On reflection...the Vietnam War

Death in Vietnam

I was looking over this blog today and realized that about 1,500 names of deceased men and women are mentioned here. 

Some of these are Police and Firefighters and Coast Guard personnel but most of them are military men and women from the U.S.A. and other NATO countries who engaged in operations in Iraq and in Afghanistan and who died there. 

I was thinking about the Vietnam War and thought: "Who could have done a blog of the deceased in the Vietnam War era if the Internet had been available then?" 

No one could have done such a blog because who could list the names, gather personal information, write a personal prayer request and post the photos of 58,000 deceased American soldiers? It would be impossible to do because of the sheer magnitude of it all. 

The Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1955 to 1975 when Saigon fell. The purpose of this war was to prevent South East Asia from going "Communist". In the end, these countries did exactly as they wished, and the death toll from this effort at a minimum included 221,000 Vietnamese dead.  Other dead related to this war are from Thailand, Laos, China, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand and the Soviet Union. 

In total, 1,177,446 people died in this war. All for nothing. It was all a political game. 

Let us pray to God the Father, Jesus and all of the saints and all of the angels that the souls of these people who died in this unjust war, are at rest and that they are with God.

Albert Camus (1913-1960)

Pray for the Vietnam Veterans, many of whom have been forgotten and abandoned.  

Albert Camus (1913-1960), was a French author, journalist, and philosopher of the 20th century, who said the following:

"N'attendez pas le Jugement dernier. Il a lieu tous les jours."  - "Do not wait for the Last Judgment. It takes place every day."

And he was right. Everything is happening today and we are all responsible for what is happening now. It is not about past history or what will happen tomorrow or plans for 2050.  It is all about what human beings do right now. 

God save us from our war-like Governments and from ourselves. Amen