In his memoir Palace Gate, WWII and Vietnam pilot Richard Brown reveals a gut-wrenching truth about post-war Vietnam:
When he returned a decade after the war, the corrupt monarchy hadn’t been “liberated.” It had simply been replaced by an even more corrupt communist politburo.
The common people were still peasants. The elite were still kings. You see this pattern in every socialist state from Cuba to Vietnam—they collapse into aristocracies with a ruling class and a peasantry. Free markets remain the only system where economic mobility exists and anyone can rise (or drop out) based on their decisions.
Here are 3 harrowing takeaways from a Forward Air Controller who survived WWII training AND Vietnam:
The WWII Training Meat Grinder: Before flying low-level reconnaissance over Vietnam, Brown trained in WWII. Crude equipment, rapid pacing, and extreme conditions made WWII flight training deadlier for his cohort than actual combat in Vietnam.
The Loneliest Cockpit in Vietnam: As a Forward Air Controller (FAC), Brown flew low, slow, and unarmored over enemy territory to draw fire and mark targets. My grandpa, Hal Martin, had this exact same job. I wish I had read this book as a teenager so I could have talked to him about it.
The Illusion of “Revolution”: When Brown revisited Vietnam ten years after the fall of Saigon, the tragic absurdity hit him: years of blood and destruction yielded zero real liberation. The regime swapped crowns for communist badges while ordinary citizens remained trapped in poverty.
War changes maps and regimes. It rarely changes human nature.