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The Forever War Of The Mind By Max Cleland

1423 Words6 Pages

The Vietnam War was a very controversial war and therefore had one of the biggest impacts on society. The Vietnam War had many causes and affected soldiers, citizens, history, and literature.
The Vietnam War was fought for several reasons. The first reason being Vietnam declared its independence from France. This began the French-Indochina War, following the fall of Dien Bien Phu, “ July 1954- Vietnam signs Geneva Accords,” this treaty stated that, “Vietnam will divide into two countries, Communist North Vietnam and Democratic South Vietnam,” natural following the Democracy The United States supported South Vietnam (CNN).
In addition, when Vietnam split into two countries, Communist North Vietnam and Democratic South Vietnam, North Vietnam …show more content…

“The Forever War of the Mind” was written shortly after the Fort Hood Shooting. This brought back many memories not just for everyone involved in the shooting but for Max Cleland as well as he states, “Every day I was in Vietnam, I thought about home. And every day I’ve been home, I’ve thought about Vietnam.” This quote was said by one of the millions of soldiers who fought in Vietnam (Cleland). Though the Fort Hood shooting and the Vietnam War were years apart the shooting showed everyone just how hard it was for soldiers to come back home, as Cleland states “Wars are not over when the shooting stops. They live on in the lives of those who fight them. That is the curse of the soldier. He never forgets.” Wars continue to haunt soldiers coming back home today and it is something we should never …show more content…

“Vietnam was the first war ever fought without any censorship. Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.” --General William Westmoreland, Time Magazine, April 5, 1982. In conclusion, The Vietnam War had an enormous impact on not just life during the war, but also on society today. These aspects include our literature, the way wars are fought, the soldiers who fought in Vietnam, and the citizens who were involved as well. As you can see wars are constantly changing the way we view society and the way that we act and The Vietnam War is no exception to this statement. “No event in history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then and misremembered now.”

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