How Did The Vietnam War Influence American Popular Culture

United States combat troops set foot on Vietnam soil in 1965, deploying 3,500 troops in order to defend the Air Base stationed at China Beach in Nang Da. This event marked the beginning of the Vietnam War for America, which for many years would continue to influence American popular culture, with music being the most polarizing recipient. Different clothing designs became more popular after the Vietnam War; most notably camouflage becoming mainstream. Directly corresponding with the increase in wartime within Vietnam and deployment of U.S troops in Vietnam, music (mainly rock) began to take a more vocal approach to the world's problems, such as unnecessary war or large drafts performed by the United States of America. 1969 and 1971 were two landmark years that would help define culture for the next few years, due to the release of Creedence Clearwater Revival's song "Fortunate Son" in 1969, as well as Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" in 1971, where Gaye tells a story through the perspective of a returning Vietnam War veteran,

Some opted for protests, while some voiced their concern through music or fashion. In the music world, many artists had already begun voicing their opposition to the involvement of the war through questions meant for the listener to answer, such as The Byrds' "Draft Morning" song from 1968 in which they sing "Today was the day for action, leave my bed to kill instead, why should it happen?". Or through a factual reality that artists construed through the soldier's perspective, such as The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" from 1969, in which they say "Ooh, a storm is threatening my very life today", referring to the storm of war, or gunfire / explosions that soldiers endured often in active combat. These songs went on to perform very well commercially and were heard by a very large audience, cementing the opposition to the Vietnam War in the minds of