Comparison Between War History And The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War that commenced on November 1, 1955, and ended on April 30, 1975, took the soldiers through a devastating experience. Many lost their lives while others maimed as the war unfolded into its full magnitude. The book Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam by Bernard Edelman presents a series of letters written by the soldiers to their loved ones and families narrating the ordeals and experiences in the Warfield. In the book, Edelman presents the narrations of over 200 letters reflecting the soldiers’ experiences on the battlefield. While the letters were written many decades ago, they hold great significance as they can mirror the periods and the contexts within which they were sent. This paper takes into account five letters from different timelines and analyzes them against the events that occurred in those periods vis a vis their significance. The conclusion will also have a personal opinion and observation regarding the book and its impacts.

A representative for the Pentagon, whom the veterans thought would offer strong support for the memorial, essentially said, “Why should we build a memorial to losers?” (Scruggs 30). Some politicians and others agreed, calling the veterans “crybabies who should receive less from the government” (Scruggs 31). Many Americans, however, especially veterans and those who had lost loved ones in the war, strongly supported the memorial. Tens of thousands of letters thanking the Fund and offering support accompanied widely varying donations to the memorial, such as one that said, “The whole town turned out for the funeral for he was the only boy who died there from this small town - but there it ended. There is no recognition of his death anywhere so far as the town he grew up in is concerned.” (Scruggs 26). Some that supported the Memorial were even a part of those who had condemned the war - “I opposed the war. I marched (and prayed) for peace. I counseled C.O.s. But I will never, never forget what so many gave of what they had for what they believed. And many of these, tragically, were the best we had.” (Scruggs 27). To those at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund receiving the letters, both supporting and condemning, they showed equal amounts of the pain that ran deeply through America, and they began to work harder at their attempt to heal this

A general unpopular opinion swept through America and intensified through the twenty years of the Vietnam War. In past wars, a soldier’s friends and family looked forwards to seeing their loved one return home. Up until the Vietnam War, veterans were treated with an immense amount of respect for the sacrifices they made for their country. However, the Vietnam veterans were received with resentment, and were often left to readjust to society alone. The veterans were isolated from the rest of society, leaving them without a community to provide support economically and emotionally as they transitioned back to civilian life

The Vietnam War is probably the worst war that the men in America have ever had to fight. These men not only had many struggles and extreme stress brought on by the war, but when they came back home, the people of America treated them like dirt and they were not thanked for the service they did for their country. Dr. Andrew Wiest’s novel The Boys of ’67 Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam gives a first hand account on what it was actually like to be in the Vietnam War. Many men in the Charlie Company are mentioned throughout the book, which tells each of their stories that they experienced throughout the war. Each and every one of these men

“The last American soldier left Vietnam during the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. For 2.4 million who served in Vietnam, there was no official homecoming. In June of 2005, Branson, Missouri held “Operation Welcome Home” for Vietnam Veterans. The parade and events were planned to provide the celebration and recognition they did not receive 30-plus years earlier.” (Vietnam: Homecoming) The veterans were able to see the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall and find the names of men they had known they had dies while serving. These veterans met with men they had formerly served with. Although this event was only a fraction of the welcome the soldiers truly deserved, many veterans were very appreciative of this. “Branson gave me

The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial wars the United States has ever been involved in. This is due to the lack of reason for the United States’ involvement in the conflict; it was not necessary to have Americans fighting in Vietnam (Cornish). Regardless of the lack of need for soldiers, young men from the United States were still drafted to fight and were shipped off to Vietnam, despite not knowing what they were fighting for. While there, most of them experienced horrific events that ended up following them after Vietnam, resulting in a condition called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which would weigh on the veterans’ shoulders for the rest of their lives. Tim O’Brien, author and Vietnam veteran, is not an exemption to

Coming home from war “should be” a peaceful transition for veterans. After having to withstand many harsh conditions, one would think a soldier’s life would begin to turn around for the better. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. As each generation of warfighters took their first steps back on American soil, they each had to cope with their own specific issues. World War I veterans came home to a collapsing economy and high unemployment rates. This consequently led to thousands of WWI veterans marching in Washington, D.C. in what is now known as the Bonus Army Marches. After WWII, many African-American veterans went from fighting on the front lines to going back to a country that still wouldn’t accept them as equals. Even the

The mass disapproval of the Vietnam War stemmed on the account of Americans losing faith in the government, based upon the moral implication of the war, and the unnecessary interference of the United States in foreign affairs. And due to theses ramifications the public upheaval resulted in a massive social movement against the entirety of the war. However, the brunt of the public’s outcry was felt by the returning soldiers. The primary source is of a young drafted soldier, Sebastian Ilacqua, who recounts his experiences in Vietnam and his unforeseen homecoming from the war. The source is based on his outlooks and experiences which can be interpreted as bias.

When the soldiers returned from the Vietnam War they were treated with disrespect by the American public. “At first, rather than giving

The Korean and Vietnam war are very similar in that both were the US's attempt to fight communism by waging war in a distant third world country. Both wars were unpopular in the US and both led to a lack of victory.

The Vietnam War was a war divided. The United States was equally against and for it, creating a hostile environment for returning veterans. While many Americans were treating the Vietnam soldiers with contempt, they may have been unaware of the mental battle that 11% of Vietnam veterans were fighting (“PTSD: A Historical Perspective”). While soldiers were in Vietnam, they experienced many horrifying situations that contributed to their post-traumatic stress disorder. One-third of the American army that served in Vietnam was drafted, which occasionally created a hostile environment. While in Vietnam, warfare was very different than previous wars fought. Soldiers were often isolated and fought in the jungle. There were many occasions where a soldier would not even know where the enemy was (Badalucco). The Vietnam War was the war that eventually brought a name to the mental disorder that many soldiers and everyday people have fought for years.

If you have ever heard of the Vietnam War, you most likely have heard of how horrible the American soldiers were treated. When they came home to the United States, the country was torn over the political and humanitarian aspects of America’s involvement in the war. The American people were asking questions as: Why was the war being fought? Was it worth the financial burden it was placing on the United States? Did the U.S. really need to be involved in a conflict between a country in a civil war? The returning Vietnam veteran soldiers became

World War II was in Europe and the Pacific to stop Germany and the axis powers; after WW2 the only super powers left were the United States and the Soviet Union since other nations received heavy damage from the war. The Soviet Union then began to spread the idea of communism to other nations in ruins which created the war of containment led by the US. The Vietnam war was in South East Asia to stop the spread of communism from North Vietnam to South Vietnam. The World War II and Vietnam Generation are both great generations but the greatest generation is the WWII because of the military, social, and political issues/advances faced during war.

During the Vietnam War and Spanish Civil War, the war affected the American soldiers in many ways. Soldier’s perspective going into war is not the same perspective they had as they returned home. War is difficult for any person to handle because after the actual combat, it affects one’s normal life as one is trying to recover from the trauma that war has caused. Warfare taught the American soldiers how precious human life is and how worthless war is. In the book, “Bloods” by Wallace Terry, Edwards, the main character, gave an idea of how his experience was at warfare and how it affected him after war and in “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway, Robert Jordan explained the process of planning an attack

I have always been interested in the Vietnam War and the results of “the longest war in America.” Therefore, I have decided to examine the social attitudes toward Vietnam veterans. Since I feel so passionately about the way that Vietnam veterans are viewed, the purpose of my paper is to inform others about the way that the veterans have been criticized and misrepresented. Personally, I hope to gain a further understanding of the attitudes and views towards Vietnam veterans, especially since my father is a veteran. After reading my paper, I hope that my audience will walk away with more respect and reverence for those that fought in the Vietnam War and gave their lives for their country. My