Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
The Current

The Forgotten Army ... the story of forgotten victims of the Vietnam war

A look at forgotten victims of the Vietnam war: The Montagnards are an ethnic minority who allied with US forces -- but were abandoned by the Americans when the war ended.
CBC Radio ·
George Clark - the former US Army special forces sergeant - alongside some of the Montagnards who fought with him in the Vietnam War. The Montagnards are an ethnic minority who allied with US forces -- but were abandoned by the Americans when the war ended.

Refugees known as the Montagnard have long suffered persecution by Vietnamese in part because of their involvement in the Vietnam War. Few know that many of them fought alongside the Americans ... and that has had life long consequences for many.

We today have concluded an agreement to end the war and bring peace with honour to Vietnam.- Former US President Richard Nixon

Peace and an end to war for some, but there were those in Vietnam who didn't feel there was much honourable about the 1973 peace ...

At a small church in Vancouver, about 100 people gather regularly to pray. They are known as the Montagnards ... refugees who've fled Vietnam where they are an ethnic minority. They are called Montagnards because they come from the central highlands of Vietnam ... mountain dwellers.

Little is known of the Montagnards. But groups like Human Rights Watch has documentation that Montagnards have long been persecuted inside Vietnam. Since 1975, thousands of Montagnards have fled Vietnam. Many of the Montagnards fought alongside the Americans in the Vietnam War. They were allies who wanted independence from Vietnam.

What makes this story so compelling is not just the role they played during the Vietnam War... but what happened to the Montagnards after because while they won the lasting admiration of the American soldiers ... they lost most everything else.

The Forgotten Army was produced by freelance journalist Zoe Tennant in Vancouver.
 

Want to add your thoughts to today's documentary?

Tweet us @thecurrentcbc. Or e-mail us through our website. Find us on Facebook. Call us toll-free at 1 877 287 7366. And as always if you missed anything on The Current, grab a podcast.

More from this episode