Background Material


A photo of the plaque


HOW IT ALL STARTED

A plaque, commemorating the American Embassy Guards killed in the 1968 TET offensive, appeared in a Vietnamese War Museum in Saigon, apparently now the property of the Vietnamese through the "spoils of war" concept.

Back in May, 1999, I began asking question regarding this plaque taken from the American Embassy and brought the matter up with our Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Douglas "Pete" Peterson. I was handed off to the U.S. Consulate General, Mr. Charles A. Ray, in the new American Consulate offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

I continue to track the status of this plaque and report publicly the exchanges of correspondences with various Department of State offices and personnel. From the very start, this was a "politically sensitive" issue and clearly not one that either Mr. Peterson or Mr. Ray was willing or able to handle.

I have made the pursuit of this item a personal task. I consider the plaque to be American property and also a "War Memorial" honoring our soldiers who fought and died in Vietnam. The information provided here contains only statements of fact to the best of my knowledge and copies of correspondences received or sent during the course of this project.

I invite all who have an interest in this quest to join in my personal crusade to push for the return of this item to American hands. -Rossie


Afternote:
The issue of this particular plaque was "resolved" in November, 2002. HOWEVER, there remain several other very serious violations of Veteran rights and issues of blatant injustice and illegality combined with a changing public and governmental attitude on what a military veteran really is. I invite all who are interested to contact me for the purpose of gathering momentum for a grass-roots movement to DO SOMETHING about it.


Initial Contact with the American Consulate Office in Saigon.

Update as of May, 2000

Update as of August 17, 2000

Information added December 2, 2000 regarding some history of the Plaque

Update as of January 24, 2002

Who were these five soldiers?

Museum Visit Update - January 31, 2002

Who Has Supported These Efforts...?...and Who Hasn't?

A RESOLUTION IN THE MAKING

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Additional Links for More Details and History

Aug 13 - Replacement Plaque Has Been Acquired

Oct 20 - Your Participation in the Dedication Ceremony

Oct 30 - Details of the Plaque Dedication Ceremony Given

November 14, 2002 - Placement of the New Plaque

Email of 8/18/03 correcting some of my earlier negative comments


RETURN to Visits To Vietnam


Information provided within this section is guaranteed to be factual and represents true copies of correspondence and information received by myself and others. Please feel free to contact me at this email link if you have any question regarding this matter.