The Vietnam War was one of the deadliest wars, fought by North Vietnam and South Vietnam in 1955. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, whereas South Vietnam was supported by the United States. The Vietnam War began when a North Vietnamese torpedo boat attacked the U.S.S. Maddox and the U.S.S. Turner Joy in the Gulf of Tonkin. Following the declaration of the war, more than 500,000 draftees chose not to report for duty, some burned their draft cards, some skipped the induction, and some even fled the country. These people were known as “draft dodgers,” anyone who left the country during this time faced a number of consequences, including imprisonment or even being denied entry back into the United States.
In McDonald’s song, the effect of the draft and its effects on society are highlighted by the lyrics, “Send ‘em off before it’s too late. Be the first one on your block To have your boy come home in a box,” [Doc B]. More than 50,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War, and after withdrawing from the battlefront, Americans felt it was for nothing. Robert F. Kennedy said, “we have sought to resolve by military might a conflict whose issue depends upon the will and conviction of the South Vietnamese people,” [Doc E]. To the war, Americans provided weapons, supplies, and troops.
On November 1st, 1955, a country divided into two, North and South Vietnam will soon have a war known to many countries around the world. The Vietnam War, or the Second Indochina War occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. At the time, Vietnam had a dispute on what the country should be, Communistic or Republic, which had led war breaking out. North as the Viet Cong group while the Republic Of Vietnam group was South; eventually unexpected events started to unfold, leading towards the end of the war. To this very day, The Vietnam War has changed the ways how many civilians live their lives, especially my family.
In 1955, Vietnam was just beginning. Numerous young men from poor families were being drafted into the war. Many of these men did not come back from the war, but the ones who were lucky enough to make it back home sometimes struggled with adjusting back to their normal life. A lot of men struggled with this, some of them did not know how to get back to their normal life so they went back to the war. Survivors of the Vietnam war have told their own stories of their time was during this war.
I gathered a lot of evidence throughout Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable, and I conclude that Father Flynn is guilty due to Donald being a very easy target and Father Flynn acting is very odd ways. Donald Muller, the little boy in the story, seems to be a very easy target for a predator. Donald is very isolated in school. He does not have any friends, so he the fact that the priest would accept him would make him feel accepted in the school. Donald is also the only black boy within the entire school.
It was 1965 and the first U.S. troops were landing in South Vietnam, there were 3,500 U.S. Marines added to the already 25,000 advisers in the country. This war would define how we view life for decades and generations. Most people thought it was a mistaken war with no purpose other than to stop the flow of communism in Asia and the fear of others would follow, and add to the strength of the Soviet Union during the height of the cold war. Some people turned the war into a racist battle ground to justify the uprising and protest against the war. The troops were poorly armed and on average fought 240 days a year when compared to WW2 with only 40 days a year for infantrymen.
For young people, the Vietnam War is a thing of the past that they can only learn about it from second hand sources. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, it becomes very apparent that the Vietnam conflict has proved to be one that many of the participants have not been able move away from. Throughout the 60s people were constantly fighting for their rights as citizens to protest war. It was more common than not for soldiers to never return home and many tried to keep the youth from going. The 60s was a time for change, a time for people to stand up for what they believe.
The Vietnam War explored the ideas of patriotism and personal beliefs. It was a tumultuous time in American History and caused division among the American people as many questioned the purpose of the war and it led to distrust in government decisions. The war had a huge impact on soldiers who fought in the war, as well as their families. Some men opposed the war but felt pressured to fight and these men were seen as courageous in the eyes of society while the men who deserted the draft were labeled as cowards. However, by looking into both sides it becomes evident that both the men who fought the war and the men who stood by their personal convictions by taking a stand against the draft demonstrated courage.
The Vietnam War had many consequences for the United States. When the American soldiers came back to the United States they had a lot of social difficulties. Not to mention they became addicted to heroin. As well as after war affects that changed the way America approaches military actions. This is how the Vietnam War changed America.
On top of the dramatically climbing number of casualties, there was also a lot of controversy regarding the horrific effects that the fighting had on the mental status of soldiers. “The bitter Vietnam experience has left the United States Army with a crisis in morale and discipline as serious as any its oldest and toughest soldiers remember.” (New York Times Article, Document I ) Many times, returning soldiers would suffer from extreme anxiety and depression, dealing with the difficult memories left in place of fighting in the war. “I know my happiest moment in Vietnam was when I was hit, because I “knew” I was homeward bound.
News of atrocities such as the killings at My Lai, lost the US its claim to having high moral standards, and its status as the world 's defender of freedom and righteousness. Nearly 700,000 Vietnam veterans suffered psychological after-effects. Many of these veterans also were not really ever even properly thanked for their service. The leaders the Vietnam War played a major role in the events that took place.
The Vietnam war took a major death toll in Vietnam, United States, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia. Just in the U.S., “more than 58,000 American soldiers were killed while more than 150,000 others wounded”. On both sides, there were almost 2 million civilians dead and 1.1 simply on the Vietnamese side. The My Lai Massacre, where soldiers brutally killed Vietnamese children and mothers, presents an example where the war mentally changed the soldiers in the war in a very horrendous way. On the other hand, the United States took brutal losses in the Tet Offensive, where the Vietcong slaughtered over 100 towns and twelve United States air bases.
Chapter 3: How realistic was the Vietnam war in the movie? One major event that happened in the movie was the Vietnam war, after graduating, Forrest volunteered for the United States Army, where he befriended former shrimp fisherman Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue, and they agreed to go into the shrimping business together once they end their service. Once they had arrived in Vietnam, they are assigned to First Lieutenant Dan Taylor. One day while on patrol their platoon is ambushed.
The Vietnam War had been viewed negatively on not just the war itself, it had also affected the American society, including those who survived it. The young men who were drafted to serve had no choice but to answer their nation’s calling. Armed Forces would then be entering an unknown war that awaited them. This battle not only introduced new forms of technology, for it had also brought a new style of combat. The U.S. and the South Vietnamese were assigned to be allies with forces to fight against the North Vietnamese (also known as Viet Cong) to prevent communism from taking over.
The Vietnam War was a war the United States should have never been involved in. The “Domino Theory” was a direct cause of the war. The war resulted in much death; innocent civilians and young Americans were killed. The Vietnam war also resulted in rioting, distrust for the United States government, and the loss of many lives. 58,000 Americans were killed and 300,000 were wounded.
