Problems Faced by the United States Soldiers in Vietnam
Source A:
An increasing number of recruits scored so low on the intelligence
test that they never would have been let into the normal peacetime
army. The tour of duty in Vietnam was one year.Soldiers were most
likely to die in the first month. The large majority of deaths took
place in the first six months. Just as a soldier began gaining
experience he was sent home. A rookie army was constantly throwing
inexperienced men against experienced guerrillas on their home ground.
Answer:
Parts of this statement are very true and a fact however some of this
statement could be interpreted as bias and an opinion. We have to take
on such factors as was the author of this statement at Vietnam was he
trying to reach out to a certain audience and was he bias. We can tell
that the author is a left winger and against war due to the way he
phrases and the tone of certain sentences in the statement.
The first sentence stating that many recruits scored low on the
intelligence test is actually both a true and untrue statement. This
is untrue because seventy nine percent of all of the draftees in the
Vietnam conflict had high school or higher educations. However the
draftees during the war only made up twenty five percent of the
overall forces that were serving through out the Vietnam conflict.
This means that only a quarter of the Vietnam forces would have scored
highly on the intelligence test. And the figure is that only fifteen
percent of soldiers that signed up and was not already in the army
passed the intelligence test. Therefore this statement is both true
and false. Therefore this statement is inaccurate.
The next statement is true. The tour of duty (time that a soldier had
to spend in Vietnam) in the Vietnam Conflict was only one year. The
next statement is an opinion and not a fact. There is no factually
evidence to back up this statement saying that most soldiers were
i. Difficulties faced by soldiers due to the nature of fighting in the Vietnam War - Personnel had difficulties with transportation supplied with adapted vehicles back seat faced rear to provide additional fire power (Source A) – It appears as if the government didn't worry enough to supply men with safe and capable equipment - Threat of traps led to fear as vehicles had to be parked on street at night (Source A) o Check for traps each morning became a daily ritual particularly in fuel tanks (Source A) o A request for a locking fuel cap was denied because weren’t entitled to one” (Source A) • What circumstances would have needed to arise for them to be entitled to one? The Offensive full guard was set up (24hrs a day), personnel got no sleep and were constantly on alert (Source A) – How significant would this have been in the personnel’s mental frame of mind?
In the early 1960s the U.S. began sending military advisors to South Vietnam beginning the Vietnam War, arguably the most controversial war in United States history. This incident followed Vietnam gaining its independence from the French Empire’s Indochina in 1954. The nation soon split, creating a communist North Vietnam, and a noncommunist South Vietnam. In fear of communism spreading the U.S. supported South Vietnam and sent troops. As the incident dragged on it caused a huge anti-war movement and a lot of political turmoil.The troops were withdrawn in 1973, the whole country fell to communism, and the U.S. failed. How did a superpower such as the U.S. take defeat from a small country like Vietnam? Many have wondered and continue to wonder
In the twentieth century many young adults and many other men were chosen/ drafted to enter the war. The Vietnam War started during the time period of 1959 and this brutal war ended on 1975. It started with the United States sending aid and military advisors to the Southern part Vietnam. The U.S helped the southerners of Vietnam because the northern part of Viet was a communist state so the south wanted to end Communism up in the north. Also, this war was said to be one of the bloodiest wars that took place in the twentieth century. It was a very bloody war because more than 58,000 American soldiers had perished in combat. Also, during the decade of direct U.S Military participation in Vietnam, during early time 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 effected the American’s, it affected the Vietnamese people to. This war affected both the American’s and the Vietnamese, because in the year of 1973 the United States began withdrawing troops. This caused the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon to fall to the Northern Vietnamese forces. Just like how the war was long and bloody many characters from the novel The Things They Carried experienced many things that were relatable to people who in reality dealt with the war. The very brutality of war cause indelible psychological and emotional changes in most of its
Problems Faced by US Soldiers in Vietnam Source Based Introduction In this question I will be trying to answer possibilities and analyse them about source A. I will decide whether or not I agree with the interpretation of the situation faced by American soldiers in Vietnam. The soldiers faced many problems and I will be trying to analyse them. to see if they are true or not. Also I will be trying to find out were the facts came from and if they provide enough evidence, and are.
...nd engaging in full scale military engagement in Vietnam was a rash decision as it contained little investigation and inadequate research on the battle techniques of the Northern Vietnamese before engaging. Altogether, President Johnson’s response and executed action towards the events occurring in Southeast Asia were rash, rushed and researched. His elitist attitude towards the power that the United States held compared to the “guerilla” forces of the Viet Cong created a mentality that the United States would easily suppress the opposing forces as they were the dominant world power; however Johnson neglected major elements of geopolitical situations and warfare style needed to be successful. President Johnson had a chance to withdraw from Vietnam after Kennedy’s assassination but chose to escalate the situation that had been brewing since the Truman administration.
After the Vietnam War, soldiers suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder in countless numbers. The trauma they saw, endured, and witnessed forever changed and scared their lives. Men, like Tim O'Brien the author of the novel The Things They Carried, suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and it took them years to regain their lives after their return home. In the excerpt from his novel, O'Brien shows the reader how the men endured this mind-altering experience in the jungles of Vietnam through the details of all the items the men carry.
How did a Vietnam soldier's life change during and after the war. Society had a lot of different views regarding the soldiers and the war. When coming home veterans faced many distinct challenges. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial helped to heal the nation. The Vietnam War had a major impact on the United States and the soldiers who fought in it.
During the Vietnam War the reality of warfare brought many soldiers back to a home that didn't want them. Their feelings torn by atrocities, the loss of friends, and the condition of loneliness only made the experience worse. Did the issues on the home front affect the issues on the frontline? The novel Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers is a perfect example of the conflict and diversity among other soldiers during the Vietnam War. It shows the reality many soldiers faced and how they dealt with conflicts back home while they were alone and afraid of death creeping up on them. With the reality of war taking its toll, soldiers coming home to a world they didn't know, a world that had changed and left them in Vietnam to fend for themselves. They slept with wives who didn't know even the smallest of their problems. From nightmares to remembering bad memories, Vietnam veterans suffered it all from extreme depression to the worst, suicide. The real world didn't know how to deal with them and just left them alone. The U.S. they left had changed on them. From people to the ways of life everything had changed and they didn't know how to deal with it.
The relationship between the soldiers of the Vietnam War was different from the relationships with people from home. The soldiers felt as if they could not tell the whole truth about the war through their eyes to their loved ones at home. The soldiers that they were with all the time understood the pain and confusion each other felt, yet no one talked about it. War changed how people had relationships with others. War could bring people closer or tear them apart.
Left, left, left, right, left, these soldiers marched into combat for their country in the Vietnam war. The soldiers did not know that their lives would change so dramatically.They thought that they would be appreciated when they got home but they got a unexpected surprise. These soldiers were spit on, screamed at and also called names. The Vietnam war gave the soldiers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), rejection and depression.
Have you ever wondered what events, conditions, and leadership decisions caused America to be unsuccessful in the Vietnam War? The way that the war was fought favored the Northern Vietnamese and was a big factor in giving the Viet Cong an edge over the Americans. The tactics that the Northern Vietnamese used, the number of soldiers that the United States sent over plus the conditions they were put into, and the changing of US Presidents part way through the war all play vital roles in making Vietnam unachievable.
In the Vietnam War, an uncounted number of soldiers were young and unexperienced add this to an unknown environment and the inability to distinguish the Vietnamese to the Vietcong. The Vietnam War was a significantly difficult war to fight in. Soldiers had to fight in a dense, bug infested, booby trap ridden forest with dangerous animals and because of this harsh environment soldiers were exposed to the elements and a copious number of soldiers went M.I.A. The Vietcong were resilient and well supplied this proved to be a problem to the American soldiers as the U.S government viewed the Vietcong as inferior. Continuing, another problem that Americans faced were that they had trouble telling who the enemy was whenever they would enter a village.
“You will kill ten of us, we will kill one of you, but in the end, you will tire of it first”. This Quote by Vietnam leader Ho Chi Men shows just how far the Vietnamese were willing to go to defend their country. The Vietnam War was a disaster for the United States and still affects Americans today. One of the biggest questions about the Vietnam War was The Draft. The Draft was a highly debated topic during the Vietnam War. The Draft is where Americans are chosen in a lottery format to fight in the war. The Vietnam War was affected by the draft and still affects people today. It affected America because of the people that it chose and their families, the amount of people that tried to escape and the protesting that came along with it,
The Vietnam War was a horrific war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. There were many causes for the Vietnam War from both the North and South side. There were also many emotions during the war for United States citizens, Vietnam citizens and soldiers of the war for both Americans and Vietnamese. United States couldn’t help but get into the war. They had to intervene which brought tons of good and bad things to the United States. The Vietnam War wasn’t only affecting the North and South Vietnam it also affected the United States and the citizens of the war from both the United States and Vietnam.
The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States approached military action and helped establish the role of the United States within the new world order.