A little before 8 a.m., on the morning of April 30, 1975, the last United States Marines left the U.S. embassy in Saigon, as North Vietnamese forces took the city.
Much of the US’s military force had left a few years earlier, in 1972, and the 1973 Paris Accords saw the rest pack up and head home. It’s hard to pick a moment when the war officially ended, but many chose that last helicopter leaving as Saigon fell.
That makes the end of April this year the 50th anniversary of the end of the war — a somber milestone for a conflict that wounded and killed millions throughout southeast Asia. Nearly 3 million Americans served in the war — with over a half-million in the theatre of combat at the high point in the spring of 1969. In the end, almost 60,000 US servicemembers were killed and over 300,000 wounded between 1957 and 1975, over two decades in a conflict. Hundreds were held captive as prisoners of war. Over a thousand are still unaccounted for.
It’s hard to imagine anyone who was there was left unscathed — but it’s equally hard to imagine, really imagine, how war — how boots-on-ground combat — impacted them. I can’t pretend to know. It’s not a failure of empathy, veterans have told me. Whatever you’ve been through in your life, if it’s not combat, it’s not combat. There’s no shortcut to understanding. And that’s ok. I’ve never met a vet who would wish on me, or you, what they’ve been through.
The generation that came home from Vietnam faced significant challenges — they were ostracized and misunderstood, their psychological trauma pathologized and at times criminalized. Homelessness, substance abuse, self-harm, and suicide were all issues – but also became part of a stereotype that made finding a peaceful, meaningful post-war life difficult. Many veterans did find those lives, with a lot of work, and a lot of help — often from other veterans, through organizations like the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Much has been said about the Vietnam War, about the geopolitics behind it, the inhumanity of combat, the questions of accountability — of human cost and historical legacy — of lessons learned, or ignored. You could do a hundred shows on all that. But this isn’t one of them.
No, today’s show is something a bit more personal: a conversation with Curt Farrison, who served two tours in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine, and — many years later — joined Chapter 885 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, where he’s now president. We’re talking about what it was like to come home from Vietnam, to try and understand the person he’d become during and after the war, to put his life back together and help others do the same — and what the country can do better to help veterans and service members.
Info
- Vietnam Veterans of America — Chapter 885, Wilmington
- p: (910) 763-7997
- e: 13dbetz@gmail.com
- Curt Farrison's direct line: (203) 515-0034
- Veterans Crisis Line
- Call 988 — Press 1
- Text 838255
- Chat online
- Enrollment in VA benefits or healthcare is not required
