VIET-NAM BLUES

M O N D A Y,  2  J A N

Got up late (as usual). All I did in the morning was learn the endless parts of German verbs.

My face got feverish so I went for a walk in the garden. Then listened to French radio in the bath, and Liz came round with my present while I was in it! She gave me a big mauve glass bauble and a little book on Picasso. I don't know why so many people adore his paintings - I dislike most of them.

After supper Daddy showed us his plan for the hospital. It's 12 storeys high and the committee may not accept it. They they said high blocks cost more. Not true.

Saw Come Dancing - so corny! - and Panorama on Viet-Nam. One American soldier said he didn't really mind killing children as one day they could kill his own kids. Ghastly James Mossman (Ma's favourite) was reporting. He's so nice.

“Three million lost their lives in Vietnam ”

Fuelled by Cold War fear about the spread of communism, the Americans intervened in 1965. In ‘73 they withdrew, no longer able to support the economic burden or stand the loss of American lives.

The antiwar movement had grown into an unstoppable force, pressuring the government to reconsider. Saigon surrendered to the Communist north, 700,000 US veterans suffered psychological repercussions, and Vietnam was left in ruins.