CBS Show ‘The Amazing Race’ Apologizes for Airing Episode of B-52 Memorial in Vietnam

The popular CBS show 'The Amazing Race' is being criticized for airing an episode that was filmed in Vietnam, and had the contestants racing through a B-52 memorial last week. The show not only upset many people who tuned in to the show, but many veterans as well - some of which actually served in Vietnam.

If you are not familiar with 'The Amazing Race', it's basically a show where several teams of two, race across the world doing random things and search for the next clue that allows them to win each leg. The team that comes in last is usually eliminated.

In last week's episode featured a B-52 memorial in Hanoi, Vietnam that has a downed American plane from the Vietnam War. The contestants had to go to the memorial to find their next clue. The contestants also had to learn a song that was performed for them by children in front of a portrait of North Vietnam communist leader Ho Chi Minh, with song lyrics like "Vietnam Communist Party is glorious. The light is guiding us to victory."

Pretty jacked up, right?

As my wife and I watched the episode, both of us kind of looked at each other and thought that it seemed a pretty disrespectful. Apparently we were not the only ones as several people voiced their anger. In fact, John Hamilton, the commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, wrote an open letter to CBS president Les Moonves expressing the organization's anger over the episode which you can check out here.

Since then, CBS has apologized for that episode, and the VFW has accepted that apology.

Still though, why in the world would any American network film an episode at a place that has clearly scarred many veterans. Whoever came up with this idiotic idea should not only be fired, but he or she should have to spend some quality time with some veterans to get a better idea of how that war has affected those that had to serve at that horrible time.

I just don't know if an apology is enough. Yeah, everybody makes mistakes, but I feel like that wasn't just a mistake, that was a dagger in the heart of anyone that served in Vietnam, as well as other wars.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think the apology was enough?