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On winning through losing
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by Herb Ruhs, MD, Unknown News
May 28, 2007
I have these unfortunate differences with people who think that they
understand how
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the US "lost" the American War In Vietnam.
For me,
sitting there at ringside, dodging the bullets and shells from the
vantage point of a mere civilian meant to become "collateral damage,"
it was pretty clear what happened. The Army lost on purpose. It had
no stomach for the ghoulish, evil plans of the leaders. Not that
there was any organized conspiracy, it's just that decent people,
which the vast majority of the soldiers were, sense when they are
being sent on an evil mission, and they just stop trying.
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I also had a little window into the reality of the military situation
through my brother, who was a Airborne soldier in the north of the
country. His was likely not that unusual a story, if somewhat more
dramatic due to his quirky character.
He was dragooned into service by a judge who offered him prison or
the Army. He was seventeen, and
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doubtlessly was also attracted to
the scene of the action. Male brains seem to shut down between about
15 and 25 (or until never, for increasing numbers).
As he explained it to me, the enlisted troops were in near revolt,
even early in the war. When he was sent to the "front" (there was
actually no front line there, nor is there in Iraq) he did not like
being shot at by people he had no argument with. Mind you, my
brother was a real tough guy. He grew up on the mean streets of
south Chicago, was a gang leader and had spent a lot of time locked
up as a kid.
What he did first was to provoke his sergeant to attack him with
seemingly no open signs of provocation. He had learned this skill in
juvenile hall, to deal with abusive guards. He had a look
that could unnerve a statue.
So they had little choice. They couldn't very well take the sergeant
to a court martial, so they had to transfer my brother from a fighting unit to a
supply unit, helicoptering supplies into forward bases. He was still
being shot at, so he threw his gun out the door of the helicopter, into
the jungle.
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This got him transferred back to an artillery base, where he was still
being shot at by people he had no argument with. So he proceeded to put on
his best I am dangerously insane look, and began playing with grenades
outside the door of the sergeants' hooch (bunker).
This got him
transferred back to the main base, where no-one was shooting at him, and he spent his days smoking weed and watching Vietnamese laborers
filling sand bags.
I suppose, because he was so intimidating, and maybe because his
brother (me) was living in Saigon, he was frequently detailed to take US
prisoners to Saigon. So, just about every month or less, he would
show up at our door with a prisoner in handcuffs and a sergeant. My
wife would proceed to disarm the lot and use the handcuffs to lock
the weapons to a large pedestal fan in the kitchen. We would babysit
the predictably docile and appreciative prisoner at home while the
other two would go out and raise hell in Saigon.
So, to my observation, the enlisted people won the peace by "losing"
the war. This in no way denigrates their courage -- it takes
courage to see the truth and pay with your blood to align yourself
with it. And of course there were elite units, special forces and the
like, who were gung ho, but elite units can not win wars. Grunts win
wars, or lose bad ones if their hearts are not in it.
My family has an extensive military history. My uncle was wounded on
Iwo Jima. My mom was a Marine Drill Instructor. My dad was a
corpsman in the Pacific Theater. I went to "my war" also, but as a
civilian protester.
I carry my wounds as they did. Drenched in
Agent Orange repeatedly in my village, by helicopters returning to
base without having completed their assigned missions to dump the
load on the enemy, falsifying their log books and avoiding being
shot. I have experienced cancer, twice, and struggle with diabetes.
If I had been a soldier I would be enjoying 100% disability, unless
that is, the VA managed to kill me first.
Bad wars are poorly fought and quickly lost.
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The Army lost on purpose.
It had no stomach for the ghoulish, evil plans of the leaders.
Not that there was any organized conspiracy, it's just that decent people, which the vast majority of the soldiers were, sense when they are being sent on an evil mission, and they just stop trying.
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Dr. Herb Ruhs & grandson
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