Mr. Craig McNamara, son of former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, burst into tears during a talk about his father and the war in Vietnam, on the afternoon of March 6 in Hanoi.
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| Mr. Craig McNamara stopped and burst into tears when talking about his visit to Truong Son Cemetery - Photo: DAU DUNG |
The talk with Craig McNamara and his journey to find the truth about the war was jointly organized by the Foreign Television Department of Vietnam Television (VTV) and the Vietnam Military History Museum.
He is the main character in the documentary The Duel of Wills, scheduled to air on VTV1 on April 30, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification; the author of the book Because our fathers lied - A memoir of truth and family, from Vietnam to today, copyrighted by Tre Publishing House, to be released in Vietnam in the near future.
| Mr. Craig McNamara bravely lifted the veil of history, facing the thorny truths about his father, Robert McNamara, the US Secretary of Defense, whom the world media called the 'chief architect' of the war in Vietnam. Representative of Tre Publishing House |
Mr. Craig McNamara burst into tears.
Appearing at the talk with two badges of the American and Vietnamese flags pinned side by side on his vest lapel, Mr. Craig McNamara was warm and answered all questions about his father, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.
Earlier that morning, he was still in Pleiku filming scenes for an upcoming movie.
He and the VTV crew traveled to many provinces and cities of Vietnam.
He visited Khe Sanh, Truong Son Cemetery, Ta Con airport, Hien Luong bridge (Quang Tri), Son My commune (Quang Ngai province) - where the My Lai massacre took place, and Xuan Thieu beach (Da Nang)...
He also went to My Tho, Tien Giang, to revisit the place where the historic battle of Ap Bac took place.
During that journey, he had the opportunity to meet and talk with Vietnamese veterans.
How did you feel at that time?
"Honestly in my position, it's difficult to share my views," Mr Craig said.
"From an American perspective, I have seen many American children sent to Vietnam to fight and die there. I have also witnessed the pain of American soldiers when they returned: many were not welcomed. Is that a tragedy? I think it is a tragedy.
On the Vietnamese side, you lost millions of people who fell because of the war caused by the United States. That is an irreplaceable loss," he said.
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| For Craig McNamara, the book Because our fathers lied reaching Vietnamese readers is as important as American readers - Photo: DAU DUNG |
He said he met two Vietnamese veterans who fought directly in Kon Tum at that time. They witnessed hundreds of fallen comrades, and 60 years later, their tears still fell.
When he arrived at Truong Son Cemetery, he burned incense on hundreds of graves there and stopped at the grave of a martyr who died in 1950.
At this point, Craig McNamara paused and burst into tears. "Because the day he died was the day I was born," he said.
He shared that he will spend the rest of his life participating in activities to overcome the consequences of war in Vietnam.
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| Mr. Craig McNamara brought some books to Vietnam to give to Vietnamese readers - Photo: DAU DUNG |
Hoping for some kind of relief
With the release of the book and participation in the film, Mr. Craig McNamara recounts the entire process of witnessing his father participating in strategic planning and conducting war half a century ago.
He said that when naming the book, the word father was used in the plural to refer to not only his father, but also many fathers in the apparatus at that time "who lied to their children about the true meaning of the war".
While his father was alive, Mr. Craig asked his father many times about his views on the war in Vietnam. His father remained silent.
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| Mr. Craig once joined the anti-war movement to overcome his own family's pain - Photo: DAU DUNG |
"There was a silent war in my family. It was like an invisible wall that my father and I could not overcome," he said. "If I were still alive, one of my biggest regrets would probably be that my father did not tell me the truth."
When he began writing this book, Mr. Craig believed that it would bring him some kind of liberation. Through it, he would learn from the mistakes of the past, towards a peaceful future for humanity.
"I imagined that the book might help me gain closure, or even heal my wounds. In an earlier draft of the Foreword, I had written about my desire for forgiveness - for myself and my father," he confided.
According to Tuoi Tre Newspaper
https://tuoitre.vn/con-trai-ong-mcnamara-bat-khoc-o-ha-noi-ngay-nguoi-linh-viet-nam-ay-hy-sinh-la-ngay-toi-chao-doi-20250306191144284.htm?
Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/con-trai-ong-mcnamara-bat-khoc-o-ha-noi-ngay-nguoi-linh-viet-nam-ay-hy-sinh-la-ngay-toi-chao-doi-211043.html
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