The Fall of Siagon essays

The Fall of Siagon essays On one humid morning of April 30, 1975 at 10:51 a. m., a tank crashed in to the gate of the presidential palace in Saigon. In just a few mimites South Vietnam would surrender and the Vietnam War would be over. But the only thing that would be over would be the gun fire. The fight would still go on for many years. In some years later Saigon would be called Ho Chi Minh City. The tanks from the 203rd Tank Regiment met little resistance as they made their way toward the city, and the North Vietnamese troops noticed the roadsides were littered with uniforms of fleeing South Vietnamese soldiers. We knew those who we found wearing only underpants and undershirts were soldiers, they said smiling. They hadnt had enough time to put on civilians clothes. Thats true said Le Thanh Chon, a former pilot in the North Vietnamese air force who tagged along with the tanks that day. I was driving a U.S. Army Jeep (it was abandoned); I was so lost I had to ask a little girl for All important city gates were open and with South Vietnamese under Martial Law, people were still running out of their homes and trying to leave there cites. The voices of crying children who lost their parents were all around you. Sigon was hit in 10:51 a.m. in the morning by North Vietnam had entered the country of South Vietnam in the city knows now as Ho Chi Mien City. They entered through the gates of the emperors palace, the front gates were gone in about two The first tank tried to fire but the first shell got stuck in the barrel, someone onboard said, thats the only shot we fired. Then, the tank commander, jumped out of his immobilized tank and ran onto the palace grounds. The second tank drove a ...

Clip

Clip Clip Clip By Maeve Maddox A reader was puzzled by the use of clip in the following sentence: Amazon has been adding distribution facilities at a clip. Says the reader, I have typically seen this as â€Å"rapid clip,† and in looking in the dictionary noted that â€Å"clip† as a noun refers to rate, which means it would need some type of modifier to signify speed. However, I also noted at there is a definition of it as a verb meaning â€Å"to move swiftly.† As a result, I’m wondering if use of â€Å"clip† as a noun has taken on this meaning so that an adjective is no longer necessary. Clip has more than one meaning, both as a noun and as a verb. The verbs came before the nouns. The verb that gives us the â€Å"holding on† sense of clip derives from the Old English verb, clyppan: â€Å"to clasp with the arms, to embrace, or to hug.† From this verb we get nouns with the following meanings: clip: an embrace or a hug (now obsolete) clip: a device that grips objects tightly. Examples of this kind of clip are: hair clips, bicycle clips, a potato chip bag clip, etc. A synonym is clamp. clip: a receptacle containing several cartridges held together at the base for insertion bodily into the magazine of a repeating firearm. clip: a piece of jewelry that may be clipped onto clothing. Other nouns come from a different verb that means â€Å"to cut with scissors or shears.† This clip came into Middle English from a Scandinavian source. From it come the following nouns: clip: shears (for cutting wool) clip: a piece that has been clipped off of something clip: a smart blow, stroke, or â€Å"cut.† For example, He gave him a clip across the mouth. clip: a rate of speed; a rapid pace or motion (colloquial) Now I’ll address the reader’s two-part question. Clip used as a verb to mean ‘to move rapidly† is first cited in 1833. It may have acquired this meaning from the fact that clippers in the hand of an expert move very fast. The earliest date for the noun meaning â€Å"rate† is later than for the verb (1867), so there probably is a connection between them. However, clip may be used with or without a modifier. The following citations illustrate the use of the noun clip with and without modifiers: 1867 It is believed that he can go a four-minute clip. 1887 We are goin wi a clip now. (We are going with a clip now.) 1893 In three days I could drive him any ‘clip’ I chose by just talking to him. 1893 Lastly, the bicyclists rode from six to ten miles daily at a stiff clip. 1901 [The ship] traveled at a 12-knot clip. 1911 Youll never finish your book at all at the clip youre hitting now. 1929 The infield was functioning at an improved clip during this second game. 1941 That dog can keep up a terrific clip. 1967 Romance and marriage among corporations is rolling along at a torrid paceThe brisk clip continues this year. The reader’s example fits right in: â€Å"Amazon has been adding distribution facilities at a clip.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of HumorTaser or Tazer? Tazing or Tasering?Affect vs. Effect