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Here's another question off of this one: what did Uncle Ho do while in Paris and who did he work for?

Murray was the most highly decorated soldier of the British Empire.


York was awarded 22 medals total from all across the Allied nations.

Here's another one:

Who was the first conscientious observer to be awarded the Medal of Honor?

World War I and America's entry into it were the most disastrous events of the last 500 years. I think there is a good chance that historians in 500 years will look back and say that World War I is what killed Western Civilization.

The war itself was bad enough. It destroyed the old order that had brought in an unprecedented and in many ways, still unequaled time of peace, prosperity, and freedom in Europe. In 1914, a traveler could board a train in London, and in a couple days, get off in Moscow. In a week, he could be at the Pacific Ocean, all without ever having shown a passport.

But our entry into the war was disastrous. Without our entry, the war might have ended in a stalemate, or at least a more equal armistice. But, with us in the war, Germany knew she was beaten if she could not free up more troops. So, they put Lenin on a train and sent him to Russia to ferment revolution and knock Russia out of the war. It worked, but it still wasn't enough.

The Revolution spread to Germany and that coupled with its defeats on the western front forced it to seek armistice. Of course, it was really defeat and our refusal to follow through with what Wilson had promised led to even more disillusioned Germany and eventually Hitler and the NAZIs and WW II.

It is not an exaggeration to say that almost EVERY problem on the world stage today has its beginnings in that ridiculous war and its aftermath.

Was it Desmond Doss?

Another Ho Chi Minh question. I have used this one on exams before and it confounded the students time and again.


Despite being a confirmed Marxist Revolutionary, Ho Chi Mihn had an affection for the United States and approached the US more than once for support in establishing a free Vietnam. What finally drove Ho to abandon this American affection and become a permanent Marxist ideologue?

Our betrayal after WW 2. We used Ho and his boys to fight the Japanese and made lots of promises to them. But after the war, we supported the French in their bid to reassert control over their Southeast Asian colonies and provided material and logistical support.

Exactly. The Truman administration's outright rebuff of Ho's overtures drove him permanently to the Communist camp.

Yes. He's an ancestor (indirect, though close) of mine.

Was it our support of the French in Indo-China?

You haven't answered the who did he work for and what did he do question.

I have read several different things on Ho's work in France. I have seen both Chevrolet and Michelin.

I have also read that he even worked for the Roosevelt family as a cook during a stint in the United States.

You mean Lieutenant Colonel Murray VC, CMG, DSO & Bar, DCM of the Australian Army...He enlisted as a Private in 1914 and was promoted "in the field" a number of times until he reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by the wars end.

Not bad for a farm boy from rural Tasmania!

In WW2, although in his 60's, he served again as CO of a reserve Unit..

He worked in the kitchens as a dishwasher for Auguste Escoffier. Yeah, that guy.

The Vietnamese have a very flattering version of it as "official history" (gee, where are we seeing that play out again?): http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/024/1568/young-ho-chi-minh-with-grand-chef-escoffier.html

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...-georges-auguste-escoffier-chef-tim-ryan

Ho wrote about working for Escoffier in his autobiography/memoirs.

Considering what the conditions were like then for laborers in the haute cuisine kitchens of the French, some things make a little more sense.

Ho was a commie from the get go after WWI like you say, and that is why we backed France. After WWII the US embarked on an anti-empire crusade, pressuring all the colonial powers to divest themselves of empire, naively thinking all the colonies would turn into mini-USAs. Same schit happened with Castro, he was a commie all the way and we got suckered because Batista was a dictator. We reluctantly helped the French as a buffer against communism (China) , but we turned around and stabbed them at the Brits in the back in Suez and Iran. US Foreign policy post-WWII made no bones about their anti-colonial policies almost as fervently as anti-communism.

He was an incredibly tough, brave man.

Another good volume on Alvin York:

http://www.amazon.com/Sergeant-York...?ie=UTF8&refRID=1W8FJ4SK2KS7XY20KKED

What if?????

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Vulture

Could have been a major turning point in world history.

Just like today, an ounce of prevention...but the kooks don't get it..

Yes, and the recent events in Korea still weighed a bit heavy on some.

It's interesting to the casual observer such as myself. Mention French Indochina and the only thing the average American can think of is Dien Bien Phu (if that). Even after 9 years of conflict. That's all they know.