Vietnam's long journey from war

Foreign business-people agree attitudes are changing. "It's a very young country," says Don Morrison, whose Vietnamese wife runs a restaurant and art shop in old Saigon. "It's definitely easier than it was to do business here." And, says Mr. Morrison, who came from Scotland seven years ago, "there's no reflection of anti-American sentiment."

Vietnamese leaders, sublimating their once "eternal friendship" with North Korea, are also moving quickly to widen relations with South Korea, which at the peak of the war had 48,000 troops in Vietnam. Nor do Vietnamese dwell on the legacy of Agent Orange, the defoliant that Americans sprayed over broad swaths of the countryside, leaving a devastating legacy of illness and death.

"The war was a long time ago," says a government official, briefing a foreign visitor this week. "More than half the people of this country were born after the war. Only the older people remember well what happened. Now we want to move ahead."

In the village of Ap Bac, 40 miles southwest of Ho Chi Minh City, a farmer points to a spot where Viet Cong guerrillas ambushed South Vietnamese army tanks on Jan. 2, 1963, killing three US advisers and killing and wounding hundreds of Saigon army soldiers.

Billboards in a rice paddy near his home show where helicopters were shot down, and a nearby monument memorializes the first major engagement of the war. "The war here was fierce and brutal," says the farmer, Nguyen Van Huan. "There were many battles after that one. This was the base for the Liberation forces. All I wanted was for the country to be at peace."

Now that peace is here, however, Mr. Huan, whose seven children are grown, faces other problems. "We need more jobs," he says. "The population is growing. There is not enough land."

Beside the monument, Do Xuan Chinh, a former Viet Cong sergeant, shows off a guest book that includes a page signed by Vo Nguyen Giap, the legendary North Vietnamese general, during a visit several years ago. "The Ap Bac battle began the special war the Americans waged," say the words written in Giap's name. "People here in Ap Bac and elsewhere should follow the tradition of fighting and winning, for building this place as a symbol of a good village."

Mr. Chinh acknowledges "people here still have difficulty" but says, "they are making progress." As for thousands of Vietnamese sent to "reeducation" camps, he says they included only "those who were so brutal, who flew the US and Saigon flags."

Beneath the surface, Vietnamese still grumble about government control. "People are always complaining and making fun of the government," says one recent visitor, a Vietnamese who now has a foreign passport. "The government maintains strong control but does not want to upset people."

In an Internet cafe here, teenagers pack booths listening to music. A student shrugs when asked about the celebration Saturday. "I heard about it," he says. "It is not my concern."

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