Vietnam and Afghanistan: Two generations, two wars, one aftermath
The similarities in this historical moment should rattle us to our core right now.
The solemn passage of the one-year anniversary of the fall of Afghanistan must do more than remind us of the horror we watched when bodies fell from the sky after clutching onto landing gear of departing C-17 aircraft, of babies that were frantically thrust over barb wire, and the grief we felt in 13 American service members returning home in flag draped coffins.
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The reflection of that epic failure leaves little room for exaggeration on the ripple effect that took place over the last year, too. With the Taliban’s swift overthrow of the government, evil retribution ensued for American allies left behind enemy lines, to the loss of trust in American leadership and hegemony. Aggressive actors are now emboldened and on the move in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Pacific.
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We can’t even soften this agonizing rewind to merely being a return to 9/10/2001 – when Afghanistan harbored terrorists and women and little girls were second-rate humans — because now the Taliban (or fill in the blank extremist group) hit replay on history. However, they are also reinvigorated and heavily armed with billions of dollars of American equipment in hand.
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While one former president described his feelings as heartbroken, to several retired senior leaders from both Democratic and Republican administrations expressing concern that this was the wrong thing to do, this veteran who served as a commander on the ground in Afghanistan during the rough surge years had a personal tipping point.
I believe the root to the Afghanistan tragedy is failed leadership. Just like the wave of veterans left mortified from the fall of Saigon who would go on to seek public office, I became one my generation’s first veterans to run after the fall of Afghanistan in North Carolina’s crowded Republican primary race for US Senate.
Despite my primary loss, I gathered critical intelligence during my statewide campaign while talking with Vietnam Veterans and their families, information that is imperative for our nation’s path forward.
Vietnam and Afghanistan are often discussed as two generations, two wars, now with unmistakable (some may say sickening) parallels.
Yet, there is more to it than that.
What we have today is a unique moment in time, one in which we did not have after Vietnam. The post-9/11 generation now has elders to lean on because ghosts were awakened. Hard-earned wisdom sealed an unparalleled bond between those who fought in unforgiving jungles, to the men and women like me who trekked the graveyard of empires along narrow mountainside roads and vast deserts.
Our one shared aftermath must go beyond what went wrong. This rare eclipse of generational wisdom, sacrifice and commitment can illuminate the path we must surely forge forward in this historical moment.
Sitting with Buddy this past year on a Thursday morning campaign stop at Richard’s Coffee Shop was when I pinpoint this epiphany. Worn flannel and a warm smile speckled with gray whiskers, this grandfather had once served in the U.S. Navy on a ship that delivered barrels of Agent Orange to the mainland. He’s since had three types of cancers but was more concerned about me that morning when I mentioned I had not eaten breakfast yet. He immediately cut his sausage and egg sandwich in half and insisted I take a piece.
We had only chatted for a couple minutes, covering merely the basics — we were both veterans who served in those wars that Americans were more likely to believe were a mistake, did not make the country safer and were justified by politician’s lies. I didn’t need to belabor my support for the PACT Act that extends benefits to veterans exposed to toxins, which became an unnecessary political football.
The connection we shared was sincere and true. This Vietnam Veteran living on a fixed retirement income, hit hard by inflation, didn’t flinch when he gave me half his breakfast.
His instinct to care for me, to have my back, was instant. As was mine.
Whether it was Buddy, or perhaps Bill, Troy, Linda or many other Vietnam Veterans I met across North Carolina — we now share an unexpected lens of history that uniquely ties our paths together. We have a painful experience of betrayal by our government. We did our part, did what was asked of us — and government officials botched the end game. This page in history, whether Saigon or Kabul — it is not okay. It is not American.
The fortitude of the Vietnam generation is decades deep compared to the one year my soldiers and I have, which we’ve just begun to sink into this shocking end. Yet, those personally stung by the moral and strategic failures of the past must be the leaders who trust in the American promise moving forward. This gives permission to every other American to do the same.
Our one aftermath must be believing in America again.
My wise Vietnam Veteran mentor and friend, Chuck, rekindled in me, “Don’t forget our 101st mantra, ‘Above the rest.’ You are always a warrior — tough — so keep going.” We can do better, and we can thank them for doing just that and bringing us the Reagan Revolution in 1980.
It is time for a second Reagan Revolution — to stoke the flame for renewed pride in country, better government, personal responsibility and a future worthy of our children. The crises we face again are a timely trigger for our relentless human spirit.
The mission focus must be on our security, economy and education. No sidebars, distractions or hunger games. We will never win economic and social issues if we do not have safety first. And, in the same breath, if we are not investing in the economy, education and development, we are investing in conflict.
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In the aftermath, it is not time to withdraw. What’s at stake is no longer a matter of left or right for our democracy, it has become up or down.
It is in America’s interest to be exceptionally us.
Marjorie K. Eastman is a former US Senate Candidate for North Carolina, US Army veteran and award-winning author of The Frontline Generation.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Vietnam and Afghanistan: Two generations, two wars, one aftermath
