Air Force One in Hanoi, Vietnam

A friend of mine said yesterday that he found it quite ironic when Air Force One bearing the President landed a few days ago in Hanoi, Vietnam. We are all following the “summit” between President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un because it portends very good or very bad things in the future for the U.S. and North Korea – and probably the rest of the world.

Some of us are old enough to remember when there were other U.S. Air Force planes in the skies above Hanoi and many other locations in both North and South Vietnam. Some of us were in uniform when soldiers from the U.S. and from North Vietnam were engaged in horrible conflict.

The Vietnam location of talks between the President and North Korea’s “Dear Leader” is significant for many reasons – including the reconciliation between the U.S. and Vietnam. The horrors of war and the suffering of people on both sides in the Vietnam War are proof that no one really wins when it comes to the shooting and the killing. Unfortunately, even as I write, India and Pakistan are learning this lesson. Let’s hope they learn soon.

Let’s also hope that the U.S. President is successful; that something substantial and beneficial for all concerned can come of the meetings in Vietnam.

Another irony is that our President is out of the country at the time, and his own former lawyer is saying unkind things about him on television. Whether all that is said is true or not, he is the President and we should all wish him well.

Let’s also hope that the location of their talks also counts. If so, there will be good news coming out of Hanoi.

Charles “Chips” Lickson
Front Royal, Virginia