US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, congressional leaders and hundredsof war veterans attended a recent ceremony marking 50 years since USground troops arrived in Vietnam.
The July 8 eventin Washington D.C. was also participated in by House Speaker JohnBoehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The Vietnam War taught Americans many lessons, "many hard-won, some difficult to swallow," Carter said.
He noted the Defense Department has more than 650 employees devoted toaccounting for those missing-in-action from US wars, including the1,627 service members still missing from Vietnam.
Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, himself a Vietnam veteran, toldthe crowd that "there is no glory in war, only suffering".
He also described the night his personnel carrier was ambushed,leaving his brother and others wounded. As they waited for medicalevacuation by helicopter, Hagel swore to himself that he would work tomake war a last resort for resolving disputes between countries.
Regarding the historic meeting between GeneralSecretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and USPresident Barack Obama at the White House on July 7, Hagel said thetalks were not meant to recall the past but work towards the future,adding that the US learned many lessons from the Vietnam War, and willwork to avoid repeating them in the future.-VNA
The July 8 eventin Washington D.C. was also participated in by House Speaker JohnBoehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The Vietnam War taught Americans many lessons, "many hard-won, some difficult to swallow," Carter said.
He noted the Defense Department has more than 650 employees devoted toaccounting for those missing-in-action from US wars, including the1,627 service members still missing from Vietnam.
Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, himself a Vietnam veteran, toldthe crowd that "there is no glory in war, only suffering".
He also described the night his personnel carrier was ambushed,leaving his brother and others wounded. As they waited for medicalevacuation by helicopter, Hagel swore to himself that he would work tomake war a last resort for resolving disputes between countries.
Regarding the historic meeting between GeneralSecretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and USPresident Barack Obama at the White House on July 7, Hagel said thetalks were not meant to recall the past but work towards the future,adding that the US learned many lessons from the Vietnam War, and willwork to avoid repeating them in the future.-VNA
