o understand a bit of Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese people are often suspicious towards organizations or institutions, but they place a great deal of value on loyalty and trust. In the words of Truong Nhu Tang,
             "In the stratified world of Vietnam, many families in the traditionally monied and governing classes had known each other for generations. They had gone to school together, raised children alongside each other, and intermarried. They had incurred toward each other debts and obligations of every imaginable sort. They were fish living in the same water. (Speaking of other members of the movement) Dr. Hoa and I had spent our childhoods together. I had often hidden Lucien Pham Ngoc Hung's brother Albert from government police intent on murdering him. While he was a hunted fugitive, Albert had managed to visit my mother to reassure her about my own safety. Multiply such situations and incidents over an entire social stratum and extend it for generations, and you have some idea of the personal bonds that existed between the people who joined together to form the Alliance and those in their parent organization, the NLF." (Pg. 136)
             The cultures ingrained Confucianism teachings are one reason why personal bonds are so strong among the Vietnamese. One of Confucius's teachings was faithfulness. Without faithfulness, a person is devoid of honor. This sense of faithfulness and loyalty was, in a very real way, a driving motivation for the NLF to form a resistance. They were faithful to their country and their people, and they wanted unity of their nation. They were tired of their land being exploited and their country being divided into factions.
             The first step was to form a committee. The NLF was formed in 1958 and began. The possibilities of American interference were rising, and the people who eventually formed the NLF were worried about the future of their country.
             "two facts were clear: First, th...