Why Dien Bien Phu Still Matters - Deuxieme

As I anticipated, a veritable chorus of condemnation has fallen upon Your Humble Blogger over yesterday's memorial Post. Ok, not exactly; indeed, the only feedback seeped in from Mom and Aunt Pat. (Pat recalled, with a tear in both eyes, her dear memories of June 19th, as would be expected). Mom, however, related how my brother assured her that the French soldiers at Dien Bien Phu were not heroic freedom fighters. Rather, my envious Bro. (sibling rivalry truly does have its dark side) told Mom that the thousands of French soldiers volunteered to die so that their rich countrymen could continue to exploit Viet laborers on their rubber plantations. Yeah Right!

As a real student of history (Bro. just dabbles), I have interviewed a large number of Dien Bien Phu survivors (yes hyperbole: I did read a few oral histories). To a Man, the heroes of the Big Frontier Administrative Center attested to their condemnation of colonial oppression of the indigenous Vietnamese population. The French paratroopers without exception saw themselves as being like the "Brave Texans at the Alamo" fighting, and dying willingly, for the defeat of Godless commie bastards, who they knew were the real oppressors of peoples.

Yes, Virginia, (and Kim Robert Onsdorff) the French martyrs of May 8, 1954 deserve the appellation of the Glorious Dead, and are fully worthy of honor as protectors of American values. Just saying again...