Episode 2468 – French History in Vietnam

French colonists and the heads of ‘bandits’ (Vietnamese rebels).

French colonists and the heads of ‘bandits’ (Vietnamese rebels).

Professor Kenneth Olson

Professor Kenneth Olson

Episode 2468 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the French history of Vietnam from Dr. Kenneth Olson.

The story is from a paper that appeared on The Scientific Research Publishing website and was titled: Saigon River Valley: A Navigation, Trade, Mitigation, Invasion, Liberation, and Unification Pathway. The paper was submitted by Kenneth R. Olson, [krolson@illinois.edu], College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, USA.

Citation for this paper: Olson, K.R. (2023), Saigon River Valley: A Navigation, Trade, Mitigation, Invasion, Liberation, and Unification Pathway. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 46-82In this episode, the portion of Professor’s paper titled: Agent Blue Use in the Mekong Delta by RV Military and US Air Force’s Operation Ranch Hand.

The purpose of this episode is to help widen knowledge about the background of Vietnam. Whenever it becomes necessary to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard, it is of critical importance to be familiar with the history of one’s opponent in the conflict.

Even though the American Vietnam War is fifty years in our past, this Vietnam Vet finds it very interesting to know more about our opponent in that war. It appears that the leaders of our country in the post World War II epoch were not as aware of the history of Vietnam as they should have been. Had they knew more about our opponent just maybe there would be no Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. with 58,281 names etched upon its black marble walls of those Americans who died in the American Vietnam War.

According to Professor Olson, both sides of the French Vietnam War met at the Geneva Conference to end the war. They agreed that Vietnam would be “temporarily” divided at the 17th parallel and elections would be held by 20 July 1956. However, no elections were held and the division of Vietnam became permanent

Listen to episode 2468 and discover more about the French history of Vietnam from Dr. Kenneth Olson.

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