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Boston Globe
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
After 60 years, Lewiston's place in boxing lore will be cast in bronze
At a time when boxing was the sport of kings and championship fights of this caliber were global events, Ali knocked out Liston less than two minutes into what is perhaps the most unusual championship boxing match in history. 'I saw the punch,' Platz said. 'I saw him swing.' Others didn't, and still others wondered if Liston, a heavy favorite, threw the fight, for whatever reason. Advertisement But that was for the pundits to argue over. For Lewiston natives such as Platz and Hewitt, what happened that Tuesday night in May of 1965 was nothing short of a phenomenon, when people all around the world heard of Lewiston for the first time. The nostalgia wrapped in civic pride on the 50th anniversary convinced Platz, an architect and developer, and Hewitt, an artist, and eventually many others, that Lewiston's moment in history needed to be preserved, forever, in bronze. They turned to Zenos Frudakis, the Philadelphia-based sculptor known as the Monument Man, to create Zenos Frudakis stood next to his Muhammad Ali statue in clay. Frudakis Studio, Inc. That effort will culminate on Saturday, May 31, six days after the 60th anniversary of the fight, when the Ali statue is unveiled at the entrance to Bates Mill No. 5. Advertisement The symbolism is rich. It was mills such as No. 5 that put Lewiston on the map more than a century ago, attracting thousands of French Canadians to move south and work in the textile and shoe factories along the Androscoggin River. But those mills started closing in the 1950s, and by the time Muhammad Ali showed up, the decline of the city's industrial base was at full steam. Platz was heavily involved in efforts to redevelop the old factories, such as those in the Bates Mill Complex that house the Baxter brewing company, one of Lewiston's newest, burgeoning businesses. 'This was always a very diverse community, built by immigrants,' Platz said. 'When the factories started closing, Lewiston had to re-invent itself.' The Baxter Brewing Co. building on Thursday, March 6 in Lewiston, Maine. Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe No one represented reinvention more than Ali, the brash fighter from Louisville who shocked mainstream America by converting to Islam and changing his name from Cassius Clay after becoming heavyweight champion in 1964 by defeating Liston in Miami in their first fight. Ali later shocked even more in 1967 by refusing to fight in the Vietnam War, saying, 'I ain't got no quarrel with those Vietcong.' The rematch was supposed to take place in Boston, at Boston Garden. But Massachusetts officials were wary. Just a few months earlier, Malcolm X, the Black nationalist leader, had been assassinated as part of an internecine feud in the Nation of Islam. Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali arrived at his training camp in Chicopee, Mass. to launch final preparations for his May 25 title rematch with Sonny Liston in Boston. The match was moved to Lewiston seven days before the event. AP Ali had broken with Malcolm X prior to the assassination, and Massachusetts law enforcement and boxing officials feared retaliation at a high-profile bout. Racial tension was high in many cities. Advertisement Just 17 days before the scheduled bout, the fight was moved to Lewiston. All over the world, boxing fans asked, 'Where is Lewiston?' But in Lewiston, even as a boy, Platz could sense the energy and optimism the heavyweight title fight brought. 'The excitement was palpable,' he said. Hewitt remembers thinking of Ali and Liston, stars in the ring who were not embraced by most Americans because they were Black, as symbolizing something else in Lewiston's past. Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) whispers an aside to Angelo Dundee, his trainer, during a poolside press conference at his quarter in Lewiston nearby Auburn, Maine on May 24, 1965. Harry Harris/Associated Press 'Ali and Liston, having survived that racial trauma, were a lot closer to the French Canadians, who faced a lot of discrimination when they showed up here in such large numbers,' Hewitt said. 'The KKK was intimidating French Canadians who were coming down to work in the factories. When I was a young man, the narrative I learned was the people of Lewiston didn't like the KKK, that they supported the American spirit, which was that people came to work, and good luck to them.' St. Dominic's Arena, also known as the Central Maine Youth Center, and now as just the Colisse, held only 4,000, the smallest venue for a championship fight in the modern era. But whatever it lacked in size, it made up for in gritty character. The Ali and his wife Sonji gestured at a press conference after his successful title defense in Lewiston, Me., May 25, 1965. ASSOCIATED PRESS Robert Goulet sang the national anthem, mangling a couple of words. Prior to the opening bell, boxing royalty mingled inside the ring: Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, James Braddock. The fight was, in the end, anticlimactic. At 1:44 into the first round, Ali landed that phantom right, and Liston went down in a heap. Advertisement Ali stood over the fallen Liston, yelling, 'Get up and fight, sucker!' Liston did get up, but had already been counted out. That image, of Ali standing over Liston, Zenos Frudakis with the molds for the Ali statue. Frudakis Studio, Inc. The statue of Ali created by Frudakis is more subtle than that angry image of Ali, Frudakis was commissioned to make the statue before the 'Lewiston has this inner strength,' Frudakis said. 'They can take a punch. They can get knocked down. But they always get up.' Hewitt believes it's a message that resonates in old mill cities across New England. 'Lewiston represents Fall River, Waterbury, Holyoke, all these towns that have tried to remake themselves,' Hewitt said. 'The thing about Muhammad Ali and these towns, he didn't win every round, but he fought every round. That's like Lewiston.' Another irony not lost on Hewitt and Platz is that Ali might have been the only one named Muhammad in Lewiston that night 60 years ago. Now, two decades after Sub-Saharan Africans became the latest wave of immigrants to re-invent Lewiston, Muhammad is a common name in Lewiston. Advertisement 'What happened to the French?' Hewitt says. 'They're Somalis now. We get up and keep moving forward.' Charlie Hewitt's "Hopeful" sign on the side of Bates Mill No. 5 in 2024 where the Ali statue will be unveiled. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Kevin Cullen is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
From Agent Orange to 'Hanoi Jane,' traces of the Vietnam war remain
Vietnamese people are celebrating the unification of their country after the Vietnam war that left people and land alike deeply scarred - and divided. Some veterans and activists from the United States joined the parties, celebrations and parades, and spoke of their ongoing sense of guilt at their involvement. Bill from Florida was a peace activist back then and was imprisoned in his home country for it, he says. "It was very important to me to be here in Vietnam for the anniversary to honour the people of this country," he adds, tears coming to his eyes. The complex war, fought in bloody jungle battles, began shortly after Vietnam became independent from France, a Colonial power until 1954. After the mid-1960s, the US became heavily involved, supporting South Vietnamese troops in their attempt to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese people, looking back at the conflict, call it "The American War." The North Vietnamese fought as the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam – or "Vietcong" - backed by the former Soviet Union and led by Ho Chi Minh, affectionately known as "Uncle Ho." He is still revered in much of Vietnam today. And Saigon's official name became Ho Chi Minh City after the war. When the US withdrew in 1973, it had suffered the first major military defeat in its history and lost 58,000 soldiers. Deadly weapons - no match for the Vietnamese Despite the use of horrific weapons such as the incendiary agent napalm and Agent Orange – a highly toxic defoliant – the GIs ultimately had no chance against the sophisticated guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong. The victorious communists remain in power and keep alive the memory of the war, estimated to have cost the lives of 2 to 5 million Vietnamese people, also for tourists. Directly behind the entrance to the impressive War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, visitors see fighter jets and tanks and also Hui, 56, who lost both arms and one leg and is blind in one eye. "I was eight years old when I stepped on a mine from the war times in the Central Highlands," he says. Unable to work, he sells books in front of the museum and tells tourists his life story, over and over again. Inside, a room is dedicated to the US chemical weapon Agent Orange, showing photos of generations of Vietnamese people and documenting their torment and later suffering from tumours and deformation, causing many visitors to burst into tears. World famous photo Other photos have become burned into the collective memory - like the one in 1972 of a little girl who tore her burning clothes off after a napalm attack. Phan Thi Kim Phuc, known as the "Napalm Girl," still suffers from severe burns. The photo, credited to AP photographer Nick Ut, who was 21 at the time, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 - though who actually took the harrowing picture is in dispute. A documentary released this year raised doubts about the photographer, suggesting that it was more likely that a freelance AP employee captured the scene. He is said to have received $20 for the picture. The World Press Photo Foundation has suspended the author attribution for the iconic photograph. Not under dispute is that Ut drove the injured girl to a hospital in Saigon, where she received treatment for months - and they are still in touch. "Fifty years on from that fateful day, the pair are still in regular contact – and using their story to spread a message of peace," US broadcaster CNN reported in 2022. The Viet Cong tunnels Two hours' drive from Ho Chi Minh City are the Cu Chi tunnels, a legendary tunnel system extending more than 200 kilometres that contributed significantly to the Viet Cong's victory over US troops. Now a tourist attraction, the claustrophobic tunnels were far more than underground secret passages. People lived on three levels that housed accommodation, kitchens, schools, infirmaries and command centres. The tunnels were home not only to male Vietcong fighters, but also to many women and children who were also fighting against the enemy, as can be seen in the film "Dia Dao" ("Tunnel: Sun in the Dark") by director Bui Thac Chuyen. It is an epic released to mark the 50th anniversary and is breaking box office records in Vietnam. Meanwhile two hotels in Vietnam show you history up close. During the war, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi in the northern capital Hanoi not only accommodated many reporters and embassies, but also prominent US peace activists such as actress Jane Fonda. She caused a scandal in 1972 when she had her picture taken sitting astride a Vietcong fighter's cannon in North Vietnam, earning her the name "Hanoi Jane." Like folk singer Joan Baez, the Hollywood star sought shelter in the hotel's bunker during a bombing raid, as the hotel's historian Nguyen Thanh Tung recounts. Meanwhile at the Continental, visitors can stay in the room where British author Graham Greene once wrote his famous Vietnam novel "The Quiet American." The hotel also features prominently in the 2002 film of the same name starring Michael Caine. Vietnam has its own large café chain: Cong Caphe, with a trademark khaki-green exterior and waiters clad in Vietcong uniforms. "With our outfits we want to honour the soldiers that fought for our country in the past," says employee Duc Anh Lee. Behind the tables are tools from the war while the walls are adorned with camouflage helmets. For young Vietnamese people sipping hip coffee creations, this backdrop is part of daily life. The war is still omnipresent in Vietnam, told by its communist victors.
The Hindu
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Eye-openers: from Vietnam to Gaza, ways to hold power to account
On April 30, Vietnam celebrated 50 years of the reunification of the North and South after the decades-long Vietnam War ended with the government of Saigon surrendering to the North Vietnamese forces in 1975. The American entanglement in the South East Asian country began in November 1955, with the U.S. fearing a communist takeover of the South by North Vietnam. After U.S. Army troops landed in South Vietnam in 1965, it dragged on for 10 more years. By the mid and late 1960s, however, there was growing disenchantment with the war effort and the rising numbers of the dead. Stories were emanating about atrocities committed by the U.S. troops in Vietnam and anti-war protests began to grow across campuses and in cities including in the capital Washington D.C. In 1969, journalist Seymour Hersh's attention was drawn to a small news item that a certain Lieutenant William Calley had been charged with the 'murder of 102 'Oriental human beings'' in the hamlet of My Lai in Vietnam. Journalists get to work Hersh tracked Calley and other members of the 'Charlie Company' who had led the assault on March 16, 1968, and reconstructed the story of the atrocity. His book, My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and its Aftermath, is a chilling read about over-reach, and how the killing began without warning, with even women and babies not being spared. The purpose of American troops to be at My Lai that day — to stop the Vietcong troops in their tracks — wasn't served either. Hersh, like Daniel Ellsberg later with The Pentagon Papers leak, was going against the grain of what most journalists were covering on the Vietnam war. Most of them supported the 'noble cause'. The Pentagon Papers: The Secret History of the Vietnam War, by Neil Sheehan and others, first appeared as a series of articles in The New York Times in 1971, on the study, revealing in detail, 'and in the government's own words', how several U.S. administrations had blundered through a disastrous war. The study had been commissioned in 1967 by then Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara, who had created a unit in the Pentagon to 'collect as many internal documents as possible on the Vietnam War.' There were 47 volumes in all, covering all aspects of the U.S. involvement in Indochina for decades. Sheehan, a celebrated Vietnam reporter, had got wind of the study and pursued Ellsberg, a senior member of the government-funded Rand Corporation who was privy to it, to share them with him. The war finally ended in 1975, with the Pentagon Papers playing a crucial role in its closure. Bearing witness In the face of fierce opposition in the late 1960s, philosopher and writer Bertrand Russell, then in his nineties, brought together prominent cultural and political personalities to 'bear witness to unrestrained American military action' in Vietnam. In his book, Vietdamned, Clive Webb brings to light the peace activism of Russell and other luminaries of the literary world including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Peter Weiss to end the war. They were derided for their activism but Webb sees the tribunal as a cautionary tale and writes about it as a reminder of the 'ruthlessness with which politicians and the press attempted to discredit their evidence, and the lessons to be learned about our continued need to hold to account those in power.' That's what journalist Omar El Akkad does in his recent book, One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This. He wonders aloud why the U.S. and the West have been largely immune to the unimaginable suffering of civilians in Gaza unleashed by Israel since the October 7 Hamas attack. In chapters with titles including Departure, Witness, Fear, Resistance, Language, Arrival, Akkad tries to make sense of the happenings in Gaza; why, for instance, was an 18-month-old found with a bullet wound to the forehead. The Egyptian-Canadian journalist and writer watched the Gulf War on CNN — 'Baghdad cityscapes detonating sporadically in balls of pale white light' — and was soon surprised that there was no reaction at all. 'It was just what happened to certain places, to certain people: they became balls of pale white light. What mattered was, it wasn't us.' As a journalist, Akkad has travelled to several countries in West Asia and also to Afghanistan, and his view on political malice is fierce: 'Rules, conventions, morals, reality itself: all exist so long as their existence is convenient to the preservation of power.' The Gaza tragedy Things came crashing down after October 2023, he writes, when Israel with the support of a vast majority of the Western world's political power centres enacted a 'campaign of active genocide' against the Palestinian people, documented for posterity. More than 50,000 people have died, thousands injured and millions displaced. Death by disease and famine stalks a population wilfully denied aid and medical help. 'Over and over, residents were ordered from their neighbourhoods into 'safe zones', and then wiped out.' Akkad is scathing when he writes that 'once far enough removed, everyone will be properly aghast that any of this was allowed to happen. But for now, it's so much safer to look away.' The antidote, of course, is to 'slip the leash' as Wilfred Burchett put it when he fled from the embedded journalists with Allied forces in Japan in 1945 and set out for Hiroshima. He then went on to record the annihilation he witnessed after the atomic bombing and despatched his piece with the words: 'I write this as a warning to the world' (Tell Me No Lies/Ed. John Pilger).
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Vietnam war is over: Saigon gives in with a sigh of relief – archive, 1975
The 30 years old Vietnam war is over. The Saigon government today unconditionally surrendered to communist forces, ordering its soldiers to hand over their weapons to Liberation troops. It was a scene some had never expected to see and others had tried to imagine but never succeeded in envisaging. The North Vietnamese and the Vietcong rolled into Saigon just after noon. T-54 tanks flying the red and white flag of the Liberation Armed Forces going before and the camouflaged Molotova trucks of the infantry –grinning, olive skinned boys in dark green uniforms – following after in a triumphant entry into the heart of the city. The tanks roared down Cong Ly, the big street that leads to Saigon's centre from the north, and the first tank smashed through the gates of the Independence Palace, slewed, and turned. Then the other vehicles poured in, laagering in the park in front of the Palace. The troops, armed to the teeth with AK-47s, automatics, and revolvers, and with machine-guns mounted on the roofs of the cabs, waved and smiled. Two hours earlier and only 90 minutes after the final Americans had been evacuated from Saigon, President Duong Van Minh announced the surrender over the government radio in a brief speech. Minh, speaking slowly and sadly, said that 'our policy as a government is national reconciliation and concord. To save further bloodshed, I now order the armed faces to stop fighting. I also ask the forces of the National Liberation Front to do the same. We are ready and waiting to hand over full administrative power to you.' Later, Brigadier-General Nguyen Huu Hanh, the highest-ranking General Staff officer left in the city, ordered all units to 'remain calm,' wait until contacted by communist forces, and then hand over their weapons. The order was not immediately obeyed. One fight, witnessed by UPI reporter, Alan Dawson, broke out in front of the Palace itself. Dawson spent 10 minutes tucked between two Vietcong soldiers behind a tree. The communists put out a tremendous volume of tank, machine-gun, and rifle fire, and Dawson was able to pull out. When a boatload of people tried to set off down the Saigon river to the South China Sea, a Vietcong officer ordered a tank to fire a round across the ship's bow. The boat turned around and returned to the Saigon dock. Crowds greeted a victory parade along Tu Do street apprehensively, according to UPI. Many people waved at the communist troops, and some of the soldiers waved back. The communists laughed and cheered and shouted, 'Hello, comrade,' to bystanders from tanks bearing Vietcong flags. According to Hanoi Radio, the Liberation Army had been ordered not only to occupy 'all important positions and major lines of communication'' but to 'dissolve all armed organisations of the puppet administration.' 'It said troops had strict orders on how to behave. Lives and property of both Vietnamese and foreign residents should be protected. The army command, the radio went on, had instructed all employees of the previous administration to report to their offices. 'The command calls on the entire people to unite closely under the banner of the great cause of the National Liberation Front and the Provisional Revolutionary government of South Vietnam.' it said. The Liberation Front issued an order saying: 'Let all puppet army officers, soldiers, and air and naval personnel, no matter where they are hiding, quickly return to the nation, bringing with them aircraft, warships, and naval craft, and report in time to the Revolutionary administration. Saigon Radio itself announced that the city was henceforth to be called Ho Chi Minh City – 'the city which Uncle Ho dreamed of.' Ho died in 1969. In spite of some people's worst fears, the first day under communist control was relatively calm. In general, newsmen were allowed to operate at will, although there were severe communication difficulties. Radio photographs and radio circuits were ruled out, and no planes were allowed to land to pick up television film.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Vietnam War veterans share unique bond through continued struggles
ST. LOUIS – Vietnam War veterans Ray Walls, Tom Bommarito, and Rich Cremer share a unique bond forged by their experiences during the conflict, despite having never met until recently. The three veterans, who served during the Vietnam War, continue to grapple with the lasting impact of their service—PTSD triggered by helicopters and the smell of diesel. 'I wish we three could instantly tell the world about our experiences, but we can't, it's impossible,' Tom Bommarito said, reflecting on the challenges of sharing their wartime stories. Ray Walls, who volunteered for service at the age of 17, was awarded the Silver Star for valor during his time in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967. Despite assurances from a recruiter that enlisting would keep him from being sent to Vietnam, he found himself in the thick of the conflict. Jon Hamm opens up about rehab and redemption after 'Mad Men' Tom Bommarito enlisted and earned the Bronze Star for valor, notably calling in an artillery strike on his own position as the Vietcong advanced. His actions exemplify the extreme measures taken by soldiers in desperate situations. Rich Cremer, drafted as a medic, carries the names of 28 veterans he couldn't save, memorialized on the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. His experiences underscore the heavy burden carried by those tasked with saving lives in war. All three veterans were wounded in action and received Purple Hearts, returning home to a country that was often unwelcoming to Vietnam veterans. Their shared experiences highlight the ongoing struggle for recognition and healing. As these veterans continue to heal from the scars of war, they emphasize the importance of welcoming home those who served, a sentiment echoed by Ray Walls: 'Just welcome them home, that's all they ever want.' All facts from this article were gathered by KTVI journalists. This article was converted into this format with assistance from artificial intelligence. It has been edited and approved by KTVI staff. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
