Personal+Testimony;+U.S.+Citizens

Hadley Donovan, 1971

In a 1971 Time Magazine article, editor-in-chief **Hedley Donovan** gives his in-depth opinion of how the war affected everything from emotions to the economy. He points out that the war had dragged on for so long that "Very few people can say any longer just when the U.S. did begin fighting in Viet Nam" (Donovan). The majority of Americans in the Vietnam era were extremely misinformed/confused about U.S. involvement in Vietnam, what was going on, and the reality of the everyday struggles of troops stationed there. However, being well-versed when it came to current events and their affects, Donovan hit a few important points about why he believed U.S. involvement in Vietnam was deprecating to our country:


 * "We must all begin by recapturing some sense of astonishment that the U.S. is still engaged in this war." The article, written 6 years after the first official U.S. intervention in Vietnam, points out the scary truth that there were college students graduating that year who, if they were aware of political happenings/news starting in their young teens, have never known a country that wasn't at war.


 * "Surely nobody then in the White House, the Pentagon or Congress could have imagined that the commitment would grow to more than half a million men and the cost, at its peak, to nearly $30 billion a year" Not only was the war costly in the financial sense, but Donovan goes on to say also that the body count continued to rise even after 6 years of involvement.


 * "The President's desire to hold back one or two cards for bargaining vis-à-vis North Viet Nam is understandable, but no longer worth what it costs in the U.S. or in South Viet Nam."

=Linda Phillips Palo, 1985 = Vietnam veterans were not as warmly accepted as they should have been upon returning from the war. For a long time, it was a topic that was generally brushed under the rug and a memory most Americans wanted to forget. However, in 1982, a war memorial was built in the Congressional Garden of Washington, D.C. to honor the 58,000 Americans who were killed or missing in action during the Vietnam War.

Linda Phillips Palo was a young woman from Orchard Park, NY who lost three of her best friends when they served in Vietnam. She is quoted saying, "We were children without turmoil. It was this idyllic little town, picture perfect." However, this bliss did not last when the doom of Vietnam swept over the four friends. In 1985, she left a letter to Doug, Bill, and Gary at the war memorial and it was later published in Laura Palmer's 1987 book //Shrapnel of the Heart.//

Linda's Letter: July 20, 1985 // Dear Gary, Doug and Billy, // // Well, that time has rolled around and the Class of '65 is having its 20th year reunion. Cheers, cheers for Old Orchard Park High School. // // Don't be afraid that you will not be remembered. We all talked about you in 1975 and our thoughts are with you. I think of you all—often. // // Doug—they moved your house off the boulevard onto a new street. Your death was a real shock, especially since you were so adamant about hating guns. // // Billy—I'm sorry that we never lived out the fantasy of running into each other in a supermarket with batches of children. // // And yes, Gary, I still talk too much. // // I had to come. I live in Los Angeles now and I could not have gone to that reunion without first coming here. // // After you all died, I guess two boyfriends and several friends gone was a bit too much for me and I pretty much screwed up for ten years. Two boyfriends is just too much, too much, too much. // // Now I'm much better. More responsible. I learned that the pain and loss never goes away. It just changes. Sometimes I think it is more painful now. And I'm still mad. // // All three of you hold a special place in my heart. I'm just sorry you had such little time to spend here. // // Years later I can never hear the sound of a helicopter Without remembering What I have lost. In leaving today tears stain the window of the airplane on the runway. It has not rained in L.A. for months It rains today.I have had twenty years now to reflect on this madness And it is always the same. // // Thinking of you, Linda //
 * // —Linda Phillips Palo //**

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