1 00:00:25,859 --> 00:00:29,237 In 1965, when I joined the guerillas, 2 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,115 the Americans had invaded Southern Vietnam in large numbers. 3 00:00:42,250 --> 00:00:44,919 They searched for soldiers. 4 00:00:45,003 --> 00:00:49,340 They took people, and they beat them for no reason. 5 00:00:50,175 --> 00:00:53,678 They murdered people, burned down houses. 6 00:00:57,557 --> 00:01:02,645 There was this hatred. but I didn't know then it was hatred. 7 00:01:02,729 --> 00:01:09,235 But I wanted to join the revolution to stop it, 8 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:15,116 to stop those cruelties, those inhumanities. 9 00:01:16,409 --> 00:01:21,623 I have to say that the first time I shot and I saw that I had killed an American, 10 00:01:21,706 --> 00:01:24,167 it gave me a thrill. 11 00:01:26,628 --> 00:01:28,463 I destroyed one tank, 12 00:01:29,422 --> 00:01:34,803 and then killed about 15 American soldiers. 13 00:01:38,890 --> 00:01:42,185 In all the battles that I participated in, 14 00:01:42,268 --> 00:01:45,230 I was called "Tank Killer Hero." 15 00:01:46,523 --> 00:01:50,485 We all longed for a tranquil life, 16 00:01:51,194 --> 00:01:52,654 a peaceful life. 17 00:01:55,448 --> 00:01:57,117 No one wants war. 18 00:01:59,077 --> 00:02:04,541 But now that we had guns in hand, we had an obligation to join the fight. 19 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,111 Uncle Ho is our common father. 20 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:07,867 {\an8}We listen to Uncle Ho's teachings, that we must love our country, 21 00:06:08,743 --> 00:06:10,912 protect our country, and keep it from division. 22 00:15:59,333 --> 00:16:03,963 {\an8}Every young man and the entire nation marched to battle 23 00:16:04,046 --> 00:16:07,216 {\an8}with the spirit of determination to fight and win. 24 00:16:07,299 --> 00:16:10,219 {\an8}Chairman Hồ's goal was independence and freedom. 25 00:16:11,220 --> 00:16:15,975 {\an8}We had to liberate South Vietnam and unify the Fatherland. 26 00:16:20,521 --> 00:16:24,274 {\an8}The act of a country attacking another country is an invasion. 27 00:16:27,069 --> 00:16:30,823 And at the time, even though it was a single person, 28 00:16:31,907 --> 00:16:34,243 it was two different regimes. 29 00:18:42,162 --> 00:18:47,376 {\an8}My father was born in Hau Tien village, Quảng Trị, 30 00:18:47,459 --> 00:18:49,503 on the outer bank of the Thạch Hãn River. 31 00:18:52,131 --> 00:18:54,216 He joined the Communist Party. 32 00:18:55,968 --> 00:19:01,723 {\an8}During his political activities from 1930 to 1945, 33 00:19:02,266 --> 00:19:05,602 {\an8}he spent ten years in French colonial prison. 34 00:19:07,855 --> 00:19:11,316 So in 1957, 35 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:16,071 Uncle Hồ asked him to go to the North 36 00:19:16,155 --> 00:19:19,700 to become the First Secretary of the Central Party Committee. 37 00:20:44,993 --> 00:20:47,579 My unit had some people who cleared the forest 38 00:20:47,663 --> 00:20:48,914 wherever we needed to go. 39 00:20:49,414 --> 00:20:52,542 {\an8}There were a lot of roads back then. 40 00:20:52,626 --> 00:20:55,545 {\an8}But now they call it the Hồ Chí Minh Trail. 41 00:20:58,215 --> 00:21:00,050 Back then, our march was very grueling. 42 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,179 There were hundreds of ways to die, not just a few. 43 00:21:04,721 --> 00:21:06,098 From bombs and bullets… 44 00:21:10,018 --> 00:21:13,689 Crossing streams, you could be swept away by the current. 45 00:21:15,148 --> 00:21:18,318 There were people who got sick, got malaria. 46 00:21:19,945 --> 00:21:22,197 So much hunger. People would starve to death. 47 00:21:24,616 --> 00:21:28,787 From the start point to our destination, we lost six full months. 48 00:22:32,559 --> 00:22:34,478 We don't know the Communists. 49 00:22:34,561 --> 00:22:39,900 We just only know the Việt Cộng fight against American invaders. 50 00:22:40,692 --> 00:22:43,320 {\an8}But we don't know why they're there, 51 00:22:43,403 --> 00:22:47,491 {\an8}and we didn't really know the Communists and what they believe. 52 00:22:49,326 --> 00:22:50,285 We farmers. 53 00:22:51,912 --> 00:22:55,165 We don't know which side are we on, 54 00:22:55,791 --> 00:22:58,168 but we know that we love our Motherland. 55 00:23:15,185 --> 00:23:17,020 We don't call them "Việt Cộng." 56 00:23:17,646 --> 00:23:19,147 We call them… 57 00:23:20,607 --> 00:23:22,984 So it's "Uncles of Liberation." 58 00:23:24,111 --> 00:23:27,614 They are the villagers. They know us. They live with us. 59 00:23:28,115 --> 00:23:31,243 So we're comfortable with them. We supported them. 60 00:25:30,362 --> 00:25:32,531 Americans show up in our village. 61 00:25:33,406 --> 00:25:37,410 They say, "Everybody have to go. Your village's gonna be leveled." 62 00:25:47,796 --> 00:25:50,006 Go? Go where? Go where? 63 00:25:50,674 --> 00:25:55,011 You thinking about here you have house, you have… everything. 64 00:25:56,429 --> 00:25:58,598 Overnight, you become a refugee. 65 00:26:02,602 --> 00:26:06,481 All the people put in one refugee camp 66 00:26:07,065 --> 00:26:11,653 with a little bamboo hut or shack for them to live there. 67 00:26:13,780 --> 00:26:14,906 No rice paddy. 68 00:26:16,157 --> 00:26:17,659 How can people survive? 69 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:20,161 We starving. 70 00:26:20,954 --> 00:26:22,872 That is what I see. That's what I saw. 71 00:27:43,411 --> 00:27:45,038 Westmoreland says 72 00:27:45,121 --> 00:27:47,957 that the offensive that he has anticipated, 73 00:27:48,041 --> 00:27:50,418 that he'd been fearful of, is now on. 74 00:27:51,711 --> 00:27:54,631 And he wants people as quickly as he can get them. 75 00:37:45,554 --> 00:37:47,265 Everybody killing everybody. 76 00:37:48,099 --> 00:37:51,644 The people who had nothing to do with the politics, 77 00:37:51,727 --> 00:37:57,942 who had nothing to do with how the war turned into such killing zones. 78 00:37:58,025 --> 00:38:01,904 It's just so sad and suffering. 79 00:38:04,073 --> 00:38:06,742 So this is what built up hatred 80 00:38:06,826 --> 00:38:11,080 and built up why did the villagers join the Việt Cộng. 81 00:38:13,541 --> 00:38:16,168 {\an8}They say, "When the enemy comes to the house, 82 00:38:17,003 --> 00:38:18,296 {\an8}even the women fight." 83 00:38:21,382 --> 00:38:22,800 We fought with whatever we had. 84 00:38:22,883 --> 00:38:28,514 It didn't matter that we didn't have modern weapons. 85 00:38:28,597 --> 00:38:32,518 I'm the prime example. On my first day, I received… 86 00:38:34,020 --> 00:38:36,188 I received a World War II-era rifle. 87 00:38:42,486 --> 00:38:48,284 If you got to use modern weapons, that meant that you got them yourself 88 00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:52,705 by killing the enemies and taking their guns. 89 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:55,666 And I really like that. 90 00:38:55,750 --> 00:39:01,213 And in my gut, all I wanted to do was fight head-on. 91 00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:37,124 They called us the "Việt Cộng," but we were the Liberation Army. 92 00:39:37,792 --> 00:39:43,214 {\an8}We were all comrades and considered ourselves one family. 93 00:39:43,297 --> 00:39:48,344 {\an8}When one person fell, five to seven others stepped forward. 94 00:39:50,679 --> 00:39:57,144 At that time, it was a hot-blooded atmosphere. 95 00:39:57,228 --> 00:40:01,899 If there was a gun and someone came, I would fight right away. 96 00:40:03,067 --> 00:40:04,276 I would shoot immediately, 97 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,405 because I would never use the excuse, "My emotions got in the way." 98 00:40:07,488 --> 00:40:08,906 This was for the love of the people. 99 00:46:10,601 --> 00:46:12,478 {\an8}This is the 25th Infantry Division, 100 00:46:13,353 --> 00:46:16,523 {\an8}the newest troops in South Vietnam for the United States. 101 00:49:18,372 --> 00:49:19,998 It's just so typical, Mr. President. 102 00:49:20,082 --> 00:49:22,876 It's a relatively small enemy force. 103 00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:24,169 We think we're-- 104 00:49:24,252 --> 00:49:27,339 we're, uh, taking a heavy toll on them. 105 00:49:27,422 --> 00:49:29,758 And if we-- we hurt them enough, 106 00:49:30,258 --> 00:49:32,469 it isn't so much that they don't have more men 107 00:49:32,552 --> 00:49:35,514 as it is that they can't get the men to fight. 108 01:04:21,440 --> 01:04:23,776 Westmoreland came in last night to me. 109 01:04:23,860 --> 01:04:25,152 He's very distressed. 110 01:04:26,153 --> 01:04:29,532 {\an8}He has concentrated more firepower and bombing 111 01:04:30,283 --> 01:04:32,952 in the last week on the DMZ, 112 01:04:33,452 --> 01:04:35,872 and they've concentrated more on us, 113 01:04:35,955 --> 01:04:39,250 than has ever been concentrated in any equivalent period 114 01:04:39,333 --> 01:04:40,877 in the history of warfare. 115 01:04:40,960 --> 01:04:44,338 Much more than was ever poured on Berlin or Tokyo. 116 01:07:04,311 --> 01:07:06,022 Well, I know goddamn well I'm unpopular. 117 01:07:06,105 --> 01:07:07,648 You don't have to tell me I'm unpopular. 118 01:07:07,732 --> 01:07:10,067 I know that. I've been in politics 40 years. 119 01:07:10,151 --> 01:07:13,029 And when a man's carrying a war and carrying a tax bill 120 01:07:13,112 --> 01:07:16,699 and carrying all the problems I've got, of course you're not going to be popular.