Post Reports

Decades of trust-building in Vietnam, coming undone by Trump

24 snips
Apr 30, 2025
Rebecca Tan, Southeast Asia Bureau Chief for The Washington Post, dives deep into the fraught legacies of the Vietnam War and the unraveling of U.S.-Vietnam relations. She recounts the critical ongoing efforts to locate missing soldiers, revealing the emotional toll on families. Tan highlights the rollback of trust-building initiatives under the Trump administration, which cut vital funding for demining and public health. The discussion reflects on both historical scars and the challenges of moving forward in a changing geopolitical landscape.
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ANECDOTE

Vietnamese Veterans' Ongoing Struggle

  • Rebecca Tan met Vietnamese war veterans and a retired general deeply affected by the war's legacy.
  • The ongoing search for missing soldiers helps families heal and keeps memories of the war alive.
ANECDOTE

American Family's Search for Closure

  • Steve Morrissey searched Vietnam for his father's crash site with the support of the U.S. Institute of Peace.
  • He held a ceremony there to reunite his father's memory with his late mother's ashes, a bittersweet closure.
INSIGHT

Post-War Cooperation Foundations

  • U.S.-Vietnam cooperation began soon after normalization in 1995, focusing initially on war legacies.
  • Cooperation addressed unexploded bombs, missing soldiers, and established a foundation for broader relations.
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