How Were Soldiers Treated During The Vietnam War

Secretary of State John Kerry once said “I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service.” The Vietnam War was a conflict that lasted from 1956-1975 which the United States participated in along with the South Vietnamese who fought against the Communist North Vietnamese. Many Americans strongly disapproved of the war which caused many protests and riots. The war lasted 25 years killing many people and eventually the North Vietnamese won. The Vietnam War was important to Americans back home because it tested the citizen’s right to free speech, effected future foreign policy, and created many issues for returning veterans.

This was important for me because this event overshadowed my life from an early age until my teenage years. America’s participation in the Vietnam War was an extension of the Cold War. Since America said we would fight against communism, we did. We lost approximately 60,000 service men; some are still missing in action. In the end, it served no purpose, South Vietnam lost and became a part of the communist north. Many soldiers came back with PTSD and at that time they did not have a name or real treatment, for this disorder. Many Vietnam veterans suffered many side effects from the war, angent organge and other effects of weaponary. Today, we have in comparaion massive amounts of positive propaganda for military, nevertheless, in this war, verterns were treated poorly ,especially by the public. The collateral consequences of this war effected many families. Today, I know many people and families ,who have not recovered completely from this war

By the time The Vietnam War ended there were so many people wounded and killed. The war was a controversial matter from beginning to end. It will always have an impact on how the government and military make decisions. As it would affect anyone it effects the families of the soldiers. In fact, was anyone aware that in total 1.57 million people were dead after the Vietnam war (Phillips and Axelrod)? Just as many were injured, some more severely than others. The Vietnam war had many negative outcomes for both Vietnam and the United States.

The public was on board the war train for the first few years of the war, until they found out what it was actually like in Vietnam. Public view of the war immediately changed negatively. When the news reached the soldiers in Vietnam, reactions were mixed. While they could understand why the people didn't like the prospect of war, they were still killing-even when they didn't want to-for their country. Some soldiers didn't know how to respond. One solder wrote to his mother and told her that for one second he felt as if he was on vacation because it was so beautiful in Vietnam. Another one told his mom “not to worry, there is nothing I can't handle”. While the soldiers could handle the physical horrors happening to them, it was the mental stuff that was breaking them down.

Veterans coming home had to face many different situations. Most veterans who came home did not receive the welcome they had deserved. Some veterans were homeless and unemployed after coming home. An organization called the Vietnam Veterans against the War or the VVAW tried to help the soldiers coming home. The organization allowed veterans to talk about their experiences to them and also tried to get the veterans to talk to the public (Rivers 646-648). The VVAW helped the veterans throughout the war. Many veterans who came home had emotional trauma or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The United States citizens did not want to remember the war or the brave men who fought in it (Rivers 646-647). Very few people cared about Vietnam or the soldiers during the war because of the negative views toward the soldiers and the war.

Problem that the Vietnamese war veterans faced was the psychological effects which was very common for Vietnam veterans to have. The main cause of this is because it was different compared to other wars in the past like the condition that the soldiers were in. Studies has shown that a World War II soldiers experienced up to a total of 60 days under combat like conditions. A Vietnam infantryman endured on a comparable basis 300+ days therefore Vietnam veterans have more likely to develop psychological problems than a World War II veteran. (POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), 2001)

The Vietnam War was a unforgettable war that has had lasting effects on the United States and was a poor decision on the part of the United States government to get involved in. The United States had drafted many young boys into a war in which a lot of people did not support or even know why we were getting involved in, many people fled to neighboring borders or faced the criminal charges that came with dodging the draft because they were so against it. This war has left the United States with lasting impacts and there are many ways that we have changed since including our country as a whole and our veterans themselves. The war has affected our veterans in ways that are unimaginable, the psychological effects that they have endured are tough

Many people felt that this was a war of money that the U.S. didn’t need to interfere in and was being fought by North and South Vietnam, therefore we had no business getting in the middle of it. The United States should've thought of themselves and done what was best for them as a country. When Dwight D. Eisenhower left office, a new President came in with the name John F. Kennedy. JFK warns the American public about “Military Industrial Complex”. This affected Americans because we didn’t want all of Vietnam to become communist. From the beginning, the United States was not aware of what they were getting themselves into. Furthermore, they didn’t understand the nature of the war on who and why they were fighting.

The War not only affected those in Vietnam, but those still at home in America. Americans had split into two groups, known as the hawks and the doves. The hawks were people who supported the war and wanted the country to be victorious in its fight with Communism. The doves were the people that disagreed with the war. These were traditionally students, and people of the younger generation. Many veterans when they would return home, would join in these mass protests. One popular protest, which took place at Kent State University, resulted in 9 wounded people with 4 dead. The police at Kent State took action against a mass protest by opening fire. This is the evil that is created through war. Without the Vietnam war, there is no protest at Kent State. Without the Vietnam war, the college kid’s lives are spared. Without the Vietnam War, thousands of lives could have been saved. Neil Young said it best in his song Ohio. Ohio discussed the brutality of war but mainly the police brutality against the kids at Kent State. Vietnam was a tragic stain in American history.

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 conflict has been known for being the most unpopular war in the history of the United States. The war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Korean conflict of the early 1950's were also opposed by large groups of the American people, but none of them generated the emotional anxiety and utter hatred that spawned Vietnam. The Vietnam war caused people to ask the question of sending our young people to die in places where they were particular wanted and for people who did not seem especial grateful.

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

Wars are fought for freedom and independence and usually when soldiers come home we receive them with open arms ready to praise them and thank them for putting their lives on the line. If you were asked to describe a soldier, you’d probably say heroic, brave, courageous, or honorable. After the Vietnam War, parades weren’t the welcoming soldiers got; instead, they were shunned and booed at.

The Vietnam War was marked by brutality, death, protests, and psychological tolls. No war caused such great division among the American people like the Vietnam War. The war was extremely costly, and it left long-term effects on people all over the world. As a whole, the American people agree that the Vietnam War was a waste of time, money, and life.

For many Americans it is common knowledge to know about the Vietnam War; however, for some Americans the Vietnam War is ancient history, dishonorable, but irrelevant nonetheless. If people do not physically see the many horrors of war it is easy to forget; although maybe it is something we try to forget. However, there are some who may be able to forget there will be some, like politicians, that will not forget. The Vietnam War had a terrible impact on both the United States and Vietnam, and more importantly it would affect foreign policy for many years to come.