8 nl si)! qt rh 1e) cht ne! thi mn re) sil) i) discuss Impressions of a people's war _ UNBREAKABLE The doll and the war Helmet: two things seen on the streets of fighting Vietnam. By RAE MURPHY HE Van Mieu Temple of Lite- rature dates from the early _ 11th century. It was a uni- Versity then which specialized in the humanities. In the centre of the compound there is a small delicately carved pagoda like tower. Here I was told poets Could sit and contemplate. The tower is designed so that the Poet could have an unrestricted View of the moon or the shim- Mering ‘pond’ of lotus leaves, and Still be alone and above the bustle of the earth: Around the gardens of the temple are stone tablets resting On figures of tortoises. On these blets are engraved the names Of all the graduates of the Tem- Ple. Workers are now building : mb shelters around these ablets to preserve them from the expected attack. © tortoise: as a symbol ap- Pears very often in Vietnam. It 1S a symbol of longevity. In the ee. of the Redeemed Sword it § said that many centuries ago 4 tortoise appeared with a sword, and a prince was able to use this Sword to lead the people against ar Chinese feudal mandarin © then occupied Vietnam. No such tortoise appears now. in ee Vietnamese who are Cked in this grim war receive selye ere Withal to defend them- ih es from its brother countries the socialist world. And with full Weapons fight and success- al ty fight again for their nation- Independence and salvation. oe et one is constantly made a are of history in Vietnam to- ay. It is part of the present. z € Van Mieu Temple is used ae as a school, and while the th €rs erect the walls. over € tables, students mingle be- — the pond and close beyond units sean mobile anti-aircraft place. urriedly brought into ae teacher who guided me nd the temple said, ‘“Eco- Mic development should not mini € sole criterion for deter- Gn ing the cultural level and ilization of any people.” oe that morning I inter- €d an army officer and we ed the conditions of cap- ured American ~ pilots... He seemed apologetic when he said that they try their best to keep them well. “They are given a bigger ration than we are, but even this is not an adequate diet for a westerner, and their liv- ing conditions are certainly not what they were accustomed to in the airforce.” “Guess what they would do to you, if the American military got their hands on you,” I said. The officer shrugged. “Of course,” he said, “but then we feel we are civilized people here. There is no point or satisfaction in taking physical vengeance on one or another individual who may fall into our hands.” With all other impressions aside, the war is a tragedy for all involved. Nobody can gauge the sorrow in Vietnam. The in- dividual and collective tragedy of the people, the dilemma of the American captives, the dead and maimed American soldiers in the south, all this is part of the picture. In the rubble that is Vietnam now, one wonders of the life that could have been for these people. In 1965 we visited a vil- lage outside of Hanoi. Than we were told of the progress of this one cooperative farm. Almost all houses then were built of brick, and even the poorest farmer could afford a mosquito netting around his pallet. There was a primary school in. the village, and a kindergarten. All this is gone now—and so much more. Still there is optimism in Viet- nam, an optimism which is based on the tangible results of the air war in which they are prov- ing capable of withstanding any American assult. They know they can survive and win, as the air war increases their confi- dence increases for they view escalation as an act of desnera- tion. Thus they make plans for after the war, and above all the schools continue to operate, young people are taught in shelt- ers and underground bunkers in caves and jungles. There is also the optimism which springs from the deep and rich history and traditions of the people. The long wars of na- tional liberation and the firm roots of the people, steeped in OPTIMISM | culture and in the soil of that lovely land cannot be obliterat- ed by bombs. There is a history here that no computer in the Pentagon can cancel. Each inch of that land has been nourished by centuries of toil, and it will not be surrendered now. Per- haps this optimism is also re- flected in a small way in the love of beauty one sees in Viet- nam. On bomb shelters shrubs and floral arrangements are planted. At an anti-aircraft bat- tery I visited, I saw the whole area was cultivated and the dykes which enclosed the guns were all landscaped. My last evening in Vietnam was spent at the airport, and much of that night in a bomb- shelter. At last the plane ar- rived, and literally between air- raids we hurried without for- mality to the plane. So our part- ing was brief. “Good-bye, -we will meet again.” And they gave me a bunch of gladiolas. In the darkened airplane I felt a bit sheepish clutching those flowers. SEND GREETINGS TO PRISONERS The holiday season finds scores of political prisoners in the United States sitting in federal jails. Prisoners whose cases have been publicized by the War Resister League are listed below. Send them a Christmas greeting. ACHESON, Meldon Federal Penitentiary, McNeil Island, Wash. ALEXANDER, Charles Federal Youth Ashland, Ky. BARNES, Bruce Federal Reformatory, poc, Calif. BART, Jonathan Fort Dix Stockade, Fort Dix, N.J. BASH, Douglas Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, BEARDALL, Gregory Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. BENSON, David Federal Reformatory, Peterse burg, Va. BONDHUS, Barry Federal Correctional Institu- tion, Sandstone, Minn. BROWN, David W. Fort Dix Stockade, Fort Dix, N.J. BROWN, Delbert Federal Reformatory, poc, Calif, BURNS, Alfred Federal Medical Springfield, Mo. CARR, John Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. CHAVEZ, Felix Fort Ord Stockade, Fort Ord, Calif. COOL, Richard Federal Reformatory, Peters- burg, Va. COUCH, Michael Treasure Island Brig, San Francisco, Calif. DUNDAS, Malcolm Federal Reformatory, Lompoc, Calif. FLOWERS, Marion Federal Prison Camp, Mont- gomery, Alabama. GALT, Francis Federal Medical Springfield, Mo. GARLAND, Stanley Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. : GILLIAM, Robert Federal Correctional Institue tion, Sandstone, Minn. Institution, Lom- lom- Center, Center, HICKS, Gary Federal Penitentiary, burg, Pa. HILL, Robert Federal Correctional Institu- tion, Milan, Mich. IRONS, Peter Federal Correctional Institu- tion, Danbury, Conn. JESSUP, Eugene Federal Prison Camp, Mont- gomery, Alabama. JOHNSON, James A. Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. JOHNSON, Otis Federal Correctional Institu- tion, Milan, Mich. KOSTES, Thomas Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Léavenworth, Kansas. LAWLESS, William Federal Correctional Institu- tion, Danbury, Conn. LAWRENCE, Robert Federal Reformatory, Lompoc, Calif. LOCKMAN, Ronald Post Stockade Bldg. 1213, Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif. 94129 MITCHELL, David Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. MORA, Dennis Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. MORGAN, John Naval Correctional Institu- tion, Portsmouth, N.H. MUSE, Charles Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. PHILLIPS, John Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. PRATT, Larry Federal Reformatory, poc, Calif. QUAST, Stanley Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. REED, David Federal Reformatory, Peters- burg, Va. ROWLAND, James T. Federal Reformatory, Lompoc, Calif. SAMAS, David Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Lewis- Lom- SCHREIBER, Michael Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. SCHROCK, Arthur Federal Penitentiary, burg, Pa. SHERRY, Larry Federal Penitentiary, McNeil Island, Wash . SIGNON, James Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. SIMMS, Gerard Federal Youth Ashland, Ky. SINAY, Michael Federal Medical Springfield, Mo. SMITH, Michael Federal Correctional Institu- tion, Sandstone, Minn. SMITH, Ronald J. Federal Penitentiary, burg, Pa. SPRAGUE, Michael Federal Reformatory, Lompoc, Calif. STORSVE, Harold Federal Correctional Institu- tion, Sandstone, Minn. THOMAS, Charles Federal Youth Ashland, Ky. THOMPSON, David Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. Lewis- Institution, Center, Lewis- Institution, ‘TIEDMANN, Donald Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. TOD, James Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. VAN ORNUM, Glenn E Federal Correctional Institu- tion, Sandstone, Minn. WALLASH, Philip Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. WILSON, James Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. WOOD, David Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. ZIMMER, Timothy Federal Youth Ashland, Ky. ZIMMERMAN, Oscar Federal Prison Camp, Allen- wood, Pa. Institution, JANUARY 5, 1968—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 7 JANUARY 5, 1968—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 9 »°