Flying the Flag of South Vietnam
* Why on Earth do some American veterans oppose the right of the Vietnamese Americans to display the former South Vietnamese flags on [public property] on the commemorative day of the fall of Saigon?
The opposition goes against the spirit of the Constitution and the 1st Amendment. It violates the American ideals of democracy, freedom and liberty.
The South Vietnamese flags themselves are no longer representative of any official government or political regime. But for most Vietnamese Americans they stand for the same ideal that the good old red, white and blue represents.
American veterans, perhaps more than anyone else, share this same ideal. In fact over 50,000 American soldiers sacrificed their lives defending it during the Vietnam war.
Some question the wisdom of America’s involvement in Vietnam and the contributions of the American GIs, but for the millions of freedom-loving Vietnamese, the American Vietnam veterans were unquestionably heroes.
Even though the memory of the war has faded for many, their contributions have never diminished in significance.
PHUONG-THAO NGUYEN
Santa Ana
* It is ironic that the same people that so fervently protested one person’s right to hang a flag inside his shop are now crying foul because the South Vietnamese flag will not be flown at Westminster City Hall.
Personally, I do not care what flag flies where. But I do know what goes around comes around.
MIKE EDWARDS
Santa Ana
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