Hard Times

“Victory has a hundred fathers, and defeat is an orphan,” US president John F. Kennedy once said (paraphrasing the Roman historian Tacitus).

"Truly, times have changed. When we defeated the Mongols, we sent them back on our own horses & boats, always with generous tribute and our excuses for defeating their armies after they crossed our borders. Now the invader sends his own transport and even an emissary to discuss the tribute amount."

“I realized that in the world there are two peoples who are similar in their heroic spirit and are very good at fighting the enemy. Those are the Russians and the Vietnamese.“

President Hồ turned his sun helmet upside down on the table. Running his slim fingers around the outer rim, he said, “This is the situation. Down there is the valley of Điện Biên Phủ – that’s where the French are with the best troops they have in Indochina. They will never get out.”