The War Had A Deep Impact On The American Veterans And Our Society

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.

The Vietnam War had a tremendous effect on the world, especially the United States. Not only did the war affect people in battle, but also left permanent effects on people all over the world. Over 57,000 U.S. citizens died and over 140,000 injured in battle. Multiple Americans were impacted by the war, vast amount of people died but more were injured. North Vietnam won the battle against South Vietnam and their allies. The Fall of Saigon in 1975 was the end of a gruesome war. The war had multiple long-term effects on the soldiers who fought for America.

The Vietnam War was a nightmare for many soldiers. It re-defined the meaning of war to an entire generation. As the conflict grew it became known around the world that this was a war that could not be won. After this was realized by America the main focus became to "get out" instead of "getting a victory". In the 2002 film We Were Soldiers, directed by Randall Wallace, a true account of the first major battle in Vietnam is given. At the beginning of the film he introduces to us many of the soldiers and their families. This is a very smart technique, because it ensures that the audience not only will care about each one, but also tell them apart. Wallace exemplifies

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.

The Vietnam War was a violent and costly war that needed many men to fight for its cause. These men are now known as the Vietnam veterans. Numerous veterans who fought in the war were injured or lost a comrade during battle. These soldiers fought to protect the United States and its people while risking their own lives. A lot of these brave men were either killed or injured and did not gain the

The Vietnam War was a major controversy for the United States compared to World War 1 and World War 2. With both of the previous wars that the United States had been a major part of they had brought the people of the country together to fight  and work hard to show their support to the soldiers that were fighting. During these two wars we saw the rise of women in the workforce as they came into the picture of taking the jobs that the men held while they went away to fight in the way. And then there was the avid signing up to fight. Men as young as teenagers signing up to fight in both of these wars. The difference is that with the Vietnam War it was met with disdain from the public and also the soldiers as well. With this war people

The Vietnam war was an absolutely brutal time in American history. The war lasted for the majority of the 1960s and left many young men dead. The short story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and the film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam give us just a glance into the war by giving using the three themes of fear, pressures, and blame/guilt to embody the concept of war and how it absolutely changes a person. War not only destroys countries, but it destroys people.

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 are called terrible names, spit on, and generally discriminated. Maurice Robinson commented on this time during a recent festival commemorating the Vietnam War. “No respect for what you did. Nobody wanted to talk to you or congratulate you- sometimes not even your family. So a lotta guys got rid of their uniforms, threw ‘em in the closet and went on with their lives. A lot of ‘em are still trying to get their lives together today” (Sherr 22). Veterans were not thanked for their service and many are looked down upon by their participation in the Vietnam War. This treatment had a huge impact of the Vietnam veterans and their families. Pervis Crowe reflects upon this in Vietnam: Homecoming. “If we’d come home in different circumstances than we did, my life wouldn’t be the way it is now.”

The impact of the Vietnam War upon the soldiers who fought there was huge. The experience forever changed how they would think and act for the rest of their lives. One of the main reasons for this was there was little to no understanding by the soldiers as to why they were fighting this war. They felt they were killing innocent people, farmers, poor hard working people, women, and children were among their victims. Many of the returning soldiers could not fall back in to their old life styles. First they felt guilt for surviving many of their brothers in arms. Second they were haunted by the atrocities of war. Some soldiers could not go back to the mental state of peacetime. Then there were soldiers Tim O’Brien meant while in

“All men are treated equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit Of Happiness.” (Creating the Declaration of independence) This quote was taken from the Declaration of Independence. In the quote they are stating that all men are to be treated equally. Yet, this did not happen to the soldiers in the Vietnam War. The purpose of the Vietnam War was an attempt to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States attempting to prevent the spread of communism. The soldiers who had fought in the previous wars, found parades, bands, speeches, and celebrations. It was not the same for the Vietnam soldiers. The Vietnam war revolutionized the world

Imagine walking around in a densely overgrown forest. The weather is so hot and humid that the clothing sticks to skin and it feels as though there is a thin film covering the entirety of the body. It rains often and the worst part is that everyone is are carrying around eighty-five pounds of equipment on their backs at all times. These conditions were extremely common for most of the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War in the 1960’s. The Vietnam war began because the United States government wanted to protect the South Vietnamese government from being overtaken by the communist government of the North Vietnamese. Most American citizens did not even understand why we were fighting the war and the war itself was not heavily supported. The

One way that Vietnam soldiers were mistreated was when they returned home from Vietnam, no one was appreciative of their service, and

The Vietnam War was hard for the country to handle, let alone a single soldier. Many soldiers dealt with different personal and physiological effects of this war. This war in Vietnam was different than any of the other wars. This war was unconventional, when we first entered it was more about the fight against the spread of communism then slowly changed over the years. Going into Vietnam was different in all senses from battle conditions, weather, and heavy jungle environment. During the war some soldiers were willing to go and fight and others were not and opposed the war. The majority of the United States public did not oppose this war until it seemed like a battle that could never be won in the long run time

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