Vietnam Veterans Against The 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.

One of the first antiwar groups to come about during the 1960s was the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). This group assembled in 1967 and brought veterans from previous wars to fight against the actions of Vietnam. Unity and patriotism toward the war now shifted to the efforts of the men and women who marched to get out of the Vietnam era. In Andrew Hunt’s book, The Turning: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, he discusses how the group came about and how these veterans saw the opposite side of the war. One of the veterans in the group stated, “It’s not democracy we brought to Vietnam- it’s anticommunism…Anticommunism is a lousy substitute for democracy.” Yet again, one could see how the word communism could trigger Americans into thinking that the Vietnam

The United States, the most powerful army in the world at the time of the war. The Vietnamese war started in November 1, 1955 and ended in 1975. To many people it was one of the most pointless wars in the United States history. It was like the country was split during the war. There was many protest against the some of which that drew blood. So why did the United States join the Vietnamese war. What was the impact on American society, the people of America. What was the impact of war on the United States foreign policy. The foreign policy determines how America conducts relations with other countries, further certain goals. So why did the United States join the war, what was the impact of the war on America society, and what was the impact of the war on the United States foreign policy.

Veterans from the war even made groups that opposed the war. These soldiers formed an organization called Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). This organization held a purpose, this was to form a voice for the opposition to bring home our military men and woman in the ongoing war in Vietnam, this organization had over 28,000 members across the United States as well as active military personnel in Vietnam. Through the actions of the organization, they exposed the real truth about the United States involvement in Vietnam and veterans real life experiences, which made America realize how unjust this war was. VVAW was created in retrospect to the vast majority of veterans with PTSD because of Vietnam. Agent Orange, a chemical that U.S. used during the war had effects on our veterans. The U.S. government used over 15 million gallons of herbicides during the war to destroy plants and trees, not understanding that soldiers used

“In August of 1964, in response to the American and GVN espionage along its coast, the DRV launched a local and controlled attack against C. Turner Joy and the U.S.S. Maddox , two American ships on call in the Gulf of Tonkin” (Brigham 2). This resulted in the United States government giving Lyndon Johnson the ability to make war under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. President Johnson then gave orders to perform air raids on Northern Vietnam pushing the United States further into the war. Compared to 1962 when only 9,000 soldiers supported the South Vietnamese, by June 1965 82,000 soldiers occupied the country. The number only continued to rise exponentially, and by 1966 370,000 soldiers had been sent in to prop their South Vietnam allies. President Richard Nixon withdrew American soldiers from Vietnam and as part of the “vietnamization” of the war. Over and 60,000 American soldiers had been lost in a war to preserve the status quo, not to win.

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

Veterans coming home had to face many different situations. Most veterans who came home did not receive the welcome they had deserved. Some veterans were homeless and unemployed after coming home. An organization called the Vietnam Veterans against the War or the VVAW tried to help the soldiers coming home. The organization allowed veterans to talk about their experiences to them and also tried to get the veterans to talk to the public (Rivers 646-648). The VVAW helped the veterans throughout the war. Many veterans who came home had emotional trauma or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The United States citizens did not want to remember the war or the brave men who fought in it (Rivers 646-647). Very few people cared about Vietnam or the soldiers during the war because of the negative views toward the soldiers and the war.

Prisoners of War (POWs): In international law, term used to designate incarcerated members of the armed forces of an enemy, or noncombatants who render them direct service and who have been captured during wartime.1

The Vietnam War is in no doubt, one of the most controversial conflicts that the United States has been involved in. “The fear of Communism sparked the United States to take major foreign initiatives after World War II” (Document 6). As stated previously in that quote, the Vietnam War as well as many other conflicts of the Cold War era all stemmed from one thing: the United State’s perhaps “irrational” fear of Communism. This paper will discuss the legality of the Vietnam war through moral and legal perspectives. The Vietnam war was illegal by; violating moral standards, the United State’s Constitution, and multiple United Nations agreements.

Many Americans believed that the war ravaged country of Vietnam, had to be resurrected from grave. Beginning in 1964 and growing in later years, anti-war protests began forming. Outrage from civilians erupted when President Johnson issued the draft, as he felt the Americans needed to take a more aggressive action against North Vietnam. Young men refused to join the fight and protests emitted from college campuses and major cities such as Washington D.C. and New York. ((n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.texasgateway.org) and ((n.d.). Retrieved from http://avuth15.wix.com/thecoldwar are both primary sources illustrating anti-war protests, showing the outrage that America had towards the war. By 1968, the whole country had felt the war's impact. When the war finally ceased and the troops returned home, the protests, the actions by the government and the war itself, had taken a toll on the country. America's opinions were sharply turned against the war. The veterans who fought bravely in the war, returned to a nation that was bitter towards anything related to the war. Today, a Vietnam War memorial has been erected in Washington, to honor those who sacrificed their life for their country. As shown in ((n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.english.illinois.edu), the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built to honor the U.S defence members who died in service in South-East Asia. As a result, the social

Vietnam War DBQ Rough Draft The United States became involved in Vietnam affairs after the end of World War II, during the Cold War. The French were trying to colonize Indochina, which included Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. America wanted to have the French as allies against the Soviet union, so they proceeded to aid them in their colonization. Vietnam pressed for independence, and war broke out. The U.S. involvement in the war remains controversial.

Men in the Vietnam War did not know why they were there fighting in Vietnam and what their purpose was there. The United States justified their involvement in the war by asserting that they were

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.

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.

Introduction. Vietnam is a unique civilization with highly cultured people. It is a country filled with natural beauty, tranquil rural settings, and bustling urban centers. In this period of renovation, Vietnam is emerging as an economic powerhouse in South East Asia. From the bustling commercial center of Ho Chi Minh City to the gracious capital of Ha Noi, local business is flourishing and international companies are lining up to invest in new projects. The nation, strangled by years of war, is now flexing its muscles. To succeed in international business is to understand the uniqueness of the culture you will encounter. The purpose of this report is to inform you of some of the business customs you could encounter in