The War Of The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war that involved the United States and it greatly impacted the United States. Some even compare this war to that of the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan. The Vietnam War lasted from November 1, 1955 until April 30, 1975. It was a cold war that took place in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao. North Vietnam backed by the Soviet Union was on one side against the opposing side of South Vietnam backed by the US, Philippines, and other non-communist countries. Between 1960 and 1973, many antiwar movements in the United States arose which consisted of many people who were united in the common cause to resist the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. They strongly believed that a war in Vietnam was clearly unjust and led to the United States’ decision to eventually withdrawn its troops from the war.

Interestingly enough, on the topic of being involved in such protests, Pat and Ray seemed to have similar, yet different answers. Pat grew around the time of the start of the war, in the 50s. She claims to not have remembered protests nor participated. “I didn’t remember many protests going on at the time, not like there is today.” Ray, unlike Pat, grew up in the 60s, when our society started to actively protest the war and voice its opinions. He did not participate in the protests, but often heard of them.”There was tons across all the nation. Because I wore the uniform, I didn’t think it was right. Because I wore the uniform of the United States Army.” Since the Vietnam War spans three different generations, we can see the reflections of our society as it changed, through Pat and Ray’s

In December 1965, a group of adults and school children gathered in Des Moines, Iowa. They met to discuss ways to voice their opposition to America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. They eventually decided to wear black armbands with the peace symbol for the remainder of the holiday season. They also decided to fast, meaning live without eating, on December 16 and New Year’s Eve.

The Vietnam War began in 1955, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the nation witnessed large protests against the war. A process called the draft sent many men over to fight against the communists in Vietnam. This “draft” meant that many men would not have a choice about whether or not they wanted to participate in the war. The U.S. government made that determination for them. Twenty years of combat, in some of the worst conditions possible, resulted in the loss of many American soldiers. There were many protests in the United States that helped open the nations eye towards protesting and how protests affect the war. The Kent State massacre was a big turning point for protests, it made many Americans see that the protests were not just hippies, and people of drug culture spreading peace, but a powerful movement to

In 1965 the movement began to gain national prominence. Aggressive actions by police and protesters turned the anti-war demonstrations in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention into a riot. News reports of American military abuses, such as the 1968 My Lai Massacre, brought new attention and support to the anti-war movement bringing it to its height. The movement continued to prosper over the span of the conflict.

The Vietnam War, deploying 2.5 million troops and lasting 10 years made it one of the largest wars in United States history. Allegedly, the war started after two navy ships were fired at off of the banks of Vietnam. The questionable attack would foreshadow a very misunderstood and questioned war to come. The United State’s army would be tested in just how strong they were, some 58,000 men were killed and almost double that were severely disabled. This was humiliating to the United States, a great world power at the time, and tensions grew as the war went on. Robert F. Kennedy mentioned the severity of the war in one of his speeches, “For years we have been told that the measure of our success and progress in Vietnam was

Between 1964 and 1975 the heightened tensions over the Vietnam war caused many americans to become divided on the actions taken by the government across seas. Americans questioned whether the government could be trusted. The feeling of betrayal and government secrecy created the “Credibility Gap,” in which many americans believed that the government no longer was for the people, but for anything else that would benefit the government. The Vietnam War exacerbated the gap between the pro-war traditionalists and anti-war liberals along with an increase in military action, causing controversy over government spending; as a whole these factors established a sense of distrust between the American government and its people.

In the month of December of 1967, near Tam Quan in Vietnam, troops on a foot patrol from D-1-12 were on their way back to camp. While crossing a vulnerable spot in a rice paddy, the wood-line suddenly opened up with intense small arms fire in an all-out ambush on their position. Low on ammo, and with almost no cover, they radioed for assistance. The small infantry platoon hunkered as low to the ground as possible in what appeared to be the final moments of their lives, when suddenly the wood-line erupted into a cacophony of explosions, and out of nowhere a Chinook appeared. "At first, I thought it was our Admin/Log Bird who 'd tragically picked the wrong time to do re-supply, but that worry vanished when I realized it was coming to a

Another big difference in this war was that the Vietnam War was had more disapproval and was more expressive within the American public, unlike the Korean War. The ANITWAR MOVEMENT started in the 1960s this group was never enacted until this era. There was not a group like this in Vietnam, but there were many groups that opposed the war. The main object of these revolts was the American military presence in Indochina. The ANITWAR MOVEMENT caused an influence not only socially, but also in the realm of television, which indirectly had influence in the war as well. The television played a big role in how the influence of the ANITWAR MOVEMENT and how important it became for the era itself. The ANITWAR MOVEMENT truly had one of the most intense effects on the war and how it was viewed for the American public. For example, “it served as a network of communication through which people in one part of the country discovered that others elsewhere shared their feelings about the war, and saw how they could demonstrate those feelings publicly” (164). The ANITWAR MOVEMENT main concern was to convince the American public that the war should be stopped at all cost. Their message was being sent out through many television providers, which would reach the American public.

Throughout the 1960’s, the United States of America was in the midst of change, advancements, and struggle. It was America vs. the Soviet Union, always trying to one up each other in both weaponry and space technology, but the main conflict was the spread of Communism. As the battle between Communists and Non-Communists raged on, America attempted to do everything in its power to stop the spread of communism all around the world. This is what lead to the gruesome war that lasted over a decade in Vietnam. A great deal of social changed happened all over the world, but particularly in America as the Vietnam War dragged on. As people became more aware of the atrocities going on in Southeast Asia, the endless domestic support turned into

The Vietnam War started in 1955 and continued until 1975.The United States involvement in the war was to stop the spread of communism. They wanted to make sure that communism stayed contained in South Vietnam and did not spread to other Countries. The Involvement in the war also had huge side effects on the United States political and cultural standpoints. The Antiwar Movement, Martin Luther King jrs outlook on the whole situation, social movements, and the Counterculture aspect were all results from the United States involvement in the war.

In the United States, we learned about how we beat the British during the Revolutionary War, even before we were a country. How we jumped in during WWI to help bring it to an end. Also, how we raided the shores of Omaha to save Europe from Hitler, and drop nukes on Japan. We learned how we beat the Soviet Union so hard during the Cold War that they don’t even exist anymore. One war that America does not seem to talk about is the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a proxy war during the Cold War, but it is always swept aside. The Vietnam War divided the U.S. as the war continued throughout the years. The U.S. shouldn’t have been involved in the Vietnam War because the Domino Theory was not correct.

The Vietnam War (1954-1975) was one of the most publicized wars of all time and was what they called the first “television war.” It was a prolonged conflict that eroded the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States (Britannica). This war lasted nearly 20 years and was by no means a cheap or peaceful war, more than 3 million people, including 58,000 American soldiers, were killed which lead to the U.S. forces withdrawing in 1973. The war was costing the U.S. some $25 billion per year (History). Veterans were highly mistreated when they returned from the war.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, the Vietnam was the most talked about issue of the time. Due to the high number of American casualties, and the troubling images that were broadcast on the nightly news networks, the opposition of the war rose drastically. Many argue that the climax of the anti-war opposition occurred in May of 1970 on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. It was during an anti-war protest that the Ohio National Guard opened fired on the crowd, killing four students. The country, torn apart by the war, saw the support for the soldiers decrease. In the years that followed Kent, President Nixon began to bring troops home from Vietnam. Expecting a hero’s welcome back to the states, similar to what their parents had received following WWII; Vietnam Veterans received quite the opposite. At airports that soldiers were returning to, many protests occurred, shaming the soldiers for their actions during the war. Many of the veterans returning home Vietnam found it hard to find work because too many people had developed a hatred for them due to the war. Congress confronted the growing problem of discrimination against these Veterans by taking action in 1974.

Anti Vietnam demonstrations was one of the most important and influential American anti-war movements. Throughout the sixties, as the war drew on, more and more Americans grew weary at both the growing casualty count and the escalating costs. People began persistently pressuring American politicians and other leaders to reconsider the war efforts and advocated for the unilateral removal of U.S troops from Southern Vietnam.