U.S. veteran delegation visits Vietnam
A delegation of U.S. veterans and educators will visit Vietnam from April 22 to May 1, culminating with a visit to Ho Chi Minh City on the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
Led by Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the delegates come from all over the U.S. with different backgrounds and different reasons for making the trip.
Some are Vietnam veterans making the emotional journey back to a country they knew as young soldiers.
Some are teachers who want first-hand knowledge of todayÕs Vietnam to supplement their lessons about the war. One woman wants to better understand what haunted her ex-husband for so many years.
While in Vietnam, the group will meet with Vietnam officials and representatives of organizations such as the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, which is responsible for identifying Americans still unaccounted for as a result of the war.
Other stops include historic sites such as the Hoa Lo Prison, known by American troops as the ÔHanoi Hilton;Õ the Forbidden City inside the Citadel, the area of the Tet Offensive; the demilitarized zone; the famous China Beach; and the city of Da Nang.
The group will observe operations of the Memorial FundÕs humanitarian effort, Project RENEWª, a land mine awareness and removal program in Quang Tri province.
(Source: VnExpress, VVMF press release Ð Compiled by The Vinh)