When we were in Kazakhstan in 2010, we had a driver who drove us to and from the orphanage that we visited for two hours each day. Our driver did not speak English, but we always rode with our translator (we needed her at the orphanage) so we would sometimes chat with him through her.
Anyway, one day our driver mentioned that when he served in the Red Army, he was sent on a secret mission to Vietnam during what is called the Vietnam War in the U.S. (in Vietnam they call it "The American War"). I had visited Vietnam, and as part of that visit, I went through a period where I read a lot about the history of that country. From what I read, throughout the war between the U.S. and Vietnam the U.S. government was convinced that Soviet soldiers were fighting along side the North Vietnamese, but could never prove it. And there I was, sitting in a car in a small city in Southern Kazakhstan with a Red Army veteran telling me he was there.
Anyway, I thought of that story when I read this post, from a popular Kazakhstani blog. (Note: if the annoying full page ad comes up just click through to get to the story)
Anyway, one day our driver mentioned that when he served in the Red Army, he was sent on a secret mission to Vietnam during what is called the Vietnam War in the U.S. (in Vietnam they call it "The American War"). I had visited Vietnam, and as part of that visit, I went through a period where I read a lot about the history of that country. From what I read, throughout the war between the U.S. and Vietnam the U.S. government was convinced that Soviet soldiers were fighting along side the North Vietnamese, but could never prove it. And there I was, sitting in a car in a small city in Southern Kazakhstan with a Red Army veteran telling me he was there.
Anyway, I thought of that story when I read this post, from a popular Kazakhstani blog. (Note: if the annoying full page ad comes up just click through to get to the story)
