Bruce Springsteen, "Born In The U.S.A."

Posted by Luminator (A) on December 22, 2024 at 15:23:51

Both sides of my family are from Hawaii, so it makes sense that many were in the branches of the U.S. military. Thing was, several uncles were deployed, during the Vietnam War. While none was a foot soldier, they were stationed at bases, and worked on battleships. These uncles came back all "fucked up." My cousins and I were not allowed to ask our uncles about the war, so we were (and still are!) in the dark.

For me and my cousins, Vietnam was the elephant in the room, the scar, the horror, the sore spot.

And then 40 years ago, in 1984, Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." was not just a hit, it finally brought attention to the plight of Vietnam Vets.

But after that, when my cousins and I were in high school in the rest of the 1980, we had plenty of Vietnamese classmates.

And then, when I was in college in the early-1990s, three of my girlfriends were actually born in Vietnam. Kim was born in Saigon, when it was still Saigon. Quyen was born in Nha Trang. And Tuyet was born in the capital, Hanoi.

But it was Tuyet (above), who saw and called out my fear of or bias against Vietnam. She said I acted as if she were going to take me to Vietnam and leave me there. She pleaded, "I did not do all that to your uncles. Don't take it out on me."

With Tuyet's help, bringing back "Born In The U.S.A." helped me confront those biases.

Because most of my relatives were in Hawaii, my uncles did not get to meet my ethnically Vietnamese girlfriends. My Uncle Kenneth, who was some communications specialist during the Vietnam War, put 2 and 2 together, and realized that Kim, Quyen, and Tuyet were born, while he was in SE Asia. He actually approved, because to him, me having Vietnamese girlfriends represented healing and moving on from the War. And since then, many ethnic Vietnamese have married into my clans (who were already of mixed ethnicities).

As for "Born In The U.S.A.", it was built on the synthesizer riff, and punctuated by the explosive gated reverb on Max Weinberg's drums. It continues to be mis-used as an anthem. But the hope is that more attention and resources have been placed on Vietnam Vets, especially as they are now senior citizens.

-Lummy The Loch Monster

Born In The U.S.A. (Open in New Window)

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Topic - Bruce Springsteen, "Born In The U.S.A." - Luminator 15:23:51 12/22/24 (1)

RE: Bruce Springsteen, "Born In The U.S.A." - fantja 14:06:52 12/26/24 (0)

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