Ghosts of the Tonkin Gulf
Jul 11, 2026 I spent nearly six years in Vietnam. Most of that time was passed watching young American men…
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Anti-Asian Hatred: Who’s Guilty?
One of the best students in my undergrad journalism class, a young Vietnamese woman, fulfilled a diversity-essay assignment by celebrating…
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Missed Signals, Misplaced Hope
A Facebook subscriber, who viewed the latest excerpt (Part 6) from Susan Hunter’s documentary featuring Vietnam eyewitnesses, recently sent me…
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In Defense of Nick Ut — and the Integrity of Witness
Full disclosure: Nick Ut is an old friend from my Vietnam days, and I have long believed he took one of the…
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Illegal Orders, Costly Defiance
Nov 29, 2025 Responsible officials in Washington are suddenly and very publicly reminding American service members of a principle as old as…
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CIA Okays Release of the “Last” Vietnam Spy Story
Author’s Note: Last spring, just before the fiftieth anniversary of the fall of Saigon, I submitted a draft article, “The…
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William F. Buckley admitted breaking CIA’s rules—three years too late
Playing favorites with national security makes a mockery of it. Author’s note: Sam Tanenhaus has just published a long-awaited biography…
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Kent State In Memoriam
Each year I update this post to remind myself to remember — all the more timely given the current campus…
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Glitter at the End of the Tunnel: Saigon’s 16 Tons of Gold, Lost, then Found
The BBC has just laid to rest one of the great urban legends left over from the Vietnam war, one…
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Real Time Relevance of Pentagon Papers Leak
Author’s note: The passing of the incomparable Dan Ellsberg has prompted reams of rhapsodic prose about the importance of the…