The Vietnam War was a war which many people felt negative about, this attitude became especially true after the Tet Offensive took place. Northern Vietnamese forces attacked the South and Americans on the Tet Holiday in hopes to start revolutions in major cities. The outcome was decreased support for the war in America, slowed economy in the south, and a loss in moral for the north. The Tet Offensive proved to be a smart offense by the North, yet did not reach the desired outcome and was not a victory for either side.
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.
The United States was involved in the Vietnam War in the 1960s in order to support South Vietnam’s fight for an economic and cultural ties to the West. On the other hand, North Vietnam supported the ideas of a communist economy. However, the United States’s involvement in the war caused a million of dollars and lives lost, lost of faith towards the country’s government, and divided the nation instead of uniting as one. More than three million people in the war died, and out of those three million, 58,000 were Americans. The Americans and the people in South Vietnam had fought for their beliefs of a modern Westernized country while North Vietnam had fought for a communist economy.
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.
In the poem “On The Subway” by Sharon Olds, a woman ponders the life of a black man she sees on the train. First her description is degrading, as she compares his life to her own. She slowly develops insights about the man on the way. Eventually she realizes that she need not be afraid of him, but to feel sorry, for both who she is, and what he has become in her mind.
By 1975 South Vietnam had fallen under the control of the communist government. America’s longest war was over, but it took more than 58,000 American
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.
Many lives were lost in the Vietnam War, leaving many families to ponder about their loved ones and whether they would return safely this supports my argument which entitles the Vietnam War was horrible and has made a mark in history. “It took us not 5 minutes to decide that when this thing came to the point of action we would be in it, if invited by the government of South Vietnam”. Robert Menzies, 1969. Source 1. Australia got involved in the war in the year 1962 because they feared they would fall to communism by the domino effect.
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 main reason America went to war with Vietnam was to keep South Vietnam from falling to communism. At the time, the Domino Theory was a huge worry because America thought that if South Vietnam turned to communism then other countries would shortly follow (U.S. News). This affected the young draftees because some didn’t want to go and risk their lives just to try and fight, what they thought should be, South Vietnam’s own war. Americans didn’t think that the war was necessary because they believed that South Vietnam could fight its own battle while other Americans felt that they should help Vietnam so they could have a lesser chance of becoming communist. All of these opinions confused young draftees because they didn’t know if they should believe that South Vietnam should fight its own battle or if America should step in and
The Effects of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a war that started on November 1, 1955, and was a war that changed society completely. The Vietnam War was one of the main wars that made people feel as if they couldn’t trust the government, while also creating many changes in society, completely changing the way people lived. My grandpa was six years old when the war first started and was sixteen when the war ended, He went through ten years facing the fear of being drafted, while also having a feeling of sadness all throughout the war for the lives lost, for the people being drafted, and for feeling apart of a war that he felt had nothing to do with the United States. I interviewed my pawpaw, Carrey Lee Moore, who was six years old when
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.
In using artillery and air power of weapons like the M163 Vulcan, M42A1 Skysweeper, and the MIM23 Hawk we were able to take down our enemies. There was 2.7 million soldiers that served in the Vietnam War. In this being said there were 58,000 that died or remained missing, and 300,000 that were wounded. More than one hundred forty billion dollars was spent on this war. The U.S failed to overcome its objective of preserving an independent, noncommunist state in Vietnam, now no one knows how or why we fought this war or weather the military outcome was possible for the United States.
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.
