America, come and experience it.

(Baonghean) - During those historic days of April, we took a trip to the United States. Forty years ago, five consecutive US presidents (Delhi, Elsenhow, John Kennedy, Lyndon, John Sory, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford) successively implemented four new war strategies in the Vietnam War. The result was the greatest and most devastating defeat in the more than 200-year history of the United States. A war that left the deepest emotional wound in America: the "Vietnam Syndrome."

Since the trip was initially planned to learn about America and Americans after the Vietnam War, and especially to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the normalization of relations between Vietnam and the United States, and thanks to a friend who studied in America and is now an overseas Vietnamese, we were able to visit all the places we needed to go quite smoothly. Our first destination was Washington D.C., where cherry blossoms were in full bloom, showcasing their beauty around Tidal Basin. The number of people flocking to the capital to admire the cherry blossoms and visit historical sites and scenic spots in Washington D.C. was exceptionally high.

Americans in front of the "Vietnam War Wall".

Navigating through the endless crowds of cherry blossom festival-goers, we made our way to the "Vietnam War Memorial Wall," also known as the "Vietnam War Memorial," which was inaugurated on September 13, 1982. This monument is located in Washington State Square.

Here, millions of Americans gathered to protest the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 70s. With its V-shaped architecture, measuring 75 meters in length and 3 meters in height, the walls are clad with 72 rare black granite slabs imported from Bangalore, India. The walls are inscribed with the names of 58,285 American soldiers who died or went missing in the Vietnam War.

In front of the wall are two groups of bronze statues, each 2.5 meters tall. One group depicts three American soldiers, and the other shows two women in uniform, supporting a wounded American soldier. Since the wall's completion, approximately 3.7 million people, both domestic and international, have visited annually to pay their respects and search for relatives.

Visiting this wall, we encountered many images of American citizens standing on tiptoe, stretching to take photos of the names of their loved ones engraved high above, or an elderly couple with sorrowful expressions, pointing to the name of their younger brother who died in battle at the young age of 20 so that their grandchild could know.

The American veterans bowed their heads, tiptoeing softly; some leaned their heads against the wall, others silently wiped away tears, leaving a small flower under the name of a friend. Even more moving was reaching the end of the wall, where, only 30cm high (due to the V-shaped structure), a group of elderly people, clinging tightly to their wheelchairs, knelt down to read the names of their loved ones and comrades buried there…

All those images were captured in time by the cameras we carried. Only by witnessing firsthand the gestures and emotions expressed on their faces could we truly understand the prolonged loss and suffering of the American people after the Vietnam War. And I secretly thought that those who come here, who have the opportunity to visit Vietnam and the Trường Sơn Cemetery, the Highway 9 Cemetery in Quảng Trị, the Vietnam-Laos Cemetery in Anh Sơn (Nghệ An), and the war memorials throughout Vietnam, will better understand the sacrifices and losses of their nation, which the American ruling class at the time inflicted on them were many times greater than those suffered in the United States.

Leaving Washington D.C. after a pleasant sunny day, we arrived in New York City, one of the three largest financial and commercial centers in the world (London and Tokyo). New York has a population of only 8.3 million, but the city welcomes approximately 47 million domestic and international tourists annually.

Visiting an aircraft carrier

After visiting the Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous symbols of the United States, we went to the Open Air Museum, which displays the aircraft carrier Intrepid, the submarine USS Growler (hull number 577) equipped with nuclear missiles, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which is 17 meters high, 41 meters long, and weighs 68 tons. After 30 years of its historic mission in space, NASA decided to bring it here for visitors to see.

Here, we were allowed inside the submarine and the aircraft carrier to tour the radar room, the torpedo launch control room, the command center, and more. Going up to the aircraft carrier's deck, we saw a display of 30 aircraft of various types, many of which directly participated in bombing raids on North Vietnam between 1965 and 1972. Documents indicated that all the aircraft on display directly or indirectly served in the Vietnam War.

Now that the war is over, the past is closed, and relations between Vietnam and the United States have been normalized for 20 years, Americans, especially the younger generation, constantly remind each other never to participate in an unjust war. On May 28, 2012, during a visit to the Vietnam War Memorial, US President Barack Obama stated: "The United States will not forget the lessons of the Vietnam War; this war is one of the most painful chapters in American history."

Xuan Nhuong