Listening to Thoa’s story, Norman got to know that she could meet her father only once in her life. Holding each other’s hand tight, they bursted into tears and shared the words which had been kept for decades.
December 29th, 2018 was a memorable day, when the meeting between friends of PeaceTrees (a US Non-governmental organization dedicated to heal the wound of war in Vietnam), former Vietnamese pilots and relative of the martyrs took place at the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO), Hanoi.
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Tearful moment in the meeting. Photo: Phuong Nguyen
Prior to the meeting, some had spent one, two months searching for old pictures of their fathers, brothers, husbands. For Norman, the actual preparation was started even much earlier, in his mind.
The gathering brought tears to both Americans and Vietnamese, who were, hand in hand, sharing the same sorrow of lost as the war has taken away their loved ones.
People sobbed, and in that moment, they forgot that they were from the two sides of the war.
Norman Conrad Knodt (First Cavalry Division) arrived in Southern Vietnam on January 17th, 1968 to join the warfare in Central Vietnam, including Dong Ha (Quang Tri), Khe Sanh (Thua Thien-Hue). When the pilot wason his air craft, the breath-taking landscape of Vietnam had evoked the regret and shameful feeling in his heart. He should not have come to the S-shaped country as a soldier.
On January 9th 1969, he left Vietnam, wishing to leave all memories behind. He regretted of having fought in Vietnam, regretted that he had never communicated with any local to truly understand Vietnam. It would have been great if he had not come to Vietnam to serve in a warfare, but it was just a dream.
“It has been 50 years since I left Vietnam. This is the first time I’ve returned to the country. In the past few years, I always thought that I would come back to Vietnam again but that dream did not come true, and I didn’t even know when it would do. Fortunately, one day, I heard Jerilyn talk about PeaceTrees Vietnam in a meeting of the American Veterans Asssociation, I was invited by her to join this trip. However, at that time, I hesitatedfor a while. My son, who is also a pilot, was the one who motivated me to realize my dream. He once came to Hanoi and HCM.City when accompanied President Obama’s visit in 2016. He told me a lot about the beauty and friendliness of Vietnam and its people, assuring me that I would have a very good time there. And he was absolutely right”.
Pham Thi Thoa (village No.1, Dinh Hoa commune, Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province) is daughter of pilot Pham Dinh Tuan. She came to this meeting with a few pictures of her father when he was young.
Thoa’s mother could only stayed with her dad for a month, while the daughter only saw him once, in a few-hour meeting. “It was really hard for me to grow up without my father. When he died, I was just 3 while my mother was 29. She was a farmer and most of the time, our life was fulled of difficulties. Due to poor health, my mother spent most of her time in the hospital. After finishing grade 9, I had to leave school to help my mother earn for our living and later got married. Before this meeting, I still had a strong hatred of American soldiers as they had broken our family apart. However, nowadays I have understood that they had to bear the same sorrow of lost,” said Thoa.
Former pilot Norman meets Thoa, daughter of a Vietnamese martyr.
Gail Margaret Garcelon was Daniel Cheney’s fiancée – an American pilot whose life was claimed by the Vietnam war when he was 21.
Garcelon spent 18 days in Vietnam, and was very emotional when she recalled the past. Gail never forgot Daniel, who had grown up with her. They had got engaged before he went to Vietnam.
“Daniel enlisted and both of our families were anticipating of his return after completing his duty, when our marriage would be held. When we heard about his death, we all were shocked and could not believe that was the truth… Just over two weeks since Daniel went to Vietnam, we got the information that his plane was shot down when they were trying to rescue another pilot. His life ended just 3 weeks before his 23rd birthday. He was too young to die,” Gail sobbed.
“Honestly, at that time, when it came to Vietnam, in my heart, there was always a bitter feeling of hatred. But now I understand, you guys have the same pain as I have, and that's why I am feeling proud of what Jerilyn and PeaceTrees Vietnam have done. Jerilynn had convinced me to join this trip, on occasion of the 50th anniversary of Daniel's death. On January 6th, we revisited the place where his plane was shot down in Long An province and paid tribute to him and the fallen Vietnamese soldiers.”
Returning to Vietnam after 50 years was an exciting experience for Norman Conrad Knodt, since he could visit more localities, returning to the old battlefield, visiting PeaceTrees Vietnam headquarters and project site, communicating with the Vietnamese people, what he did not have the chance to do 50 years ago./.
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