March 1972 the South Vietnamese positions along the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separated the North from South
Vietnam were suddenly shelled by hundreds of heavy guns and
multiple rocket launchers. Caught in a series of outposts of what
was the former 'McNamara Line', the shocked defenders had just
enough time to emerge from their bunkers at the end of the barrage
before they were attacked by regular North Vietnamese Army
divisions, supported by hundreds of armoured vehicles that crashed
though their defensive lines along the border. Thus began one of
the fiercest campaigns of the Vietnam War but also one of the less
well documented because by then most of the American ground forces
had been withdrawn. Following on from the details of the downsizing
of American forces and the setting up of the'Vietnamization'
policy, the build up of both the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN) in the South and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the
North is discussed at length. A special emphasis is devoted to the
study of the development the North Vietnamese armoured corps that
would spearhead the coming offensive. Consequently, the nature of
the war changed dramatically, evolving from a guerrilla one into a
conventional conflict. The South Vietnamese resistance shuddered,
and then crumbled under the communist onslaught, putting Hue the
ancient imperial capital at risk. It was only thanks to US
airpower, directed by a small group of courageous American
advisers, which helped to turn the tide. Under the command of a new
capable commander, the South Vietnamese then methodically
counterattacked to retake some of the lost ground. This culminated
in the ferocious street fighting for Quang Tri. This first volume
describes the combat taking place in the northern part of South
Vietnam, and uses not only American archives but also Vietnamese
sources, from both sides. The book contains 130 photos, five maps
and 18 colour profiles. Asia@War - following on from our
highly-successful Africa@War series, Asia@War replicates the same
format - concise, incisive text, rare images and high quality
colour artwork providing fresh accounts of both well-known and more
esoteric aspects of conflict in this part of the world since 1945.
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