Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Speaker tells of war's Saigon qu By Mark Lundgren Saigon's fall and life in the city after the war was the subject of a speech Monday by Paul Quinn-Judge, who was in Vietnam until July 1975. Quinn-Judge said the Saigon seige began on April 28, while General Big Minh was delivering his inaugural address. Minh was the second successor to former President Nguyen Van Thieu. Three planes flew over the airbase and identified themselvps as Amprimn Thpv th*?n , - ?J vvvvwvu IU bomb the airbase. The taking of Saigon was the last stage of the Ho Chi Minh offensive, according to Quinn-Judge. On April 29 the American embassy was told to leave. On April 30 the airport was captured and General Minh surrendered as the North Vietnamese National Liberation Front (NLF) forces moved into the city, according to Quinn-Judge. Quinn-Judge said there was much hysteria during the last days of the war. This was due, he said, to people having I a.IJ r - " - * uetjn ioiu ior zu years mai 11 tne enemy moved in, they would be massacred. This never happened. Near riots occurred outside the United States embassy and other American installations, but other parts of Saigon did not reveal a hint that a war was going on. Quinn-Judge said there was "very little fight in Saigon." me saigon army took the surrender order at face value and laid down its weapons. According to Quinn-Judge, one of the main problems the NLF soldiers had in taking control of the city was massive traffic jams which paralyzed Saigon. Equipment was simply deserted on the streets. Guns, artillery and armored vehicles were ail over, deserted. ^v. 'V Men's dorms i/v mv Ji. i/iiv v ai^ti By Patricia Eleazer This summer the housing office has plans to renovate certa the Horseshoe and nearby men's dormitories. Director of Housing Robert Stewart said at Tuesday's Resi hearing that plans for Maxcy include the replacement of s third floor doors and the renovation of windows and 21 b Preston will also have second and third floor doors replaced. ( will be improvements to accomodate handicapped student! The Horseshoe will have the bathrooms renovated with tl addition of exhaust fans. The biggest change will be new rc dormitories. Last year carpeting was installed in Thornwell. This yeai work is planned. Stewart added that a kitchen is being built in Preston as a jc of the dormitory's government and thp honsincr nffint* In outlining the procedure for requesting repairs he sai< request must be turned in to housing first. Within 24 hour should respond. If it can be fixed immediately, it will be. Ho is a big job the worker will leave a card to notify the residei tact someone with the proper equipment. For repairs after hours the student should call the housin recording will give the number to call in case of an emerge repairs will be delayed until the regular work schedule resum * unas tor repairs normally come from rent only. A few yea received a state grant of $2.8 million to restore the Longstreet Theater and Caroliniana Library because of th< value. The amount has not been enough and USC is asking funds. To cut costs housing will install double roll dispensers for The rollers for toilet paper will be locked to discourage anyor carrv off a Slinnlv for thpir hnmp frtr Hwnratino rlnrincr I for any other use it was not designed for. Although many services and supplies, including cleaning sc paper toweis, were cui, no otnce jods were cut. L end iet after fall Quinn-Judge said some injuries to the citizens of Saigon resulted as they swept up and burned garbage which contained grenades and other explosives. The NLF soldiers painiea rea crosses on aoandonded vehicles to signify they had been neutralized. When the surrender came, Quinn-Judge said, the "Saigon army members were just taking off their clothes and going home." Many had civilian clothes in their knapsacks. The NI.F soldiers tnlH mpmhprs nf tho Raionn fnrno cm hnrno ...v < " 6" IJ will vand earn a peaceful living. The Saigon soldiers were given six weeks to turn in their weapons. This time limit was later extended. Weapons were dropped at British University, which became a veritable ammunition dump, according to Quinn-Judge. He estimated there was about $4 billion worthof equipment left. As the NLF took the city, underground liberation forces surfaced and local revolutionary committees were set up to administer Saigon. These committees organized cultural events^ and set up adult education classes, Quinn-Judge said. He said as he went outside during and after the fall of the city he and his friends "could see the world as we knew it under Thieu was disintegrated." Quinn-Judge described the naanlo or /iiiwiaiip ^ ? 111 * ? ? 1 ao vui iuua anu soiu nicy wci e milling ctlOUUU lO See what was going on. He also said there was a definite sense of relief among the people. Many people living in the city who had fled the north in 1954 craved news of their old homes and friends. QuinnJudge described the NLF men as naive because they would buy broken articles, such as watches and radios, for outrageous prices from Saigon hustlers. A rv-\ r? irvr mrArif lirtrt onirl mAn 4- V* n uiajui cvciii, ^uiiuruuugc oaiu, aiiui uic wai wdo liic return of masses of people to the countryside. Many people had come to the city on the advice of the government. The theory, according to Quinn-Judge, was to have the people congregate in the city so that the NLF would have no one to fight in the provinces. This caused immense overcrowding in the city. Saigon's population increased threefold in 10 years. The Provisional T i horo i inn nm/nrnm ^PT n\ ic fnri n rf f/\ rnfnt'n f a fhn 1 OHR uiuvi uvivu uiiivnt vi uvj / 10 it jr nig lu a V/iui 11 iu uiv jl population of Saigon, one million persons, Quinn-Judge said. He doubts this goal will be achieved. He said the people left the city quickly for their old homes, but ihey face massive problems in rebuilding the countryside. The people must contend with unexploded mines, craterization, defoliation, lack of farming tools and animals and destroyed houses. Quinn-Judge said the PLG has no ill-feelings toward the American people but does toward the United States mucin. iiiey view uie uuueu cnaies guvei mneiu as the unit which started the war and the American people, Renay I 1? night. Tl iiu areas 01 j ! idence Life [ W (H I ffjk mA second and ^ H (W ath areas. J fflH ES^ By Mary ie possible anger an / 4 MiB Poussa i TSf R/ ni m Horseshoe, H J| ethnicity, Mr historic . m opportun ? for more |J fl educatior the toilets. I In aHHi le trying to 4_, 4. I Americai veekendor gf Bicentem ygwillliumwui Bfr??II 'IJMII I'il ULI- ILTrgrrr?m31LJBlTP3IJai|iaB^M^?wg^WTO?jac?ia?jPwaMnm^qt38ga^^. Peace goal of Quakers The USC Friends Fellowship is a Quaker affiliated j organization whose purpose is to disseminate in- j formation and bring issues to the public's knowledge. Tim Beall, former clerk of the fellowship, said the | organization used to be confined to campus, but is now j ! J. mi /?_ii t_ ? ? 1 * ? - ' * area wiue. 1 ne ieuowsnip nas noi Deen acuve recently, | but is trying now to become more active, Beail said. It works with organizations such as the American j Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker ! organization which has received a Nobel Peace Prize. Paul Quinn-Judge has worked for AFSC in Vietnam j and he was presented at the University the USC Friends Fellowship. I Basically pacifist, Beall said, the fellowship is currently working with the campaign against the B-l j bomber. The fellowship consists of about 10 members, 4 of which are professors. Bruce L. Pearson of the An- j thropology department is the faculty representative and Walter Miller is the current clerk. j] through their anti-war actvity, as the unit which brought the war to an end. Many discussion meetings were held after the war to get people together and organized. According to Quinn-Judge, the first art and books published after the war were rpvnllltinniirv in natl]r<3 A macciuo innn^iilaUnn r\rr\<ffo x/ < w<v.v?vr?>v*a j iiMVVia V. *m 11IUU0I VV A1I1IVTV. UiUtlUll pi U5& QUI was instituted to fight cholera and the plague. Quinn-Judge said American money was sufficient, and the Thieu regime had the funds to provide disease prevention programs, but these funds were improperly used. Quinn-Judge said the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization for which he and his wife were the Saigon representatives, applied to the United States eovemmpnt fnr lippns#*s aftpr thp war tr> conH roliof ? "V.4 VV UVUU * V1IV* materials to Vietnam but were refused. Many members in many cities protested this policy, and the licenses were eventually granted. Before getting the licenses, the organization had sent relief materials illegally under the Trading with the Enemy Act. No one was actually prosecuted for these actions. Quinn-Judge said he and his wife remained in Vietnam until July, because they were curious and did not expect to be endangered. He and his wife had once been captured by the NLF for wandering into NLF territory. He said they had been treated well by the North Vietnamese. Quinn-Judge said he is excited about the fact that the people in Vietnam will be able to begin to experience the Pi/drvrlav tliintfc that ? i~i - * - 1? 'i? 11 - - ? j ?j v..?v wci c uiiduic 10 uy me war. nc said he would like to return to Vietnam to visit friends. Fulwood was chosen Best Performer at a talent show Monday le constest was was one activity planned during Black UWIc was accompanied by Michael Knox. (?* *> by mm mumw tcturer views I _ ^ - ick resistance Louise Young learn a "passive resistance to authority" which results in d withdrawal, according to Dr. Alvin Poussaint, associate of psychiatry at Harvard University. int said the psychological effects of such passivity have caused be constantly "on the defensive." American democracy has k people "invisible, off-guard and subdued," he said. tioned blacks to be aware of becoming apathetic toward their and the rest of society. He suggested this bicentennial year be examining the nature, thecountry and black struggle during the years. ig in the law center auditorium Tuesday night as the featured Vir Hlaf'lf Wp^lr Pmiccaint caiH hla/<lrc mild irimiT thamcalnac A v/vlUUMIIIV UM1V4 Ml? vno IIIUOl ?ivn IIIVIIIO^I V^O a continuing struggle and organize in a group effort to prevent ' other ethnic group in America is organized around its " he said. Poussaint encouraged blacks to take advantage of ities to organize for political purposes, to get a thorough i and to get higher paying jobs which do not necessarily require egrees. tion to sponsoring Poussaint's lecture, the Association of Afroi Students held a seminar on "Do Blacks Have a Role in the ^ l ri ? ? nn i niai: luesaay. t a talent show sponsored Monday night, Twana Tolbert was est Entertainer. Best Performer was Kenay Fulwood. acci by Susan Jenkins.