Reading Mr. Hoh’s anguished, principled and urgent letter put me in mind of two great (and I use that word literally, too) Americans of the Vietnam era: John Paul Vann and Frank Snepp. Vann, a soldier turned foreign service officer was the indispensable man of Acts 1 and 2 of our Vietnam tragedy. Frank Snepp, the CIA officer who spoke out against our shameless betrayal of our friends when Saigon fell, and who was unjustly punished for that act of conscience, was the hero of Act 3. With his letter, Matthew Hoh becomes the indispensable man of what one prays will be the final act of our adventure in the land that defeated Alexander the Great, Great Britain, and Russia.

If after reading Ms. DeYoung’s account and Mr. Hoh’s letter, you draw these same conclusions, do more than post a comment here. Do the old fashioned thing: call your congressman and senator. Tell them, “It’s time for us to go.”