The Village of Ben Suc - Hearts and Minds

"'The soldier in Vietnam has to have diverse talents, for dealing with any situation. The military side is only one part. Our men have to fight a war and carry on reconstruction at the same time. This isn't a war for territory, it's a war for the hearts and the minds of the people.' [Colonel John K. Walker, Jr., Senior Advisor to the ARVN 5th Division]" (p96)

"A reporter asked [Colonel Ba] how the present program of 'resettlement' differed from the earlier 'strategic hamlet' program, which both Americans and Vietnamese regard as a failure.

"'In the strategic hamlet, we could not stay with the people,' he answered. We would leave and the Vietcong would come again. Now we have the Revolutionary Development workers to win their hearts and minds, and teach them about the government. THis time we will stay with the people. We can educate them.'" (p92)

[Notice the obfuscation: 'we could not stay with them… this time we will stay with the people.' By this he means, they have completely uprooted the people, made them utterly dependent, and surrounded them with barbed wire and security. They have isolated them from the NLF, their local government, and will impose a new government on them. That is, they 'will stay with them.' Sounds like the twisted language of a stalker in some horror show. 'I love you. I won't let you go. No one will ever bother you again.']

"In the camp itself, the educational program was represented by the sound truck and the public-address system, the two of which often broadcast propaganda simultaneously. Along with patriotic songs and speeches, announcements were repeatedly played on tape. The following announcement played for about an hour one afternon: 'The 32nd Tactical Area Division and Binh Duong Province welcome you and promise to help youin every way. We know that in the areas under Vietcong control you are terrorized and force to pay enormous taxes. They promise you everything but never actually do anything good for you. So now the government operation has brought you all here so you can escape from the Vietcong. We are doing our best, but know that food and space are a little short at the moment. In a few days, conditions will improve. The government will soon find a new job for everyone.'" (p93).

[No longer 'hostile civilians,' the 'refugees' are free to enjoy the good will of the government of 'South Vietnam' and the Americans. It must have been galling, on top of everything else, to have the 'terror' of their former lives recounted for them, as they wonder how many of their family have been killed, brutalized in interrogations, or lost, during this 'resettlement.']