Vietnam

PHILADELPHIA -- We all know the famous phrase of philosopher George Santayana, who warned: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But those who raise false historical analogies may harm their cause as much as the memory-challenged. Such is the case with President Bush, who last week compared Iraq to Japan, South Korea - and Vietnam. We are engaged in a national debate of huge importance over how to rescue our Iraq policy from pending disaster. Republican stalwarts, whose support may be fraying, are mostly willing to back Mr. Bush's call to "stay the course," while the Democratic base believes we must leave Iraq as soon as possible.

HANOI, Vietnam -- The spirit of a new nation comes to life in the offices of FPT, one of Vietnam's handful of Internet service providers.All the employees are under 30 and speak English. Not one believes in communism. The "American War" -- as it is known here -- is something they read about in history class."We had better forget the past," says Le Hien, a 26-year-old marketing executive, with a pragmatism typical of the times. "I hope American people can help Vietnam to improve our economy and technology."

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam -- Sitting beneath ceiling fans in a rooftop bar, American lawyer Fred Burke gazes out across this former wartime capital and recalls the depressing city he found when he arrived in 1991."

LAST WEDNESDAY was Veterans Day, a proud and solemn day of remembrance but one that leaves me conflicted.The date was called Armistice Day when World War I ended, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Now the occasion recognizes all who wore a uniform, in peace and war. But, even with 31 years of active and reserve service as an infantry officer, I feel incomplete when the date rolls around.I keep telling myself it's silly to feel that way. The problem is that, while I was trained for combat and expected to be called for active service, I missed the battlefield of my generation - Vietnam.

NINH BINH, Vietnam -- A bunch of middle-aged veterans from Vietnam and the United States, many of them disabled, set out on an improbable journey yesterday to bury a war and test the limits of sinew as well as heart.They gathered with their bicycles at dawn in the shadow of Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum in Hanoi, the morning misty and charged with the veterans' sense of both sadness and relief, and behind a police escort pedaled off for what was once known as Saigon -- 16 days and 1,200 miles away.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Former Sen. Eugene McCarthy, whose near-upset of President Lyndon B. Johnson in the New Hampshire primary 30 years ago effectively ended LBJ's political career, continues being a source of the unexpected and unorthodox.In a symposium the other day on the explosive year 1968, Mr. McCarthy in his wistful way suggested that those who, like himself, put themselves on the political firing line to try to stop U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War should be honored in the way those who fought it have been.

James Skakel, 76, a real estate developer whose sister, Ethel, married Robert F. Kennedy, died in Miami Beach, Fla., on Saturday of renal failure.Nguyen Van Linh, 82, who revitalized Vietnam's economy with free markets and foreign investment after decades of rigid state control, died yesterday in Hanoi, Vietnam.Alexander Papamarkou, 68, founder of the Wall Street investment firm that carries his name, died of a heart attack Thursday in New York.Pub Date: 4/28/98

These days, when it comes to truly hard-hitting, thought-provoking sports journalism that raises questions and a little ruckus when necessary, that province has been conquered almost exclusively by the cable outlets.The latest example comes in tonight's ESPN "Outside the Lines" special, "Made in Vietnam: The American Sneaker Controversy" (7: 30 p.m.) that examines the footwear industry and charges that the giant manufacturers, namely Nike and Reebok, exploit foreign workers, pay them substandard wages and force them to work in substandard conditions.

Huddling on a narrow sleeping berth on a train barreling through the Vietnamese night, trying to keep camera equipment from smashing, several endangered leopard kittens from starving and a disagreeable conductor at bay was not the sort of predicament Karin Muller expected to find herself in when she chose to spend seven months exploring Vietnam alone at age 28.The Swiss-born Muller, who grew up in New Jersey, Puerto Rico and Australia and holds both Swiss...

A national Vietnam veterans organization says many soldiers who escaped the conflict could still fall victim to one of the jungle's silent killers, hepatitis C.The Vietnam Veterans of America is recommending that veterans get tested for the disease, the leading cause of cirrhosis of the liver. Spencer County, Ind., veterans officer Jack Morrison said the disease is prevalent in Southeast Asia and can incubate 20 to 25 years."Many were exposed three decades ago," he said. "If you catch it early, that's great, but if you don't catch it early and somebody could have said something [to warn you]

State opens trade, investment office in Vietnam Vietnam is the latest foreign locale where Maryland will open an office to foster trade and investment, the state Department of Business and Economic Development announced Friday. The new office, to be co-located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, brings the state's total number of foreign offices to 13. As with others that opened around the world in the past year, the Vietnam office will operate on a contingency basis, with any future state funding tied to the ability to attract companies and jobs to Maryland.

Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending a pleasant Sunday morning sharing breakfast and talking with members of the Paul D. Savanuck-Shaarei Zion Memorial Post 888 of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States. Most of them were World War II and Korean War veterans, and I found them to be a sprightly, engaging and informed group. In passing, Chester Silverman, the post commander, asked if I wouldn't like to hear the story behind the name of their post and of the young Pikesville soldier whose memory it preserves.

TED SAMPLEY, 62 Vietnam veteran, activist for POWs Ted Sampley, a Vietnam War veteran and former member of the Green Berets who was a persistent activist for American prisoners of war and missing servicemen, and who later led smear campaigns against presidential candidates, died Tuesday at the VA Medical Center in Durham, N.C., of complications from heart surgery. Mr. Sampley was a founder of Rolling Thunder, the annual motorcycle caravan that raises money for POW/MIA causes. In 1994, he presented evidence that the Vietnam-era remains in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery were not anonymous after all. By painstakingly analyzing service records and maps, he concluded that the remains were those of a missing pilot, Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, who was shot down in 1972.

One World Emporium 825 Frederick Road, Catonsville 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Friday; noon-5 p.m. Saturday; noon-3 p.m. Sunday 410-744-5575 Handmade arts and crafts from more than 20 countries are brought together in One World Emporium, a new shop in the Strawberry Fields complex in downtown Catonsville. The store, behind Catonsville Gourmet, has offerings including dolls from India, puppets from Chile, ceramics from Mexico, baskets from Uganda, vases from Vietnam and hand-carved chess sets from Pakistan.

Lt. Col. Raymond F. Latall, a decorated fighter pilot who flew both the Korean and Vietnam wars, died of cancer July 22 at his Highland home. He was 79. Raymond Frank Latall was born and raised in Chicago. He was a 1947 graduate of Amundsen High School and attended Wright Junior College in Chicago for two years. He was a 1967 graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico, Va. Colonel Latall joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1950. After completing flight training, he received his wings in 1953 and was sent to Korea.

When the decades of not knowing finally ended, Jimmy Caniford's photo sat in its usual spot on a shelf opposite his parents' living room sofa - a portrait of the warrior, forever 23 and fighting the Vietnam War. In the picture, Caniford strikes a pose brimming with machismo. His flight helmet is tucked under his left arm; his right arm dangles close to a pistol on his hip. Tall, handsome and jug-eared, he eyes the camera as if he's about to swagger out of the frame. The man in the picture bears little resemblance to the baby-faced 17-year-old who joined the Air Force in 1966, fresh out of Middletown High near Frederick, and then re-upped despite the worsening war. "This is what I do," he told his father.

A bone fragment. A skull section. A molar. Such minuscule human remains as these recently enabled the United States military to identify service members missing for 36 years, ever since their AC-130 gunship named Spectre 13 was shot down during the Vietnam War. The tiny size of the fragments attests to the steep challenge faced by investigators, even with the power of DNA testing, to give families the certainty that their loved one did die. The bone...

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - Intel's billion-dollar Vietnam bet along the Hanoi Highway - its biggest semiconductor manufacturing plant ever - is rising from the flatlands of former rice fields. The Santa Clara, Calif., chip giant jolted the tech world two years ago when it announced it would build a huge assembly factory in this Southeast Asian country known more for making shoes and growing crops than assembling key PC components. Intel Corp. picked Vietnam, a nation of 85 million that lacks a single world-class university, over India, whose army of engineers has reordered the global software industry.

Allen Charles Greenberg, a retired military code breaker who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, died of cancer-related pneumonia Saturday at Dove's House, a Westminster hospice. He was 82. Born in Baltimore and raised in the Easterwood Park section of West Baltimore, he attended Garrison Junior High School and was a 1944 City College graduate. He then entered the Air Force and remained in military service for more than three decades until he retired from the Navy Reserves in 1984.

Longing for an out-of-country excursion but feeling a little poor because you have only dollars in your pocket? Even with the fast-eroding value of the dollar against other currencies, you still can find international destinations where your buck goes a long way. And you won't have to forgo choice sightseeing or comfort. All you need is a little latitude - and longitude - in selecting your next vacation spot. Last year, I wanted to take one long trip before I had to ease into professional life.