The first person I interviewed was my grandma and she was very passionate about her answers. By the time the war started, she was about thirty-three years old, right after her husband had died. She used to live in Coatesville where she worked as a secretary at a dairy factory, but during the war, she was moved to work as a secretary at a plant that made missiles, that were used in combat. She didn’t necessarily agree or disagree with the war, she just wanted to protect her children; however, she did believe that the people who were in the protest movements needed to grow up and change their attitude. She also believes that everyone should serve at least two years in the service, so she didn’t think that the drafting process was wrong. She also told me that she thinks that Johnson and Nixon could have done more and should have stuck out it out in the war until it was really over. She believes that we should have used more bombs in Vietnam, but she didn’t think nuclear bombs were entirely necessary. Overall, she thinks that our actions should have been thought out more and that the United States could have done a better job at what they were doing. The second …show more content…
My grandma didn’t really have a view on the war because it didn’t affect her that much; however, in my uncle’s case, since he saw combat, he was scarred physically and mentally by what he saw. People didn’t disrespect my grandma for working at a plant but they disrespected my uncle for fighting to protect his country. He told me he regretted not wearing his uniform home and that he felt he didn’t come home as a soldier. He is thankful that the United States is treating their soldiers and veterans better now. My grandma and my uncle both have similar and different opinions about the war, but after overseeing both interviews, I can draw to a close that both believe that we need to learn from our
In the middle 1960s, every male in America had to register for Selective Service Draft at age 18. He would then be eligible for the draft and could be inducted into the Army for a period of two years. If you were a college student, you could receive a deferment and would be able to finish college without the fear of being drafted. However, once finished with college, a students name would be put to the very top of the draft list and could be deployed at anytime. The anti-war movement was about young men being drafted and then sent into war that most Americans did not believe threatened the security of the US. The Vietnam War was America’s rebellious war, a war without popular support
He feels Yanagi’s pain through the connection but he does not draw attention to it. To be in the heat of a powerplay game such as the one boiling over in Konoha right now is a moment of extreme delicacy and ruthlessness; attachments are withheld, persons numbed down. The rampant mentality is this: eliminate those who are likely to get in one’s way, even if they are friends, or valuable allies. Nobody who lived through the Warring States Era would be unfamiliar with this tenet: do what must be done. And if Tobirama was forced to choose among the Yamanaka twins, he would keep Yanagi alive, simply because she is now the more valuable of the two, even though Yanagi herself and most definitely, not Osamu, would admit it. For to dabble in politics is to know who has value, worth and utility, and who do not.
I have learned a lot about what life was like at the time of the Vietnam War by interviewing my grandfather. My grandfather, Franklin Torr, was living in Dover, NH at the time, in his late thirties, married, and had three young children. The Vietnam War impacted my grandfather’s life in a unique way. One aspect of his life that changed at the start of the war was that a lot of his tenants, in the mobile home he owned, were in the New Hampshire National Guard and were stationed in Vietnam, flying missions, and some were advisors. He said the following about them; “Of the tenants that fought in the war, they thought they were doing the right thing at the time” When asked if he could provide a story of one of his Vietnam War veterans, he said that not a lot of them liked to talk about their war experiences in depth, two of his tenants that served in Vietnam died in Vietnam. One of his former classmates was a Marine Colonel, one thing he remembers this man mentioning was; “the troops did a great job while they were there”. The most shocking thing that he remembers from this
The Vietnam War started on the 1st November 1955, however full U.S military involvement was not until over ten years later in 1965 following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in which a U.S Destroyer was reportedly fired upon by North Vietnamese forces. Once again, as with the Korean War five years previous, the North part of the country was the Communists and the South part was the Capitalists. The Vietnam War was a lot more forthcoming than the Korean War, given the ten year period in which military advisers resided in Vietnam before the outbreak. Despite this build up the interest in Vietnam by war correspondents was at a minimal level. It is reported that even in 1963, just two years prior to the full involvement of the U.S military, there were only enough full-time correspondents to fill a table at a restaurant . The lack of media personnel in the country until 1965 shows that despite the indications shown in Korea for the USA to protect their interests, there is not much pull unless there is a full military involvement. The number of correspondents around in Vietnam before 1965 was at a measly eight. However, signifying the size of the war, the peak number in March 1968 hit 645 correspondents in Vietnam . Amongst this number saw a large quantity of female correspondents make their way to Vietnam. In all 467 women were accredited to being correspondents during the war, the most ever in any war . This may have been as a result of the
The root of the questions regarding Vietnam War is why did so many soldiers come home from this war so drastically transformed? Coleman addresses, in the early years of the war, volunteers filled most of the ranks. As the war continued and the public became more aware of the inhumanity the government implemented a draft (Coleman 66). Statics show the poor led this war and very few wealthy were recruited (Coleman 67). Coleman claims, the average age of the soldiers who died were seventeen and twenty-one (68). She writes this certainly contributed to the psychological wounds (68).
Vietnam was so significant to the United States partly as it would be the first war they would lose. It also had a tremendous financial impact on the country and the casualties were also more in the public eye than ever before due to the media. They learnt that: "a long war for limited objectives, with its steady stream of body bags, will not be supported by the American people" (Martino, 1996, p37). Some suggest that the US should have avoided any involvement in the war.
The Vietnam War was one of the longest wars that went on history. It lasted from November 1955- April 1975. According to Historynet, 58,200 members of the U.S. military were killed in the Vietnam War. All for what exactly? In my own opinion, I do not think the U.S. should have gotten involved. Our country is always concerned with being the “big brother” to all countries. When in all reality, this war was no concern of our own. It was between South Vietnam, and North Vietnam. This war goes down in history as the only war the U.S. has yet to lose. All of that could have been avoided, had we just stayed out of others controversy.
My great grandfather served in world war 11. My grandfather served as a navy ship captain he was not fighting for our country at the time but still was there and ready too battle at in minutes notice. My great grandfather was just 17 when he went into service. He never signed up for the army he was just thrown into was right out of high-school. My great grandfather's name was Robert Nicols my grandfather's name was Boyd Teeter. My grandfather Boyd signed up for the army and got lucky enough to not half to actually fight.
37. Was their anything that your brothers or sisters said when you saw them that stands out?
The Vietnam War was certainly controversial. There were many protests that erupted across college campuses and throughout numerous town and cities. Many individuals viewed the war as unnecessary and unwinnable. The draft was also very widely criticized and seen as a negative point in the war. The draft was forcing young college students to go fight in dangerous territory. The most controversial aspect of the Vietnam War is certainly that it was deemed unwinnable by the US government, but they still chose to remain in Vietnam and fight. Why was the Vietnam War unwinnable though? Was it actually unwinnable or did the US government
Even the soldiers didn 't always feel like they were fighting for a cause. David Parks, a veteran writes “I never felt that I was fighting for any particular cause. I fought to stay alive, and I killed to keep from being killed.” (Parks) Unlike other wars, where soldiers were viewed as heroes, the Vietnam War veterans were treated with disdain and disrespect when they returned home. Stories emerged of atrocities and torture of the Vietnamese. “It was the first war in which the US failed to meet its objectives. It was also the first time America failed to welcome its veterans back as heroes.” (va.gov) Perhaps the worst aspect of the war was the treatment of the returning soldiers. “Unlike the hero status given to the returning soldiers from World War II, the soldiers that served in Vietnam were portrayed as baby killers, psychos, drug addicts and war mongers” (Moffett). They were active combatants one day and the next day veterans returning to a hostile civilian home environment (va.gov). Many veterans were physically attacked by those who opposed the war (va.gov). David Parks also writes “The white guy who sold me my ticket at the airport gave me some really dirty looks. He pitched my ticket at me like I was dirt.”(Parks) Often, returning soldiers were confronted at airports by protesters carrying anti-war signs and slogans (Moffett). The protesters would attack the soldiers and even threw urine at the veterans (Moffett).
Another story is “On the Rainy River", which talks about a young guy getting into Harvard to finish school, but before the school year starts he receive a draft letter (O’Brien 172). He doesn't agree with the war or really know that much about the war (O’Brien 173). He thinks of fleeing to Canada to avoid going to the war (O’Brien 174). In the end he goes back home and honors the draft because he doesn't want to be ridiculed by family, friends or neighbors for not going to war (O’Brien 187). I think most of my family wouldn’t care one way or another about honoring the draft. If my mom was still here I think she will love me no matter the decision I make. I wish she was still here so I could ask her what I should do. I think if I end up going
This paper will be explaining the similarities, and differences, between the Vietnam War and the War in Afghanistan. There are many topics that bring these two wars together. However, I am only going to be talking about public support, policy objectives, military strategy, weapons, fighting spirit, links to home, and death totals. These topics have a lot of information about them, but there is too much to write about every little detail, so I will cover the broad overview of them. Each paragraph will be about one of the topics. There will also be a discussion about insurgencies and counter insurgency operations. These are two big topics in Vietnam and Afghanistan since almost all of the enemy in both wars were, and are, comprised of insurgents and different types of militia groups.
The Vietnam War started on November 1, 1955. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era. Those that went into the war zone suffered, not only from wounds but also from a variety of jungle diseases and malnutrition. One of the few sources of clean water came from water purification tanks at Vietnamese refugee camps.Preventive medicine teams worked to control rodent and insect infestations, spray for malarial mosquitoes, and purify unclean water.
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