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.

The Vietnam War that commenced on November 1, 1955, and ended on April 30, 1975, took the soldiers through a devastating experience. Many lost their lives while others maimed as the war unfolded into its full magnitude. The book Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam by Bernard Edelman presents a series of letters written by the soldiers to their loved ones and families narrating the ordeals and experiences in the Warfield. In the book, Edelman presents the narrations of over 200 letters reflecting the soldiers’ experiences on the battlefield. While the letters were written many decades ago, they hold great significance as they can mirror the periods and the contexts within which they were sent. This paper takes into account five letters from different timelines and analyzes them against the events that occurred in those periods vis a vis their significance. The conclusion will also have a personal opinion and observation regarding the book and its impacts.

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

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

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.

Gonyea, D. (2014). LBJ Legacy: Vietnam War Often Overshadows Civil Rights Feat. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/2014/04/09/300836769/civil-rights-act-anniversary-may-polish-lbj-s-image

Imagine one day you receive a mail from the government that you been draft to go a war at a different country. How would you feel if you know that purpose of this war is unreasonable in any senses? Angry, anxious or even confused. Vietnam War was “a personal failure on a national scale” (Hochgesang). There are many videos, documents and movies about the Vietnam War that show different angles of the Vietnam veterans’ experience and how the war really changes their life. In “The Things They Carried” written by Tim O’Brien, he argues about how the Vietnam War affect the soldiers in many ways, not only physically, but more important is the psychological effects before, during and after the war.

Wars are a difficult place to be. “THE VIETNAM WAR transformed a generation” (Roberts 1). With all that happened during the war such as exposure to

Vietnam was an entirely new type of war for the United States. It still remains morally and historically problematic in today’s society. The Vietnam War had a tremendous impact on American society and culture, primarily because it was the first war to be televised. The American press played a significant

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.

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.

A few years back while on vacation in Santo Domingo, I overheard a conversation between three American men who were sitting at a table behind me in a local restaurant. Their discussion peeked my interest because they were to talking about World War II and the Vietnam War, which happens to be a couple of my favorite topics of study, more specially they spoke on the foreign policies that dictated these wars. As their conversation progressed I discovered the names of these gentleman; George, Booker and Jack. George seemed to be the leader of the party, listening to him reminded me of a military general, he believed that America’s foreign policy should be to provide leadership throughout the world so it can maintain global stability. Booker’s opinion was different; his thoughts gave way to ideas of America working alongside other countries to resolve international problems and crises. Jack’s logic was unlike his friends, he believed that the United States should stop interfering in international affairs, reason being that the US is exploiting countries around the globe.

Many contemporary American artists address an extensive variety of themes significant to their adopted country while some focus on issues relevant to their country of origin like the subject of war . War has been considered as a major theme, and it’s reality is a great inspiration in writing and has created endless creativity for artists. In particular, the Vietnamese-American artist Dinh Q. Lê often chooses the subject of the Vietnam war to express his thoughts, concerns, and the message of peace in his artworks. Dinh Le and his family had lived through the Vietnam war (1975) and then he immigrated to Los Angeles at age 10 in order to avoid the fight between Vietnamese troops and Cambodian Khmer Rouge, and then started pursuing art in the U.S. Although he was far away from his country, his art seemed like he could not escape from Vietnam’s long-lasting conflict. Therefore, he decided to study photography, then got a Master 's degree at the School of Visual Arts(New York), but he still sometimes had a feeling of living in exile in a sense of ambiguousness. He calmed himself down by participating in some meetings with American veterans; however, he was not satisfied with the single voice from one side which was based on their memories from the Vietnam war, and not hearing any voices from the Vietnam side of the conflict. As a result, he decided to research the history of the war to get a deeper understanding of his country’s struggles. And the Vietnam( American) war

We safely made it to a forested section about halfway up the mountain and I questioned if anybody had to take a piss. They all shook their heads and sat down to take a rest, leaving me to be the only one who actually had to use the restroom. I walked about 200 yards away looking for a place with little animal markings to not upset their homes. At this distance the boys were completely out of view and hearing range unless they yelled at the top of their lungs.