LYCOS RETRIEVER 
South Vietnam: Americans
built 629 days ago
The former country of South Vietnam is rapidly disappearing from the collective memory of the US, other than during memorial ceremonies for the fallen American GIs. Americans do not respect losers, even if they used to be allies of the US. Americans respect winners. American movies feature heroes who are determined winners, witty and glamorous, rather than restrained punching-bags or honest losers. Starring in “High Noon”, Gary Cooper was the ultimate American hero, the fastest, the most accurate and the most honest gun in the West. The legendary Doc Halliday was pitied by Americans as long as he was drunk and could not shoot straight.
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At the beginning of 1973, when the Paris Peace Accords were signed ending the U.S. role in Vietnam, South Vietnam looked strong, at least on paper. The country's armed forces numbered over 1 million men, armed with the latest U.S. arms and equipment. They had an air force (VNAF) and a navy (VNN) in addition to ARVN, providing the ability to mount combined operations in the same effective manner as the American armed forces. But, there were deep weaknesses beneath this surface.
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The collapse of South Vietnam's neighbor, Cambodia, soon followed. Southeast Asia entered the era of the "killing fields," exterminating in a brief few years an estimated two million people -- 30% of the Cambodian population. American military policy has borne the scars of Vietnam ever since.
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