Comparing Letters Home From Vietnam And Why Vietnam

From 1955 to 1975 the brutal Vietnam War was fought, causing enormous soldier and civilian casualties. The United States, much to the eventual chagrin of the public, was incredibly active in this conflict, deploying over 400,000 soldiers during the war’s span. The justification for this sustained engagement in Vietnam by the government was complex, as was the dissent conveyed by the very soldiers fighting in the war. In the documentary-style films “Why Vietnam” and “Letters Home from Vietnam” two very distinct interpretations of the Vietnam War are painted in an attempt to educate the American public on the value of the war. Produced by the United States Department of Defense in 1965, “Why Vietnam” aims to educate the general public on America’s

Lastly, the two films also find common ground in the importance of the soldiers themselves. In “Why Vietnam” the soldiers are a talking point, a bullet point on a long list of reasons as to why the nation should be in support of the war. Their individuality is stripped as they become an amalgamation of young men sent off to a foreign land in defense of Vietnamese sovereignty. Conversely, “Letters Home” offers a personal insight into the lives of these soldiers via their letters. No longer are they nameless, faceless men in camouflage, their words and faces fill the viewer's screens and ears as we learn their most intimate thoughts on the battlefield. “Letters Home” cultivates a bond between the viewer and the soldiers with every letter, made more devastating with the periodic text on the screen disclosing their fate. The 1987 documentary “Letters Home from Vietnam'' displays first-hand accounts of the atrocities of the Vietnam War through the reading of numerous letters from soldiers undercut with film from the