The War Of The Vietnam War Essay

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.

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.

The first American troops arrived in Danang, South Vietnam on 8th March, 1965. The troops’ mission was to defend the American airfield from the Viet Cong insurgents. However, their mission gradually extended to defensive patrolling and later on taking the offensive. As such, the number of US troops swelled to 184,300 by the end of the year and by1969, the number of American soldiers had swelled to 543,000. Correspondingly, opposition against the mission, which was previously minimal, rose magnanimously. In April 1967, a crowd of over 100,00 people marched from Central Park to the United Nations Buildings to ask for the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. By this time, over 8,000 American troops had been lost in the war. Following the protests, six Vietnam Veterans, among those who had returned home formed the organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). They wanted the government to “bring their brothers back home.”

The SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) gave perspective into the mindset of Washington University students during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. These students would provide demonstrations and opinions that would impact the social environment and activities of a time of confusion and political un-justification. Many returning Vietnam Veterans and students would take action during the anti-war era. As the war had continued, the public had changed their views of the war becoming aggressive and unsupportive to what they felt was a lost cause. After reviewing several leaflets and newspapers written by students of Washington University, demonstrations of their ideas and involvement during the anti-Vietnam War movement would give considerable detail to this era. “Peace on Earth” “G.I Movement Past and Present,” and “A US Infantry Squad Just Came through Here,” all provided evidence that civilians and military would not continue to support the war and take action regarding it.

The Vietnam war was a very hard and emotional time for many people. From the vietnamese to the u.s., the vietnam war was a tradgedy. People said that the vietnam war had been the longest lasting battle that took place in the cold war. The whole thing started because the vietnamese wasnted to have their independence. They no longer wanted to be under the control of france. France did not want to give up the land that they had ruled for years. France was getting supplies and goods from vietnam so they didnt want to give it up so they fought for it. Ho Chi Minh was vietnams president as you can say he was in control of north vietnam. He wanted vietnam to be a communist country much like the soviet union.

During the1950s North Vietnam was controlled by the Viet Cong (a National Liberation Front.) The Viet Cong were bullying South Vietnam, trying to make them a communist. Most of society will not stand up for the weaker person in a bully situation. The United States is not most of society; they believe you mess with someone your own size. Many people have different views on the Vietnam War: was the war necessary, was the war worth all the sacrifices of American troops lives, what was the United States moral obligation to oppose communism, and what ethics did the Presidents of the United States abide by when fighting Vietcong.

How effective were the Vietcong tactics of underground tunnels and booby traps in the Vietnam War?

A common mistake among the general public is to talk about the Vietnam War. Technically, it never was declared a war; President Johnson never asked for a declaration of war. It was called the Vietnamese Conflict. He instead only asked for a resolution that would give him the authority to take "all necessary measures to repel any armed attack" against U.S. forces and "to prevent further aggression" (Dougherty). So, with this kind of all-powerful resolution, was there even a necessity for declaring war? Some believe there was a necessity, and that there should have been a declaration of war; others would disagree and say there was no need for a declaration of war. But who really knows the right answer? That question can only be answered on

The Vietnam War was a war between the Capitalist United States and the Communist North Vietnamese army. This war started in 1964 and it ended in 1975, when the US withdrew its soldiers. The US joined the war to stop the spreading of Communism, because they didn’'t want Russia to gain more allies, as they had been in a cold war with them for years.

The responses from the allied troops were mainly of hatred for the very harsh yet beautiful environment and an ambiguous response to the Vietnamese people. It is understandable the grudge troops held against a gruesome environment shrouded with innumerable killings in an alien culture, but the brutal racial discrimination perpetrated by Americans was still very prejudicial. There were, however, acts of kindness and charity to Vietnamese, yet at the same time, these glimpses of humanity were overshadowed by the greater bloody conflict. The varying responses of the allies were clearly evident through well-known films, stories and writers.

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.

have to get involved at all. When the French left, it left a void in

Prior to the start of our study of the Vietnam Era, I thought that I knew quite a bit about the Vietnam War and the overall time period. But after listening to some guest speakers and reading Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, I discovered that I knew hardly anything, and that most of what I did know was pretty much insignificant. These past weeks were not only extremely educating, but it was also very interesting. I learned more than I ever thought I would, mostly through the people that know it best, those who lived through it.

During the research for our sixth essay about Vietnam, I was surprised by how much I learned by looking at just one website. The Vietnam war took place between 1954 and 1975. This war caused many changes regarding the American wars to come. There were many different people and weapons used to fight this war. I found most of my information in the Guerrilla section of the given website.

Vietnam During World War II Between 1939-1945 The Vietnamese guerrillas (Viet Minh) had been fighting the French and the Japanese. Before the Second World War the French ruled Vietnam, then the Japanese took over, when this happened the communist leader Ho Chi Minh who set up the Vietminh in 1945 fought the Japanese and defeated them. When the Japanese were defeated the French tried to rule Vietnam again, Ho Chi Minh fought them also, however the Americans supported the French because they did not want Vietnam to become communist under Ho Chi Minh. However Ho Chi Minh also overcame the French.