http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9095-2001Apr26.html
Friday, April 27, 2001; Page A05
Vietnam Urges Kerrey to Aid in 'Healing' (Reuters)
Reuters
HANOI, April 26 -- Vietnam said today that former U.S. senator Bob Kerrey
had been remorseful in his statements about his Vietnam War service and
called on him to help heal the wounds left from the conflict.
"In the statements about what happened in the past in Vietnam, Mr. Kerrey
had shown he was remorseful for his behavior," Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said in a statement.
"We think the best way for Mr. Kerrey, as well as other Americans who
used to fight in Vietnam, to find peace of mind is to have concrete and
realistic actions to contribute to healing the wounds left by the war in
Vietnam," the statement said.
Kerrey, a Nebraskan who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in
1992 and has been talked about as a prospect for 2004, has said a Navy
SEAL combat mission he led during the war was responsible for the
shooting deaths of more than a dozen unarmed civilians, mostly women and
children.
The Feb. 25, 1969, incident in Thanh Phong hamlet in the Mekong Delta
came to light on Wednesday following a joint investigation by the New
York Times Magazine and the CBS News program "60 Minutes II."
Kerrey, who was awarded the Bronze Star for the mission, confirmed the
incident in a speech and in newspaper and television interviews.
Vietnam on Monday will celebrate the 26th anniversary of the victory of
the northern communists over the U.S.-backed South Vietnam government,
marking the end of the war.
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