left vietnam. he said during the midnight and when singapore had become independent deciding which way to go, communist or capitalist, he said mainly based on the american participation in vietnam they went the capitalist model. i wondered your reaction. >> the ambassador of singapore was here and talked about the independence of singapore and whether they would choose to be a communist or free country. they looked to what happened in vietnam and decided to go with the capitalist model. >> they look to the u.s. participation in vietnam which he said was influential in their deciding to go with the capitalistic model. >> they looked at the u.s. involvement in vietnam and decided to go the capitalist route. have any of the panelists heard of this before? any thoughts on that? >> i was young, four or five years old. i don't know much about the politics. >> one million people left their home in the north to the south to speak out about whether we like communism or not. i think most of the people in sou

the first reality is that north vietnam has attacked the independent nation of south vietnam. it's object is total conquest. of course, some of the people of south vietnam are participating in an attack on their own government, but trained men and supplies, orders and arms flow in a constant stream from north to south. this support is the heartbeat of the war. it is a war of unparalleled brutality. simple farmers are the targets of assassination and kidnapping. women and children are strangled in the night because their men are loyal to their government. and helpless villages are ravaged by sneak attacks, large scale raids are conducted on towns and terror strikes in the heart of cities. the confused nature of this conflict cannot mask the fact that it is the new face of an old enemy. over this war and all asia is another reality, the deepening shadow of communist china. the rulers in hanoi are ruled -- are urged on by taking. this -- by peking. it has been condemned by the united asians for aggression in korea. it's a nation which is helping the forces of violence on almost e

many american men left children behind in vietnam. but it's known in the years after the war, many of those children faced harsh conditions in their birth country. in 1987, congress opened doors to those children by giving them a special immigration status. next year ktvu reporter lloyd lacuesta went to vietnam with several american fathers helping to bring those children to a new life in california. >> reporter: 15 years after the fall of saigon there are still reminderses of america. these are the offsprings of americans. amarasians. they show pictures, weather photos of american g.i.s. >> what does she want to know about them. >> she opportunity -- she doesn't know anything about her father and never had contact with her father. >> reporter: yet there's one man trying to be the piper and lead the amarasians out. it's bruce burns who's amarasian registry is trying to unite children with fathers who want them. carl bearfield is from san leandro he was in vietnam for five years as a civilian worker. when he left vietnam in 1973 his so

why were we in vietnam? professor smyser: the french wanted us to be in there and we did not want to be as involved as they wanted to. they asked us to drop an atomic bomb when it was surrounded by vietnamese troops. eisenhower refused to do that. he said we are not going to get involved with the war. we were very cautious, particularly under eisenhower, about anything that had to do with indochina. then john kennedy became president. kennedy felt even though he didn't want to drop a bomb either, he was more ready to practice what they called warfare. counterinsurgency. one of his ideas was vietnam was the place to practice. to practice what he thought was going to be the new american doctrine, which would win these wars and counterinsurgency was the thing. kt: where were we when president johnson was in office? what happened? professor smyser: by the late 1960's, it became clear that counterinsurgency could not win the war. the north vietnamese kept sending troops in and counterinsurgency couldn't defeat th

[applause] the ordinary men and women of north vietnam and self vietnam -- south vietnam of china and , india are brave people. of russia and america are brave people. they are filled with the same proportions of hate and fear, of love and hope. most of them want the same things for themselves and their families. most of them do not want their sons to ever die in battle or to see their homes or the homes of others destroyed this can be there world yet. man now has the knowledge, always before denied, to make this planet serve the real needs of the people who live on it. i know this will not be easy. i know how difficult it is for reason to guide and for love to master hate. the complexities of this world do not now easily to pure and consistent answers. but the simple truth or they're -- are there just the same. we must all try to follow them as best we can. we often say how impressive power is, but i do not find it impresses at all. -- impressive at all. the guns and the bombs, the rockets in the warships are all symbols of human failure. they are necessary symbols. they protect what

kt: had you been in vietnam before? have you met kissinger in vietnam? professor smyser: i had been with kissinger in vietnam when he went to vietnam at the request of lbj to see what the situation was. i was the control officer. which is rather a loose term because controlling henry kissinger is not an easy thing to do. [laughter] >> an oxymoron. professor smyser: oxymoron. i did it and tried to give him the best possible introduction to vietnam including -- [indiscernible] and others. and the briefing from myself. but the point was that was where i first met him on vietnam. kt: the two of you were in vietnam before kissinger came in , before it nixon was elected and that's when you met him. >> that is correct. we were in saigon. i was a recording officer and i covered a particular area and when henry came out, i was assigned the task of taking get to the northern part which is called in -- that is how i got to know henry and then i went to the paris peace talks as you mentioned and i was recruited. in 1970. kt: i do not know if it is true or not, but t

why were we in vietnam? professor smyser: the french wanted us to be in their and we did not want to be as involved as they wanted to. they asked us to drop an atomic bomb when -- was arraigned it -- was surrounded by vietnamese troops. nixon refused to do it. we were very cautious particularly about anything that had to do with china. then john kennedy became president. kennedy felt that even the heathen i want to drop a bomb either, -- even though he didn't want to drop a bomb either -- i can't remember -- counterinsurgency. one of his ideas was a savvy and know was -- was vietnam was the place to practice. [indiscernible] kt: where were we went president johnson was in office? what happened? professor smyser: by the late 1960's, it became clear that counterinsurgency could not win the war. and counterinsurgency could not defeat them. so we had to send in american truce. kt: you were in saigon at the time. john: i was there from 1968-1969. what you had was hanoi decided in 1964, maybe late 1963 to overthro

>> guest: i never went to vietnam. my tent -- intention was to go there but you know the story that i wanted to tell from the vietnamese perspective is about the vietnamese who were left behind and what happened to them. but we were told that and i did extensive research that nobody in vietnam would talk to us about this time in history particularly who had been imprisoned or tortured where you know they kind of struggled in the aftermath of the war. there is still fear in concerns of government retaliation and repercussions. because her story is 100% in 1975 really in its final days there is not really a big story to be told about what's going on in vietnam today other than what happened to the people left behind which is obviously a significant part of our story but we ended up finding a number of people who were in america to help provide that perspective. c-span: how do you win her husband divide up the responsibilities on something like this? >> guest: well, technically i'm the producer and director and he's the w

>>> the vietnam i knew, went into the sea, during that evacuation., the waters washed overall the terrible images, i brought with me and, began to soothe me. beginning the healing process, so i come here, to be reminded that there was an end tor horror. >>> so this is solace . >>> this is a moment away from vietnam. >>> michael, all. >>> next on america tonight, 40 years after fall, the rise of new opportunity, our journey back to vietnam. >>> the littlest survivors, and the distance they traveled to home. their forgotten stories, and the unforgettable final days as we look back at the fall of saigon. >>> my parents realize that i was going to live here in, vietnam, their first reaction was why? >>> why would you want to go back from where, where we worked so hard to leave? >>> as many americans, and, that earlier generation, called it saigon more jobs. cheap living, and a once-in-a-lifetime adventure overseas. >>> new wave that's going to come over here, and, new people come in, and i think that the more american businesses come over here, the more

he was the ambassador in vietnam.had convinced himself the communists would accept a negotiated settlement to the latest hostilities. but he simply had not considered that the war would ever be lost. how could he? graham martin was a cold warrior in the old stripe. he had lost an adopted son in vietnam. it wasn't in his constitution to admit the war was finished. he would not surrender to the godless commune is. >> reporter: but the communists were intent ops on taking saigon. pounded south vietnamese targets, around the clock. the violent barrage cleared the way to clear key cities lie hue and danang. obliterated half of the south vietnamese army. >> i flew into the embattled areas soon after the worst began to happen and i saw the south vietnamese army retreat into the sea throwing away its yurms. ituniforms. it was a horrible sight. bad leadership, on president tu's part was what led to that route. >> the north viet snam ease vietnamese army had surrounded saigon. they had to protect their life's work. >> what did

>>> the vietnam i knew, went into the sea during that evacuation., the waters washed overall the terrible images, i brought with me and began to soothe me. beginning the healing process so i come here, to be reminded that there was an end tor horror. >>> so this is solace. >>> this is a moment away from vietnam. >>> michael, all. >>> next on america tonight 40 years after fall, the rise of new opportunity our journey back to vietnam. >>> the littlest survivors, and the distance they traveled to home. their forgotten stories, and the unforgettable final days as we look back at the fall of saigon. >> every day is another chance to be strong. >> i can't get bent down because my family's lookin' at me. >> to rise, to fight and to not give up. >> you're gonna go to school so you don't have to go war. >> hard earned pride. hard earned respect. hard earned future. >> we can not afford for one of us to lose a job. we're just a family that's trying to make it. >> a real look at the american dream. "hard earned". premiers sunday, 10:00 eastern. only on al jaz

colin was nine months old when cliff left for vietnam. everyone in grand forks nose the name of cushman because cliff was a standout athlete in the 1966 olympics in the hurdles. grand forks named the football stadium after cliff. grand forks kids are still inspired annually by the reading of the 1964 letter cliff wrote to students about effort after he fell while attempting to qualify for the 1964 olympics. this is a quote from cliff's letter: "i would much rather fail knowing i had put forth an honest effort than never to have tried at all." later in the same letter cliff wrote, "unless your reach exceeds your grasp how will you ever know what you can attain?" i want to talk about thomas alderson. tom was from grand forks born september 9 1941. he served as a captain in the army 56 medical company. he died october 3 1968, at the age of 27. he survived by his wife, mother, brother and two sisters. tom was an army dental officer in the vietnam dental corps. his father-in-law was his commanding officer. in high school he was an honor studen

the baggage of vietnam. well, here in texas, lbj library, you know, think about vietnam and what's the baggage of vietnam right now? lessons. what are the lessons of vietnam. >> right. >> and when i was interviewing obama on this, he'd been commander in chief for 18 months and there's no way you can be commander and chief and not have vietnam and what went wrong, what did we do, should we be there and i think the real core issue is do you have a system in -- is there a process to examine all of the alternatives and the consequences? do you have an national security team that works together and really hashes things out? you look at the obama administration now and it's a lot of inner circle white house people. a lot of decisions seem to get made when the secretary of state or secretary of defense are not there. like on the initial decisions to not bomb syria a year ago. so there's a whole question of have they thought this all through? not obama himself, but everyone. do they have a decision making dynamic th

>> i'll come back to vietnam, always. time. ♪ >> this is who came out of the ground, out of the jungle, the darkness, when it was all over. and this is what they did. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ speaking in a foreign language ] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

during the vietnam war, we never landed in vietnam. some of the people i have talked to the first time they ever set foot in vietnam was when they were shot down. that was about part of the deal to whoever landed there. i'm a member going back to vietnam and actually landing as part of a six-person congressional delegation i led in 1991. all vietnam veterans, including a guy named peterson, a congressman from florida. we were trying to find out what had happened to our pow's and mia's, and the vietnamese and laotians had not been very helpful in terms of opening up and sharing with us their records. they were great record keepers but not being very helpful. a lot of information in museums and archives, but they were just not sharing very much with us. we were all convinced that the u.s. effort was very successful, and i got a real good briefing on the state department and worked closely with the state department and department of defense going into vietnam and spent a fair amount of time with our own teams in southeast asia. we literal

they were on vietnam. they were on nixon's policy in vietnam. and they were from the national security council. that's what mathias told mitchell. that gave them -- but they didn't know exactly what they were. if they had known exactly what they were kissinger would have said oh that's 1, perhaps that's all he has. i had actually written the questions for 1. i had gone over the answers. i had helped write the summary. it was plausible i had all the documents on that and that was all i had. that was the only project i worked on for nixon. and it was all i had from nixon. as it was, they didn't know what it was mathias had. they had every reason to believe that there was a mole in the national security council who was providing me with who knows what. it could have been anything. and as they discuss on the tapes, tony lake essentially knew everything. and he'd resigned at the time of cambodia. helprin knew a lot but didn't know everything. morris knew somewhat less. any one of them could have given me documents. even bill watts or larry lynn who a

and reunification came 20 years, but ended western colonizition an of vietnam well. a few things to celebrate today. if we go back to a time where the world was divided between two powers, there was another line movement. to what extent did other countries see the vietnamese victory against the u.s. in vietnam as something of a turning point against the global struggle of colonialism. >> there's those that shaw that vietnam was a small country with bare foot soldiers defeating a maritime south-east asia the vietnam victory was a worry and led to regional cooperation to stop the spread of communism. >> how about the failure of what is referred to as some of these anticolonial and national liberation movements gaining factry and they face failure in how the countries develop. is that a theme that vietnamese and others reflect on? >> i think so. particularly the younger vietnamese that don't have the feeling of the war and colonisation. and the movement in the case of china hoping up was a recognition by the communist party that they needed to seek popular legitimacy be

we return to vietnam 40 years after the fall of saigon. the economics of growing almonds amidst a historic drought. and, a new space to showcase american art. >> ifill: as we've been reporting, wednesday night in baltimore was calm, in part because of the continuing presence of beefed-up law enforcement, and in part because most residents are complying with the curfew. newshour senior correspondent hari sreenivasan spent time in baltimore, reporting on how two vastly different neighborhoods coexist. >> sreenivasan: in the sandtown neighborhood of baltimore, a woman named marilyn on appleton street takes pride in the garden she's tending on her front porch. pride in the tiny corner of the city she's been able to clean up in the house that has been in her husband's family since 1959. but she is also scared. scared to give us her last name because of the troublemakers in sandtown, an element she suspects is behind the recent riots and looting. she fears retaliation from them for speaking her mind. >> we have drug dealers trying to come on our

there was none in vietnam. war that i have ever covered there is somebody's shoulder telling me what the write and what not to write or film or not to film. you could do anything we wanted and we were freewheelers. >> how has it changed since the vietnam war with the relationship between journalists and governments? >> embedded is one of these odd little names that is invented to cover up what it is and that is censorship and nowadays embedded means you go with military and see what they want you to see and you report only what they will let you report and that is called embedding and supposed to be a cooperation and it's nothing of the kind. so after vietnam the americans realized you could not give a freewheeling press open access. >> reporter: let's bring you news coming in to us now and at least 52 people are feared dead in the massive landslide in northeastern afghanistan. it happened in a remote part of the province, afghan officials say the only way to get into the area is by helicopter with surrounding

senator mccain served as a navy pilot in the vietnam war. the north vietnamese captured him in 1967. he was held as a pow for over five years. he talks about his time as a captive and his near-death experiences. it's about 30 minutes. michelle: my name is michelle kelly, and i'm the director of oral history for the battleship massachusetts, and we are an official partner of the veterans oral history project that the library of congress. i'd like to start by asking you a few questions about your background. could you state your full name and title? senator mccain: john sydney mccain, united states senator from arizona. kelly: when were you born? senator mccain: august 29, 1936. kelly: did you always feel that you were bound for life in the navy? senator mccain: i believe so. i resisted it from time to time, but i was pretty sure that was what was going to happen. kelly: where would you when president kennedy was assassinated, and what we are -- what were your thoughts? senator mccain: i was at virginia beach, virginia, in a house that three o

no one knows how many more years or decades it will take to clean up vietnam upon. >> i think vietnam will never be ordinance free. >> reporter: never. >> never. but what is realistic, what is an achievable goal is making vietnam safe. >> reporter: before demolition, nearby residents are warned away. even the cows are cows are evacuated. and then, as it may for years to come vietnam's echoes with the sound of a long-ago war. barry petersen vietnam. >> pelley: it was a historic week at army ranger school. how did the first group of women warriors do? and a high school musical's frightening finale when the cbs evening news continues. there's only one egg that just tastes better. with 10 times more vitamin e. and twice the omega 3s. because why have ordinary when you can have the best. only eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. if you struggle with type 2 diabetes, you're certainly not alone. fortunately, many have found a different kind of medicine that lowers blood sugar. imagine what it would be like to love your numbers. discover once-daily invokana®. it's the

. >>> and 4 years since the end of the vietnam war. >>> ♪ ♪ ♪ the u.n., an ap peel to help people affected by the earthquake, maybe 5-and-a-half,000 people are dead and many people have said they haven't received any food or supplies, and, they are frustrated by the lack of of emergency relief getting through and, they are forced to camp outdoors and they have no homes left. >>> dramatically footage has emerged showing the moment it struck and a man and narrowly avoided being hit and security cameras, from katmandu, and clears rescues crowd around to help the man but alive. >>> well even credible stories survive are in nepal. >>> and now a report. >>> the pain in his eyes, the lies and he lucky he feels. >>> i had to stay under the rubble for four days with no food. >>> trapped for 80 hours, in a hotel, he watched friends die in the surrounding wreckage, and had to drink his own urine to stay alive, and now after having his leg amputated he has no idea how he'll make a living. >>> i hope people will help me, i'm too young. >>> like so many men 8-year-old

what are the biggest commence for vietnam going forward. >> the biggest challenge that vietnam faces is institutional reform. the countries has enormous economic potential. it is growing, it should be growing faster and achieving economic upgrade thatting is not occurring at the pace that it could. it made progress across social and economic fields. it's good. for this country, for it to emerge as a new power in the region it will need to tackle institutional reforms, and more transparent accountable government. the issue of corruption is there. most importantly they need to recognise the strength of open political transparent debate and discussion. i believe the aspirations and hopes of all vietnamese are with a socially democratic society in which people have a true voice. afterall if they don't have that what, is liberation all about. >> professor, good to have you on >>> criticism by the u.s. over weapon sales in the middle east that's coming up, and an aggressionive approach to unlocking the mysteries of rare diseases. how scientists in the u.k. or creating a database using 100,

vietnam height of the war. saigon is based from falling any citibank assistant manager, a man who could've been anyone of us us is given a choice. go home and never looked back or risk your life to save others. what would you have done. i'll tell you what john riordan did. he risked his life to rescue more than 100 friends and colleagues of what would certainly be described as great danger. it was a daring mission. the details will astound you and if you haven't already, you need to read the book. hang on. i'm not done yet. because one courageous men risked his life more than 100 lives were saved. they are now here in america with their children, grandchildren all thanks to this man. today we are lucky enough to be joined by some of the people whose lives shown forever changed in a moment we will hear stories. first, an honor to introduce a real hero someone who embodies the real ideals to inspire all of us. showing. [applause] true great determination and selfless actions, we couldn't be more proud to host thi

there was not in vietnam.ar that i've ever covered there has been somebody's shoulder telling you what to write, what not to write and what to film or not film and we could do anything we wanted and we were free and if you wanted to go anywhere you said to the press officer and the press center in saigon i want to go you would get on a helicopter and go there and film it and talk to anybody you wanted to talk to from the lowest ranking and the generals and the generals falling over themselves to talk to you and you come back and there was nobody there to tell you what you couldn't do. the pentagon the american administration and the generals themselves didn't realize the damage we were doing to them. they expected us to report their successes. >> right. >> and there weren't any. so we reported their failures. >> so this was a lack of trust because the media coverage initially was quite supported within the u.s. network context, right? >> i think in the beginning when most of the americans thought they could wi

we could be in another vietnam another vietnam. this trauma that kept on being rehearsed in people's minds. by 1980 when ronald reagan was running for president, he said america has been suffering a vietnam syndrome. ever since then, that sort of back and forth between sort of the force and that america has been innocent has been a debate in america politics. after the first gulf war the first president bush said we've kicked the vietnam syndrome once and for all. that brought on a string of military interventions and most profoundly got second iraq war and afghanistan. the idea that if it weren't for the liberals back home who are tying the hands of our military in vietnam everything would have turned out all right. this idea that if america is let alone to do what it does best, that there's nothing we can't achieve. it's when we try to win the hearts and minds of people thousands of miles away through a counter insurgency war we end up creating more who hate america, more willing to take up arms against america and more able and

killed in action at age 20 in vietnam . probably draftee. >> reporter: at age 65, jan scruggs is retiring as head of the vietnam veterans memorial fund but he has one last mission. to build an education center nearby to house all the artifacts left at the wall over the years and to teach about the sacrifice of all americans in all wars. >> that will be the crowning achievement but it's kind of hard to top this. >> the compromise that ended the debate monthly fied the mollified the critics and intensified the design? a photograph of survivors. now just a footnote of history. jamie mcintire, al jazeera washington. >> powerful and beautiful. and tomorrow night we are going to take a look at the efforts to clean up the battlefields of vietnam four decades later. >> injured soldiers in ukraine involved in military operations in eastern ukraine where they've been battling pro-russian separatists since last year, transported to bucharest. the soldiers will head back to ukraine when they're treated. vitali klitschko a former boxer

vietnam needs. think it does adjust our understanding of those final days in an important way. >> woodruff: rory kennedy, the documentary is "last days in vietnam" on american experience. we thank you. >> thank you so much. >> ifill: finally tonight, broadway honors some of its finest shows and performers. the tony nominations were released today, with the musicals "an american in paris" and "fun home" leading the pack with 12 nods each. arts correspondent jeffrey brown has profiled several of this year's nominees, including "disgraced," which is up for best play. it examines questions about identity and islam in america after 9/11. jeff spoke with playwright, ayad akhtar, about what he was hoping to convey to audiences. >> there was a character who was speaking to me with this kind of relentless passion, amir, the lead character in the play, who has this very particular point of view on islam. he's muslim birth, of birth and origin, but has sort of strongly moved away from it and is very critical o

march, the first anti-vietnam war teach-in. and also, it has been half a century of an embargo and sanctions against cuba. we will talk about that as well. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: we turn now to what could be the first roadblock of president obama's efforts to normalize diplomatic relations with cuba for the first time in half a century. earlier this month, republicans said they would not mount a challenge to obama's plan to remove cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. a move that could come as soon as next month. on tuesday, republican congresswoman who represents health 40, proposed legislation to stop new travel to cuba from the united states. the bill would block the licensing of new flights and crew ships are routes to cuba if the landing strip or dock is located on land confiscated by the cuban government. amy: the measure is attached to the transportation appropriations bill, and could pro

and by then vietnam is asian -- vietnamization was in full sling. it was not as if there hadn't been -- with the nixon administration had adopted was the point of view of many young thinkers in the army and more senior ones like john paul van who had been advocating this. so it was in full swing by the time i first got there. so it gave me a chance each year to see the progress or lack of progress that was going on. and really by 1972 i was over there during the eastern -- easter offensive. there was no doubt in my mind -- particularly when i was over there in august of 72 -- that vietnamization had worked. i saw firsthand the vietnamese army, the 22nd division, the 21st division, throw back what was purely a conventional attack. the guerrilla war was over, after tet, they had really shot their best bolt. after the tet offensive it became much more of a conventional war. in the 72 it was a conventional invasion by armored forces across the dmz. initially because it had been such a surprise, it rolled back the south vietnamese forces. by then all of

known gentleman hull, al jazeera london. >> the vietnam war ended 40 years ago huge numbers of people crammed into boats. an estimated 1.5 vietnamese escaped the country and they became known as the boat people. many had no choice but if he take their chances in small fishing boats to risk a perilous journey on the open sea. there are no definitive casualty figures but it's thought that between 50 and 200,000 people drowned. we met with one couple who did make it to safety. >> this spacious house is where they lead a comfortable american life, but her memories are still vivid of helping him escape from a labor count where the vietnamese government held him. another memorial. 17 days of drifting at sea on board an overcrowded boat before their rescue. almost half the global vietnamese di as diaspora live in the u.s. for now living the american dream is no clichÉ. >> it's still a promised land for everyone, even though now we have difficult much difficult than before, but still people, people still want to come to america. >> in 1974 database. >> people like hung le who made ten failed

. >>> we'll visit annen during memorial to the vietnam war. >>> welcome back to al jazeera america. it is 10:48 eastern, taking a look at today's top stories. nasa is watching a russian cargo spacecraft spinning out of control around the earth. it suffered a malfunction shortly after takeoff. >>> police in germany have arrested two people in frankfort accused of having chemicals that could be used to make an explosive. investigators are trying to determine if the two were trying to carry out an attack. >>> and faa documents show a german wing's pilot was initially denied a medical certificate in 2010. he did eventually receive the treatment after receiving treatment for depression. he deliberated downed the plane last month killing all 150 people on board. >>> today marks the anniversary of the end of the vietnam war. jamie macintyre has a look at the legacy of that war. >> reporter: on this beautiful spring day in washington there would be no touching discovery of fallen comrades, no poignant rubbings of their engaved names, no somber reflections if the polished surface if it weren

. >> i'm scott heidler in vietnam, the country celebrating re reunification and 40 years since the war. we look at how the future generation view the future >>> time is running out to find survivors of nepal's deadly earthquake. more than 4,000 are girmed dead. rescuers are trying to find 30 people in this collapsed building in kathmandu. several aftershocks rocked the country in the magnitude 7.8 quake and people are trying to leave any way they can. the united nations pledged $15 million from its emergency response fund to help victims. the u.k. joined hundreds of countries, and aid has begun to arrive. people are frustrated that it's not getting to them fast enough. our correspondent andrew simmonds begins coverage from the outskirts of kathmandu. >> reporter: they are fighting over sheets of plastic. anything representing shelter are in short supply. crowds are homeless or refusing to return to houses for near of another earthquake. >> this is where many of them have come from. from street to treat. homes destroyed. the army is trying to save lives. success has dininnished. other m

. >>> the end of the vietnam war. thousands escaped to the united states leaving behind chaos and the risk of death to build new futures in a new land. many settled right here in the bay area. veronica de la cruz with the story of operation baby lift. >> reporter: part of this exodus included 3,000 vietnamese children brought over for adoption. the event also played an important role in bay area television history. >> okay, thank you very much. let's check right back in with andy park. >> reporter: 40 years ago, a historic event unfolded late at night at oakland international airport. kpix5 was the only station to broadcast it live. >> thank god they arrived back here in this country. >> reporter: on board this cargo plane, 57 orphans air lifted out of war torn vietnam. >> i remember people telling me that it was a big event landing in the bay area. >> reporter: with saigon about to fall, orphanages were desperate to get the kids to safety. >> we couldn't abandon them. we had to bring the kids with us. >> reporter: in

. >> i'm scott heidler in vietnam. 90 million people of this nation are celebrating 40 years since its reunification and the end of the war. some to this day are suffering from the dark legacy of agent orange. >>> we begin in nepal where thousands of people are still in straight need of aid five days after devastating earthquake 5,490 are confirmed dead. nor are missing. bad weather is baking the search and rescue harder. this was the scene in kathmandu. police saying a power shortage means they haven't used heavy equipment. there's a shortage of helicopters. nepal's government is appealing for more. people are desperate to get out of some areas. and one case swamping a team trying to fly out. many don't want to stay in the capital. thousands queueing at a bus station to get out. they are worried about aftershocks and the spread of disease. hospitals are struggling to cope with the number of in john howard. we go to our correspondent in kathmandu. >> i'm at the main military soft in kathmandu, this is where the civilian injured are arriving. they are divided into red, yellow and green.

and the vietnam war gives rise to new communities across the world. >>> suffocated by smog in sole. dirty air a toxic combination in south korea >>> chelsea use their heads to rid themselves of a label. details with joe. back after the break. >>> welcome back you are watching the al jazeera newshour. a reminder of the rallies. demanding help from the government in nepal. thousands are in camp and need food and water. more than 5,000 people are confirmed dead >>> saudi arabia's calman named his nephew 55-year-old mohammed bin nayef as the crown prince. for the first time a np royal will be foreign minister. the nigerian army rescued 300 woman and girls. they were found in the forest the armed group's last known strong hold. >>> more on the top story on the earthquake. kathmandu is struggling to cope with influx in aiden. that's highlighted the importance of landroutes along the border. >> reporter: this man and his family are back in india. they spent three days trying to get out of nepalese capital kathmandu, after searching for help with little luck at an army camp and at kathmandu

also in the 1940's, communists moved into vietnam. those living in northern vietnam were its first victims, like other lands under communism's iron grip, the ruler killed hundreds of thousands of their citizens. those who desired and had the means fled to the south. . throughout the 20th crntry americans fought people who defeated humanity. indeed, well into the cold war, president kennedy proclaimed to the world that we would pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship support any friend, oppose any foe in order to survive to assure the survival and success of liberty. the cold war at times flaired hot and in southeast asia, more than 58,000 americans gave the last full measure of their devotion fighting for the freedoms for which their nation stands. today we mark the 40th anniversary of the tragic fall of saigon. in doing so, we remember the sacrifices made by our vietnam veterans and their families. sacrifices that continue to today such as when a gold star mother or wife looks at the photograph of a son or husband who never

diplomatic discussions to end the war in vietnam.lls it the only path for reasonable men. >> demands and independent south vietnam, secure guarantees, and able to shape its own relationships to all others, free from outside interference, tied to no alliance, a military base or no country. >> he called on southeast asian nations for economic development and asked the united nations to join in the plan. >> on our part, i will ask the congress to join in a billion-dollar american investment in this effort as soon as it is under way. [applause] i would hope that all other industrialized countries including the soviet union would join in this effort to replace despair with hope and terror with progress. >> the president said the task is to enrich the hopes and existence of more than 100 million people. he pointed out that education and modern agricultural methods are vital. food is ever a problem, as is modern medicine, in countries where life expectancy is 40 years. mr. johnson further proposes to make u.s. farm surplus available, even t

that her family came from the can tho region in vietnam's mekong delta.he gave up stacey. >> there's a part of it that still hurts. and i miss her terribly. >> how do you miss someone that you certainly couldn't even remember? >> i miss the idea of having her in my life. the fact that she kept me nor a couple of years before she gave me up, to me, tells me that she loves me very much and she tried. she did what she could. >> it's a long trip back to vietnam. not just the hours on a plane. but the trip back in time. in saigon, now ho chi minh city, sister mary nells takes tob towers her orphanage. it is still operating. still a place for abandoned babies. >> look at you. >> what do you feel when you see these babies and this is where you came from? >> just very amazed and humbled. and i can't believe that this is -- could be the very room that i was nourished in. >> perhaps only a child who never knew her birth parents or even her homeland can understand how important this moment is, finding at least this much of herbie beginnings. >> i can't put words to