A group of U.S. war veterans will visit Vietnam from January 11-17 to help the country deal with the problem of hundred thousands of unexploded land mines and ordnance that remains from the war and has killed and wounded thousands, including many children.
According to website “mySanAntonia.com”, Jan C.Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) will lead a group of more than 20 people, mostly Vietnam veterans, to visit Hanoi, Quang Tri, Hue, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.
Mr Scruggs said that many Vietnam veterans get a sense of healing and closure from seeing the country today. Many of them have returned to Vietnam several times and he himself has visited the country 10 times. One objective of the visit is to promote efforts to deal with the 350,000 tones of potentially deadly ordnance believed to be still buried in Vietnam's sand and soft soil, particularly in Quang Tri Province. Hundreds of people, many of them children, are wounded or killed each year by explosives left over by the U.S. army.
Peter Holt, a decorated war veteran and chairman of the San Antonio Spurs, said that he had sweet memories of the Vietnamese people and the trip is sure to stir his feelings.
In 2001, the VVMF worked with Quang Tri province on a RENEW project, which works to prevent injuries through public education and removing unexploded ordnance. The project received $1 million from the U.S. congress to continue its work.
VVMF is a non-governmental organization which was established in 1980. Since its first visit to Vietnam in 1995, the VVMF has carried out many activities, helping to strengthen U.S.-Vietnamese ties and encourage political circles, people and NGOs to pay more attention to dealing with the consequences of the war in Vietnam. (Voice of Vietnam Jan 5, Quan Doi Nhan Dan-People’s Army Jan 5 p8)
