June 7, 2015 Dear Scholarship Committee: I’d like to thank you for awarding me the 2015 Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Foundation Scholarship. It is truly an honor to carry on the memory of my great uncle and to spread awareness of the heroism of the men and women who fought in Vietnam. I appreciate the generosity and will do my best to meet your expectations next year while I am attending Saint John’s University. Also, thank you for taking the time to meet with my family and me. My Grandpa Jerry was deeply touched to visit with all of you. Sincerely, Tom Prittinen

Tom Prittinen

The Fall of Saigon

    Commander Thomas Carl Kolstad, United States Navy, is my great uncle.  Family lore speaks of him as a beloved son, brother, husband, father, and war hero.  His death along with the 58,220 other American soldiers who were killed in Vietnam will never be forgotten.

    Because my great uncle is my namesake, I have always had a strong interest in the Vietnam War.  In tenth grade, I did a research project on my uncle’s service in the war.  I have a family scrapbook which contains the original documentation of him being declared missing in action for ten years, the repatriation of his remains, and the nationwide coverage of his funeral service in 1977.  I was fascinated to learn about the reconnaissance planes he flew, and also enjoyed hearing stories about his childhood from my grandfather.  The contrast between stories I heard about his pride in serving his country and how Vietnam veterans were treated when they came home shocked me.

    On this anniversary of the fall of Saigon, I wonder what his opinion of the surrender might have been.  Would he have reacted with anger because we had lost, or maybe resentment toward the government for not winning the war when we had the opportunity?  Should we think his life was lost in vain?  

    Obviously, I cannot ask these questions to my Uncle Tom, so I asked Dan “Boone” Karakas.  Mr. Karakas served in the United States Army as an infantryman from April 1968 to April 1969 in Vietnam.  My impression from talking to him was that he was not only disappointed that the United States lost the war, but he was also angry with how he was treated when he came home.  Even now, Mr. Karakas is still has a difficult time reconciling the events that occurred forty years ago.

    Recently, American Experience on PBS had a documentary on the fall of Saigon.  What was interesting to me was how the North Vietnamese took advantage of Nixon’s resignation to attack South Vietnam.  They capitalized on our political disarray to swiftly take over the country.  I never knew the events of Watergate held such significant international implications.  Also striking to me was how difficult it was for American troops to leave their South Vietnamese allies behind.  The utter desperation of the South Vietnamese civilians to get inside the U.S. Embassy to have an opportunity to leave Vietnam was shocking as well.

    The research I’ve done on my Great Uncle’s service along with the interview I did with Mr. Karakas has given me a lot of information to consider.  I would hope that my Uncle and other veterans would be proud of their service.  They are honorable men who were put in an impossible situation where there was no hero’s welcome at the end.  We should respect them for the sacrifices they made.  The outcome of a war should not determine how we treat those who served; instead, we should honor them by remembering their service.

##########################################################################################################

The Fall of South Vietnam; 40 Years Later

An interview with Keith Larson

By: Quaid Cavallin

Two Harbors High School

Military runs deep in my family. My Grandfather, Vietnam Veteran Wayne Sletten, along

with my father and brother are all military. My high regard for the military was compounded

more when I had the privilge to speak with Vietnam Veteran, Keith Larson, about his war

experience, and his feelings about it 40 years later.

It is almost 40 years, to the day, that North Vietnam took over Saigon ending the Vietnam

War. As I relfect on this, I think it's important to give a quick overview of this war.

The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between North and South Vietnam (with aid

from the U.S.)

In 1965, under President Johnson, U.S. troops were sent in to support South Vietnam.

In 1969, President Nixon started removing U.S. troops from Vietnam, handing back the

fighting to the South Vietnamese. The withdrawal of troops began in July 1969, and by 1973,

most of U.S. troops had left Vietnam, leaving a weak South Vietnam behind.

In 1975, the U.S. Air Force began removing refugees from Saigon and on April 29, 1975,

Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation on record, began removing the last

Americans from Saigon. In the end, choppers had evacuated an estimated 7,000 Americans and

South Vietnamese out of Saigon in under 24 hours.

On April 30th, "The Fall of Saigon" was the capture of Saigon, South Vietnam's capital by the

People's Army of Vietnam (North). It marked the end of the Vietnam War.

Keith Larson enlisted in the army at 17 and served in the Vietnam War from 1969-1972. He

was a member of MACV-SOG (Military Assistant Command, Vietnam Special Operations Group).

This special Ops group was highly classified, and reported their intelligence only to the

Presidential Office and the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. Keith was never allowed to

discuss what he did in the war until recently. In 1999, the Department of Defense made public

statements about their missions in order to right wrongful accusations put upon them by CNN

reporters.

When asked about The Fall of Saigon, Keith said he remembers feeling sad, specifically

because he knew that the South Vietnamese could not defend themselves. In his time in

Vietnam, he lived with the Montagna rd, who were the tribesmen of South Vietnam. Keith

stated that these men were like family, "closer than family". He stated the camaraderie with

the Montagna rd was one of the most memorable things about serving in the war. He proudly

displays a picture of these men and himself on his wall at home.

Keith received two Bronze Medals, and a Silver Star for his Valor and Heroism during the

war, but he was very humble when asked about these. He did however display on his wall the

Presidential Citation for Extraordinary Heroism. Looking back 40 years later Keith felt the U.S.

won the war. He stated, "We won the battles, but lost politically, and lost in the eyes of the

people."

##########################################################################

Charles Hooghkirk

On April 4, 1975 a C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft crash landed in a rice paddy. Of the 313

peGJ7le <:>ri board, 17'5-suf\f~Ved. Am<mg the dead were 78 Amerasian -chHdr€n.

With the fall of Saigon assured, President Gerald R. Ford announced the U.S.

government would begin evacuating "orphans" from Saigon through Operation Babylift.

What the President meant was the mother of a child fathered by a U.S. serviceman

could ·have their chi1d evacuated to the U.S.

My father, Garry, was stationed in Saigon from 1970 to 1971 in the Air Force. Just a few

years ago, I found out he fathered an Amerasian son. It turns out I have a half-brother

who would be around 44 years old, if he survived.

I have what seems like a million questions. Is he alive? If he is, where is he? Why

hasn't my father tried to find him? What is he like? Does he have any kids? Why hasn't

he tried to find us?

As I've interviewed my father for this essay, his symptoms of PTSD became more

obvious to me. He often had to take breaks or be by himself for a while. Thinking about

Vietnam has caused flashbacks. He said he can clearly see his baby boy lying in its bed

in Saigon. It's hard for me to comprehend what his flashbacks are like. I've never been

with my dad when he has had one. I know they are extremely stressful for him, and

-ofieR -he shuts -dowrl.

Garry was stationed in Duluth, MN when the CS crashed. The first thing he thought of

was his son. Was he on that plane? If so, did he survive? Did the mother even put their

son into Operation Babylift? These questions have haunted him ever since.

My father watched the reports on television of Saigon falling and the Americans

evacuating. My dad felt betrayed by his country: he was angry. "All those dead," he

wondered, "and for what?" Trying to stop communism wasn't worth the death and all of

the lives ruined by PTSD.

40 years later, Garry has come to terms with his disorder and the war, and he often

thinks about his son. He still thinks the war wasn't worth it. He is sad about all of the

families who have been affected by PTSD and Agent Orange. Almost every week, he

tells me war sucks, and no one should ever have to experience it. One fact that haunts

him is more Vietnam Veterans have committed suicide than U.S. soldiers who died in

Vietnam. Despite all of this, my dad strives to be the best father he can, and does a

really good job at it.

My dad also hopes to find out what happened to his lost son. Just recently he found out

about Operation Reunite, a nonprofit that hopes to match Amerasians with their families

through DNA matching. Hopefully this will give our family some answers and set my

ead"s mind at -ease.