Vietnam in Remission

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Vietnam in Remission

The legacy of the American involvement in the Vietnam War is a memory that will live on forever. After reading the book titled Vietnam in Remission by James F. Veninga and Harry A. Wilmer, my first statement has been strengthened ten-fold because of the deep persuasiveness and informative nature of this book. I will begin by summarizing and interpreting the overall thoughts and perspectives that this work brings forth concerning the initiation and justification of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Next, I will paraphrase the authors' views on legacy that this war leaves behind and provide comments dealing with what can be learned from this book and the points it raises. This study of the effects of the Vietnam War is an stirring and an instructive perspective on this sorrowful moment in history.

The authors of Vietnam in Remission begin with their thoughts on why the United States first proceeded to become involved in this overseas war, whether justified or not. This seems to be almost rhetorical because they mainly provide reasons why we shouldn't have started the war.

Many people in Vietnam did not like the idea of being under French control at all. They resented the fact that a country that knew little to anything about them held control over their actions in an attempt for its own gain. Therefore, it was a very easy task for Ho Chi Minh to rally support for his cause. None of this was instigated by Communist influence, however. It is a known fact that the North Vietnamese regarded the Russians as "Americans without money," and the Russians did not even assist much until the U.S. had committed itself. This is not even to say that the Russians did intervene much; most of the help rece...

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...the negative legacies to positive legacies. One cannot really blame the authors for this, though. They do offer a small solution for amending some of these problems, however. They say that we should do what Lincoln would have done if he were still leading us and have a public mourning displaying the complete sadness of what happened and not merely a mask convincing all that they are doing the right thing. They also say that the older men who run the country and run the military should collectively give a public apology to the younger men in an attempt to regain their respect and provide a place for the male ego to come from again. It will be impossible to forget the Vietnam War, but we can still do whatever possible to ease the painful memories and rebuild what was lost.

Bibliography:

Veninga, James F. and Wilmer, Harry A. Vietnam in Remission

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