40 years ago an amazing event took place that most American's aren't aware of and really would like to forget. The evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnamese War was a desperate operation to get American civilians and Vietnamese who were helpful to the U.S. out of the country as the North Vietnamese were about to overrun the city. A really good summary is over on CDR Salamander this morning. You can read it here. He provides some great links to give you more info if you're interested. You can also go to the NPR website. They have produced a great documentary on the event. It's worth your time.
And one more thing. We've all seen the stuff going on in Baltimore and protests around the country. It's really difficult to not compare and contrast the plight of the Vietnamese refugees as they arrived in this country 40 years ago and what most (not all, but most) of the next generation have become with where the black community is in many cities around the country. Maybe not fair. Maybe not totally equivalent. But it's there...
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