Episode Details

George Black, guest author, recounts how, in the aftermath of the war, the United States struggled with the trauma of its first major defeat, often looking for scapegoats like the media or "faithless civilians." This bitterness manifested in the MIA/POW issue, which became a massive political obstacle to normalizing relations with Vietnam. A legend persisted that living American prisoners were being held in the jungles of Laos, despite repeated congressional investigations finding no credible evidence. This movement, fueled by conspiracy theories and Hollywood celebrities, blocked conversations about the war's actual damage for over a decade. While the search for remains was a moral humanitarian obligation, the focus on living MIAs prevented the US from addressing the herbicidal damage and unexploded ordnance left behind. Meanwhile, individuals like Adelaide Borton observed deformed babies in Vietnamese hospitals, though these reports were largely ignored in Washington. Normalization only began in earnest during the late 1980s and 1990s as the US shifted toward engaging the Vietnamese for cooperation on finding remains. American veterans finally won recognition for Agent Orange-related illnesses in 1991, though Vietnamese victims were dismissed as purveyors of "communist propaganda." The Long Reckoning (5)