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Memorial Day
May 29, 2000
Editor
US News and World Report
1050 Thomas Jefferson Street NW
Washington, DC 20007-3837
By unanimous vote, the officers and directors of the 11th Armored Cavalry’s Veterans
of Vietnam & Cambodia strongly denounce the cover statement on your May 1, 2000 issue
of U.S. NEWS & World Report. “Vietnam’s Forgotten Lessons, 25 years later,
does the military still remember why it lost?”
The fall of Saigon occurred 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left
Vietnam. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. It called for
release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides' forces
inside South Vietnam and a commitment to peaceful reunification. The last American combat
troops departed in their entirety by 29 March 1973. How could we lose a war we were no
longer in?
Twenty-two thousand veterans that served with us fought for democratic principals, which
guaranteed freedom of speech. Many gave their very life. We do not believe it gives one
the right to make misrepresentations that influence public opinion. Particularly when it
tarnishes the image of our nations veterans and military.
In your pursuit to sensationalize the cover story, you have lowered a once reputable
publication to the level of a supermarket tabloid. You crossed the line. Please restore
the high standards and public trust in U.S. NEWS & World Report with an apology to the
nations veterans.
Eric Newton
Public Information Officer
11th Armored Cavalry’s
Veterans of Vietnam & Cambodia
www.11thcavnam.com