Chuck Searcy is a U.S. Army veteran living in Hanoi. Back in 1967, he worked in military intelligence as part of the 519th Battalion in Saigon. Today he’s an international advisor to Project RENEW, an organization he helped start in 2001 to work with the Vietnamese to clean up unexploded ordnance (UXO) and provide medical assistance, rehabilitation, and income generation for UXO victims.Their focus is on the Quang Tri province, where 97 percent of the villages were destroyed by bombs during the Vietnam War.
The 2 Sides Project got a preview of Project RENEW’s work while we were in Vietnam, but last minute travel plans didn’t allow us to meet Chuck in person. We recently caught up via Skype to talk about his work and get his reflections on Veterans Day. Chuck spoke from his home office in central Hanoi. His gentle southern accent (he hails from Athens, Georgia) mixed harmoniously with the bleeps from scooter horns on the street below as people made their way through the morning commute. It was the perfect blend of the American and Vietnamese that has been a hallmark of Chuck’s life for the last two decades.
How long have you lived in Hanoi? I initially came here with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF). They had a grant from the State Department to bring in equipment, technology and training to assist Vietnam in providing braces to children with diseases or birth defects, and they asked me to stay for a few years to set up the program. That was 20 years ago.
Were you one of the first veterans to go back?There was an early, important delegation that came in 1981 headed by Bobby Muller, the founder of the VVAF, to meet with the Vietnamese and talk about initiatives and cooperation. That opened the door to tentative discussions about future relationships. I came back in 1992 as a tourist. Back then the situation was still quite chilled between the U.S. and Vietnam.
Yet you went back. Why?I left Vietnam in 1968 angry and bitter because I felt the war was a tragic mistake, and that we had not been told the truth by the U.S. government. The reality I found in Vietnam during the war was very different from what we had been told. I had no anger or fear toward the Vietnamese. I thought they were innocent victims of something beyond their control. I left hoping to come back some day, in a time of peace. I didn’t know when or how, but I never abandoned that thought. In 1992 I met an Army friend for dinner and it turned out he had the same thoughts and desires. At the end of that dinner we’d decided we were going to Vietnam as tourists.
What was it like to return?As we were flying into Saigon, we looked down and could see small villages turn into urban areas and then cities, and as we came closer we could recognize motor bikes and water buffalo and rice fields. And then we both had a panic attack. What were we doing? We were two former GIs, and we thought these people are going to hate us after what they went through. But within an hour after landing and being out on the streets in Saigon, we were astonished to find how warm and welcoming everyone was. There was no animosity or anger toward us, and that was the case over the next 30 days as we traveled throughout the country. There was never a harsh word or mean look, from anyone.
What impressed you most on that trip?During the war I had been assigned to Saigon and couldn’t get out of there. But on this trip we went from Saigon to Hanoi and back again, and every place in between. I could see Vietnam was in dire straits. The roads, the electrical grid, the telephone connections, everything was in terrible shape. There were bomb craters all over country. The people were poor, and the embargo was still on. It was hard to see this beautiful country struggle. I thought about what I could do to come back and help with the recovery.
So you started with the VVAF program. What led to Project RENEW?Over those years I spent working on the VVAF program, there were always questions about the nature of some of the deformities and mobility problems we saw in the Vietnamese, and what caused them. I was aware of the Agent Orange situation as a vet, but I realized we didn’t know much about it. And there were stories in the paper every week of kids getting blown up by cluster bombs. As I looked into it more, I learned that 100,000 children and adults had been killed by UXO since the end of the war. The Vietnamese didn’t push the issue. They were very circumspect and polite and said they were sure the U.S. would help at some point and do the right thing.
Various NGOs came in to work on the issue, but we weren’t coordinated, and in the end the Vietnamese asked that we come together with an integrated approach to deal with bombs and mines. That proved challenging. In 2000, a delegation from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund came to Vietnam. At the end of their tour they asked if they could do something, and I suggested they focus on the Vietnamese request to coordinate, and to use the Quang Tri area as a testing ground. They agreed and raised $500,000 to get it started. That was the origin of Project RENEW. We worked with the provincial government and their staff, who still lead the program with our support and technical assistance.
