The myths of the Vietnam War include the characterization of the U.S. as aggressor, or invader, when reality is that an assassination of the head of the South Vietnamese delegation to the International Joint Control Commission, Col. Hoang Thuy Nam, by Communists in 1961 is the beginning of the war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Other myths in this thoughtful article are the description of the NLF as an indigenous uprising, and the South Vietnamese as a corrupt government backed by U.S. Imperialists. The author, Can D. Le, is a past president of the Vietnamese Canadian Federation.   more »