American Soldiers In The Vietnam War Essay

Were drafted American soldiers intimidated by guerilla warfare during the Vietnam war during the period 1957-1965?

Summary of evidence

There was definitely a sense of fear and intimidation amongst drafted American soldiers during the Vietnam war during 1957 to 1965. I have concluded from various primary sources that American soldiers were often unaware of what the Vietnam War possessed. Due to this there was a rise of fear and apprehension. In Black Herbert’s ‘The other ascent into the unknown’, the soldier’s hesitance to fight in the Vietnam War is evident which emphasises that the soldiers were unsure of what to expect in the war. I also came to the conclusion that the soldiers did not enjoy fighting in the war especially due to the guerilla warfare tactics. This point is strongly present in Bill Mauldin’s cartoon. From the primary sources I have learnt that the soldiers were often unhappy with unconventional ways of the war as well as the guerilla tactics. Soldiers were fighting for the sake of it as many of the American soldiers were drafted against their will.

Evaluation of sources

Source 1- ‘The other ascent into the unknown’

[Appendix B]

Herbert Lawrence Block or commonly known as Herblock was born on the 13th of October 1909 in Chicago. He died at the age of 91 on October 7th 2001. He was an American editorial cartoonist. Herblock was the winner of three Pulitzer prizes. He began taking art classes at the age of 11 and adopted the ‘Herblock’ signature during his high school days. He was hired to replace the Chicago Daily News cartoonist whilst he was still in school. He was later appointed as the chief editorial cartoonist for The Washington Post. Black Herbert drew the cartoon as he believed that the hesitance of the American soldiers played a major role in the United States loss in the Indochina