FFF (20)- Vietnam

Tall and skinny like a Pepero!

General Vietnam Facts

Vietnam is tall and skinny- 1,031 miles long and only 31 miles across as some points.

The currency of Vietnam is the "Dong"- my children would love this fact.

At about 60%, the most common family name in Vietnam is Nguyen.

Vietnamese eat rice more than any country in the world- I find this tantilizing as I already think Koreans eat an abundance of rice.

Instead of greeting each other with a "Hello", they often say "Where are you going?"  I guess they like to get straight to the point!

When talking with an elder, it is viewed as respectful if you avoid eye contact.

To look humble in the eyes of a Vietnamese, refrain from saying "thank you"- deny all compliments and you're considered polite!

Vietnam War Facts- I apologize, but I literally stole these from the U.S. Wings website, as they p rovided very informative facts.  I did help by eliminating some and including what I believed were the most interesting.  At the bottom there are two common myths proven wrong.  Please visit the website for more facts and myths answered!

2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam.

Vietnam Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation.

240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.

58,148 were killed in Vietnam.

Average age of men killed: 23.1 years.

Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.

As of January 15, 2004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served.

74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome.

Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups.

There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans Administration Study).

Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.

Myth: Common belief is that most Vietnam veterans were drafted.
Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers.

Myth: The common belief is that the domino theory was proved false.
Fact: The domino theory was accurate. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of America's commitment in Vietnam. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. If you ask people who live in these countries that won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism.