The United States in the Vietnam War
Many soldiers have been lost in the different wars that the United States has been involved. Although there have been many wars only one is unique from the others, it is known as the war that was never won or lost. The Vietnam War started out as a conflict but soon escalated into a full-fledged war. Many soldiers have been lost in the Vietnam War. The United States sent many soldiers into the jungles of Indochina trying to stop the spread of communism from the North Vietnamese. It all seems clear-cut, with the motives and sides easily seen but as the war lagged on, it seemed that the United States became involved, and essentially needed a draft. The United States involvement in the Vietnam War became
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In 1961 President Kennedy sent a group who’s mission was to report on conditions in the South and assess if the United States should continue to deploy troops to Vietnam -Brigham, 1. In 1962 there was a massive increase of United States troops in Vietnam –MacDonald, 626. The numbers grew so large that they almost tripled. This led for the South Vietnamese to be instructed by advisors, who were attachments in the field -MacDonald, 627. Army recruits in the Special Forces were brought in to train the tribesman in the highlands. They also assisted the South Vietnamese in some of the more remote regions of the country -MacDonald, 627. The Civilian Irregular Defense Groups accompanied the Special Forces advisors, and they were able to disrupt the flow of the North Vietnamese from the country of Laos into South Vietnam -MacDonald, 627. These men were in charge of most parts of the operation, in a country where leadership had never been encouraged -MacDonald, 628. The United States troops also had many problems directing the civilians because of the language barrier. At the same time the Special Force troops were frustrated in directing their tactics -MacDonald, 628.
At the time of John Kennedy’s assassination there were 16,000 troops that were stationed in Vietnam -Brigham, 1. U.S. policymakers had to face the fact that there still needed to be more troops deployed into Vietnam to maintain the ultimate south
In 1961, Kennedy sent 400 Green Beret soldiers to Saigon to teach South Vietnamese how to fight a war without help from American military troops. Kennedy insisted that it was “their war, to win or loose,” observing that the US favored “whatever helps the war effort.”
Protests , controversy, hippies , Woodstock and a whole lot of deaths. America 's involvement in Vietnam was to hypothetically stop the spread of communism in southeast asia.The united states played a major role in Vietnam aiding the south. In 1961 President Kennedy sent a team to report on condition in Vietnam to dictate if the united states would provide future aid. “December 1961 White Paper” argued for an increase in military, technical, and economic aid, and the introduction of large-scale American advisers to help stabilize the Diem regime and crush the NLF.
the war takes a dramatic turn in August 1964 in the gulf of Tonkin as
United States' Involvement in the Vietnam War There are many reasons for American intervention in Vietnam whether it is political causes, economic causes or military causes. The Americans want to secure capitalism all over the world and get rid of communism. The French used to run Vietnam in a capitalist manner.
One of the initial reasons as to why the Vietnam war started had a lot to do with its long history of colonial oppression, which only strengthened the resolve of those who sought political independence. The United States suffered many deaths while taking part in the war with Vietnam. According to statistical information provided by the National Archives, approximately 58,000 suffered some type of casualty and about 41,000 of which were killed in action (3).
France took control of Vietnam during the 1880's, and that was the first step that led to the Vietnam War in 1955. At first, the Vietnamese attempted to resist the French overruling and try to fight for their independence, but they failed. Later on, after World War II, U.S. President Harry Truman, helped out the French on the battle against Vietnam by giving them money. Although the U.S. assisted the French, Vietnam was able to get their independence back in 1954, and the country got divided in two creating North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The north being the communist side created the National Liberation Front which was ruled by Ho Chi Minh. The south, the democratic side, was supported by the United States.
have to get involved at all. When the French left, it left a void in
On May 7, 1954, Viet Minh forces won the conflict of the Dien Bien Phu and
If one were to think about the war against communism, one might think of the Vietnam Conflict. The Vietnam Conflict built up over the years. While it was under French regulation, Vietnam was later seized by Japan in World War II. However, Ho Chi Minh, an activist for communism, created the Viet Minh and overthrew the Emperor Bao when the Japanese left, effectively letting Viet Minh create the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, France still wanted to control and backed Bao in the southern region. The fight eventually ended with Vietnam being split at the 17th parallel, making Ho the leader of the northern region and Bao the leader of the southern region. In 1956, the citizens wanted to reunite the country, but South Vietnam (Government of the Republic of Vietnam) was then lead by Ngo Dinh Diem, who was anti-communist. As tensions rose in Vietnam, the Cold War was active. Out of fear and hate of communism, in 1955, the United States joined the conflict as a supporter of
In America, most private schools are considered superior to public schools, but in countries like Vietnam, public schools are better than private schools. Every state, country, and person has different traditions and customs. Even states within America also have individual characteristics. My classmates, Hung and Mariana, are both from different places. I am from Florida, Mariana is from Minnesota and Hung is from Vietnam. Despite the fact that Mariana and I live the same country, we still have distinct cultures. Hung also has a particular Vietnamese background. Although Mariana, Hung, and I are part of the same world, we all have distinctive foods, transportation means, and community values.
1949 was a appalling year for the USA. The USA was no longer the only
Known as the land of opportunities, America is full of wealthy individuals. Thousands American families go on vacation to an exotic, or foreign place such as Vietnam each year, however many people underestimate the uniqueness, of these places and get manipulated, or get hit with a huge culture shock. Understanding the differences between America and Vietnam, will help people keep them from getting disoriented in this foreign world.
Why USA Became Involved in Vietnam Before the Second World War, the region between India and China which now includes Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos was part of the French Empire. During the Second World War, however, Japan controlled Vietnam. After the war, the French tried to take over again but a communist group, the Vietminh wanted independence.
By the end of 1960, 2,500 government functionaries and other real and imagined enemies of the VC were assassinated (Vietnam War--Britannica Online Encyclopedia, n.d.). In 1961, John F. Kennedy took office as President of the United States. President Kennedy had other issues he was focused on for his first year in office. These issues included the Berlin Wall being built and the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba (Vietnam War--Britannica Online Encyclopedia, n.d.). between the years of 1960 to 1962, the number of communist cadres had risen from 4,000 to 12,900. Many of them were members of the Communist Party. Weapons and ammunition were sent down the Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnam War--Britannica Online Encyclopedia, n.d.). The United States provided the soldiers of the People’s Liberation Armed Forces with
The first troops from the U.S. had boots on ground in Vietnam in 1961, when President Kennedy sent 400 Green Berets as “Special Advisors” to South Vietnam (Guilmartin, 1991). For the next three years U.S. advisors encouraged the South Vietnamese to vehemently pursue the war against the Viet Cong, it was not until the Gulf of Tonkin incident (under the Johnson administration) in 1964, that the U.S. would take an active combat role in Vietnam. By 1965 there were approximately 184,000 American troops in Vietnam and that number steadily grew until the end of the war reaching 537,000 troops stationed there.