The Vietnam War: A Short Story

In her book The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, author Marilyn Young examines the series of political and military struggles between the United States and Vietnam, a nation that has been distinctively separated as the South and the North. Young chooses to express the daily, weekly, monthly progresses of the affairs collectively called the Vietnam Wars, focusing on the American interventions in the foreign soil. She seeks to provide an answer to a question that has haunted the world for years: What was the reason behind the United States interfering in the internal affairs of a foreign country in which it had no claims at all? Young discloses the overt as well as covert actions undertaken by the U.S. government officials regarding the foreign affairs with Vietnam and the true nature of the multifaceted objectives of each and every person that’s involved had.

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.

The Vietnam War started in 1945, resulting in almost 60,000 American deaths and nearly two million Vietnamese deaths, according to Mintze. Years after combat countless Vietnam veterans suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder in every aspect of their lives (Price). Posttraumatic stress disorder is an illness that can happen to anyone who has gone through a horrifying experience. It has been documented in all forms of literature and films the brutality of the war and the side effects it came with. The history of Vietnam is quite long and winding and leaves one to question its purpose (Mintze).

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.

“The war in vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit.” Martin Luther King, Jr. once said. The Vietnam War was considered one of America’s greatest defeats of all time. Not only did the US failed to stop the spread of communism, but they also embarrassed this country as a whole with the outcome of this war. The overall outcome from this war will be remembered for years to come. In this essay, I will be talking about how the United States would have won the Vietnam war if the home front was for the war, if the the US was more familiar with the land, and the U.S.’s goal was not successful.

My heart pounded against my ribs. My throat was dry, but I had no one to talk to through the harrowing experience that I had just endured. My backpack not only weighed down my body, but also my morale. I looked around, but there was nobody in sight. Purposefully twisted metal and bright green trees encompassed me. I knew where I was. But I was lost.

His foot softly touched the podium and the crowd quickly changed into dead silent. Many people came to the funeral in memory of their lost ones that died in the big war. “Four score and seven years ago” was the sound that broke the sacred dead silence. I stood there in the ice weather, my tears running down quickly and freezing onto my cheeks. I lost my twelve brothers fighting against each other, brother vs. brother. The war was over, but the war inside wasn't. Everyone standing at the speech was hurt and both sides came to realize that war doesn't solve anything, but it just makes things worse.

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.

In the 1950's, the United States had begun to send troops to Vietnam and during the following 25-year period, the ensuing war would create some of the strongest tensions in US history. Almost 3 million US men and women were sent thousands of miles to fight for what was a questionable cause. In total, it is estimated that over 2 million people on both sides were killed.

Everyday and night, James looks out of his cottage thinking about the days when Lucy and him would pick daisies and watch scary movies. Lucy has been missing for 3 years he would do anything for her to be back. James hears a soft knock on his door before a yellow folder slips under the entrance. He bends down curiously to read the words written in blood “Lucy 4 Machine – 47 Drover Drive, Dandenong”. The hairs on his arm stand up like a cobra ready to kill. He leaps up the stairs into his office and sits in his business chair, staring directly at his industrial safe. Within this little box is the power to either power the country 25 years technically in advance, or this small cube could destroy a continent and start a war that would last for decades. James has no clue on what he should do, His high school sweet heart or keep a multimillion-dollar object that could change the world. He points to the sky and whispers, “I am coming for you baby.”

“Dad told me not to judge combat veterans. Until I experienced combat, I couldn’t understand the emotions that come from battle.”

All I could hear was screaming and crashing of bombs as if rock were hurled upon rock against the apartment building. I had just enough time to glance out the window, only to find our city of New York in ruins; the Manhattan Bridge was collapsed and the Empire State Building