I've never really been taught about the Vietnam War. It has always been the untold war in all of my history classes. I know that it went on, and I know that it was a horrible war, but other than that, I have never been taught what went on and why people were really fighting. I have never thought war was the answer, but at the same time, I don't disagree with war. I would rather settle conflicts peacefully, but we all know that that's impossible when we have hard headed leaders. I know this war was North Vietnam, the Communists, versus South Vietnam, but what I have never understood was why the United States decided to get involved. It wasn't our fight to fight and it wasn't up to us to risk the hundreds of thousands of lives that we lost. We stuck our nose somewhere we didn't belong, and it cost us many lives. The United States has always been the "patrolman" of the world, and they feel that they need to protect everyone else, therefore they sometimes stick their noses in places where it shouldn't be. Like I said earlier, I don't know much about the war, but I do know that our country paid a heavy price in human lives during this war. The United States not only suffered in Vietnam, but also at home as well. The people were torn between those that were for the war and those that were against it. Because we, the United States, had no plan for being in Vietnam, we eventually had to pull our troops out; this war was going no where, and we were losing more and more lives each day. "General Curtis LeMay, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, stated in 1968: 'The only reason American soldiers are bleeding and dying in Vietnam today is because our leaders have tied their hands behind their backs'"(http://www.vietnamwar.com/photos.htm). One thing I do know, however, is that this war was one of the most horrible wars when it came to hostility towards soldiers, both US and Vietnam, prisoners, both US and Vietnam, and Vietnam families. Innocent peopl
e were being executed in the most gruesome ways. Prisoners and soldiers were also executed without any remorse. One of the most famous photos of the Vietnam war's hostility, shown to the right, is one of a Vietcong prisoner being executed. Executions like this were uncommon, and numerous children were executed in the same manner. Many of the United States' soldiers came back from Vietnam scarred for life. They had Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and many sounds would trigger their memory so that they would be back in Vietnam living this terror over and over again.For more information on the Vietnam War, you can visit http://www.vietnamwar.com/.
3 comments:
I am not well educated on this war either. I think its detrimental to the U.S. that more emphasis isn't placed on this war in schools. I think that there is a lot that can be learned from this war that would have affected how the United States went about their business in Iraq. I agree that the United States tends to act as the "patrol man" of the world and to stick its nose in places it doesnt belong. Do you think that if a greated emphasis was placed on the lessons of the Vietnam war that the situation in Iraq may have resolved differently?
It amazes me that the Vietnam war is not touched on in schools. War can not only inform you of the horrific incidents, but educate you of your country. It is a shame that we are all unable to discuss the Vietnam war as we know so little about it.
I agree with you when you say that the United States likes to feel like if they have to protect the whole world. They had no place in the Vietnam War; it was not their war to be poking around. They should have never gone to fight in the Vietnam War. The only thing that came out of it was that more people were killed that they would have if the United States had not gone into war. There are no concrete reasons why the United States went into the Vietnam War…doesn’t that tell you something?
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