The Vietnam War was costly not only to our armed forces but to our American economy and American morale. We entered the war in an attempt to end the communist regime of North Vietnam and their southern allies, the Vietcong, from taking over South Vietnam. South Vietnam was an ally of the United States and due to this political relationship; the United States was entitled to help defend their ally. More than 58,000 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War. By 1969 it was the peak of American involvement in the war and more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were involved in the Vietnam conflict. Throughout the war growing opposition towards participation of military forces threatened the support of the war. American citizens began to realize that the war pierced the myth that America was invincible and soon America became a divided nation. This split opinion of many citizens resulted in many American troops returning home to negative reactions. Troops not only faced the physical damage of the effects to harmful chemical herbicides and the horrors of the jungle but also faced the mental and emotional effects of having no support or appreciation when returning home from war. Troops were faced with negative reactions from both the opponents of the war who thought troops were killing innocent civilians and supporters who thought troops lost the war. Based off of mental and emotional effects that troops faced and the lack of support throughout the war we can look at them and see the duty, service, and dedication from those who served in the Vietnam War. They not only showed unending faithfulness to their country but even while facing negative comments from American Citizens they came home happy from surviving the war.
There are three...
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...fference in at least one life of someone who was not taken by communism.
Though these were just a few, we can learn more than just these three lessons from the Veterans of the Vietnam War. Though when they initially returned home they were not seen as heroes to day we can look upon them and remember the strength, courage, dedication, and honor that they carried as an American soldier. They never gave up, never back downed, and were forever faithful to the land of the free and the home of the brave.
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"Vietnam War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war
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The Vietnam War was the most publicized war during its era; moreover this was the most unpopular war to hit the United States. All over the country riots began to raise, anti-war movement spread all over the states begging to stop the war and chaos overseas. This truly was a failure in the political side of things. For the public, all they saw was a failed attempt in a far away country. Events such as the Tet Offensive where the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong established an all out attack on key locations around Vietnam, and although the Viet Cong was virtually wiped out, this still had a large affect psychologically on the troops as well as the populist back in the United States. Another atrocity that occurred during this war was the My Lai Massacre. This was the mass murder on unarmed civilians in South Vietnam during March 16,1968. Around November 1969, the world saw this and was outraged with the killings of innocent civilians prompting and giving the public more reasons to stop the war. Although the war was very unpopular, men and women were still fighting and dying for America. Heroes such as Captain John W, Ripley of Dong Ha, Medal of Honor recipients, and overall troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice were forgotten for a brief period. As unpopular as the war was, the American people should still know the stories and good that some of these troops had done for the United States.
William, M. (1975) The Vietnamese Air Force, 1951-1975: An analysis of its role in combat and fourteen hours at Koh TanWashington: [Dept. of Defense, Dept. of the Air Force]: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
It was a very bloody war, with more than 58,000 American soldiers having perished in combat. Also, during the decade of direct U.S Military participation in Vietnam, during early times of the year, 1964 the U.S treasury spent over 140 billion dollars on this war. “This was enough money to fund urban projects in every major American city” (history.com). As this war affected the American’s, it affected the Vietnamese people too. This war affected both the American’s and the Vietnamese, because in the year 1973 the United States began withdrawing troops.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
"Overview of the Vietnam War." Digital History. Digital History, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
Due to the volatile conditions of the Vietnam War, the protestors believed that they should not be involved in a war that they cared so little about. Public opinion heavily swayed during the war as only one senator dissented from the overwhelming opinion to fight the war (Amter 45). However, as President Johnson escalated the war and the Draft increased by 25% in 1968, those youths being conscripted were infuriated (Dougan 118). Not only this, the North Vietnamese began a ruthless offensive on American soldiers by merciless attacking our bases. This resulted in US victories, but also US casualties (Dougan 116). Also, the marines stationed at the bases began to use offensive attacks to deter Viet Cong assault against the wishes of General Taylor (Karnov 443). With these new less defensive strategy, Nixon announced plans to start operations in Cambodia, and to increase the bombings overall in Southeast Asia (Dougan 180). Some missions even began t...
America’s veterans should be honored because they have suffered through so many hardships that others could not and have not survived, and they did it for their country that they loved and still love today.
The Vietnam War was the longest and most expensive war in American History. The toll we paid wasn't just financial, it cost the people involved greatly, physically and mentally. This war caused great distress and sadness, as well as national confusion. Everyone had that one burning question being why? Why were we even there? The other question being why did America withdrawal from Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to answer these two burning questions, and perhaps add some clarity to the confusion American was experiencing.
The Vietnam war has been referred to by many names, one of the longer ones was 'the cornerstone of the free world southeast Asia'. It was called that by John F. Kennedy. He was talking about Vietnam being and essential country in a non-communist world. He believed that if Vietnam became a communist country, all of the surrounding countries would also become communists. This is the main reason America was involved in the Vietnam war. Another reason was that America wanted to spread their “political ideas around the globe”. They wanted to do this so that their anti-communism stance was clear. The public also wanted to keep communism from spreading. To soldiers, the war was like a crusade, a great journey to purge the communists from Vietnam. Sadly, this is not what happened. The Viet Cong (VC) had far better tactics than the US. The VC was told to 'nibble at the enemy' so that he could 'neither eat or sleep'. This worked very well. Another demoralizing tactic the VC used was their landmines; they were designed to blow the limbs off the soldiers without killing them. This tied up hospital beds and meant the soldiers had to carry the wounded back to the base.
In May 1961, John F. Kennedy sent investigators to Vietnam, thus turning the tide in favor of the United States and South Vietnam. Unfortunately, with the flow of infiltrators and weapons from North Vietnam, the United States and South Vietnam lost their upper hand (Tucker). Conclusively, 2.5 million Americans served and about 58,000 lost their lives in Vietnam (Vietnam Veterans Memorial). On April 30, 1975 Vietnam was finally reunited under a communist government. Once the war ended, Vietnam was devastated. Both the South and North Vietnamese economies were in shambles and they suffered from the chemical pesticides. The Vietnamese also lost about 3 million soldiers and civilians during the war. The United States also suffered due to the fact that the military was completely shattered and had to be rebuilt. The inflation was at an ultimate high from the failure to fact the actual costs of war. These situations forced Washington D.C. to reevaluate the power of the United States
The Vietnam War has had its effects on America, both good and bad. We can ridicule it, we can deny it, we can say it was for the best, we can say we shouldn't have even gotten involved, but the one thing we can't do is ignore it. Because it's become an unforgettable part of history, and we all need to remember Vietnam.
Stewart, Jim. "Military Police of the Vietnam War." Military Police of the Vietnam War. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
A variety of very important events that have happened in the past 100 years, many of which are wars. They have change many things from big necessities like medicine and medical practices to little ones like bandages. No matter the winner every war has good and bad consequences. Some wars have ended in triumph for the U.S.A. and its allies, however some didn’t end well at all. A very important war with many consequences, and an example of a loss for the U.S.A., is the Vietnam war. This paper will cover the Vietnam war from both the perspectives of the Americans at home as well as what's going on in Vietnam between the years of 1955 and 1975.
...hat some of the families were broken up and also that some of the returning soldiers who were seriously injured so they couldnt work which meant that they had no money and perhaps ended up on the street and became homeless. In Vietnam 4 million people died and also a lot of people left the country so they wouldnt get killed by US soldiers. This meant that the country had a decrease of income and population. This is significant in the short term for the country as a lot of farmers were killed which led to people being short on food and some starved to death. The war had an impact on the long term but that alone does not make it significant. I think although it is remembered in the USA, this is mostly due to the fact that the country is at war again now and people compare it to Vietnam rather than the fact the war is still a significant part of peoples lives today.