From the PBS website, I read the primary source Eisenhower to Ngo Dinh Diem which gave me a greater insight into the role the United States of America was playing in the Vietnam war. One line of the letter reads “It hopes that such aid, combined with your own continuing efforts, will contribute effectively toward an independent Vietnam endowed with a strong government”. This gave me an insight into understanding that the USA wanted to aid the people of South Vietnam in overcoming the communist state of North Vietnam.
In order to gain a stronger overview of the Vietnam conflict, I gathered my thoughts from the website . The United States worried about a communist takeover of Vietnam decided to enter the start sending troops over in 1950 which turned out to evolve into a full blown war. While at war in Vietnam, it was clear that the USA was very out of place. With no clear front line for the war to be fought over, the enemy could be hiding anywhere. With the growing number of casualties rising, Unites states citizens began to riot and demonstrate their conflict toward the war. The American army gradually withdrew from Vietnam with the expense of two millions lives taken. Once the last of the American troops had left, the North of Vietnam conquered the south, turning the country into a communist reign.
I was able to relate The Things They Carried to the Vietnamese website, in understanding how hard it was for soldiers to fight in Vietnam without a front line to be fought over. United States soldiers were unable to relax, as the enemy could be hiding anywhere. In the chapter “Ambush” of The Things They Carried, Tim explains to his daughter of the time he killed an innocent man who he saw walking down the path. Tim, while on night duty saw a man walking down a path and without hesitating killed him. This moment of the book goes hand in hand with the truth of American soldiers in Vietnam. With no real “Safe ground”, soldiers were continuously on the lookout and were nervous by anyone who came across there path.
In reading up on the Vietnam War I now understand that the soldiers were on continuous alert. In having no “Safe Ground” or base to relax at, the soldiers would have been pushed to there limit physically and mentally in their search for the enemy.
2 comments:
When I was reading this chapter that you mention, I thought the same thing. O'Brien said something about how he didn't even know he was throwing the grenade until it was being thrown already, and that just goes to show that they are on the lookout for anything moving in their path. It didn't matter if it was an animal, it was probably going to get a grenade. Because they had no front line, they did have to on "their toes" about everything. There was no room to let their guards down or they would become the dead ones.
This chapter of O’Brien’s novel relates very well to the cultural context you brought up in your discussion of how the war was fought in Vietnam. O’Brien illustrates the ability to act on instinct that the soldiers had to acquire in order to survive and eventually return home to their loved ones. I can’t imagine the emotional effect that must have had on these soldiers; feeling like sitting ducks, waiting for someone to come out from behind a tree or bush any second. Your post brought to light the fact that these men were in a foreign country, fighting an enemy who most likely knew every nuance of the terrain. The US was clearly at a disadvantage from the beginning, even though Eisenhower naively felt they were providing protection. The riots at home were well-founded once the US citizens realized their friends and family were fighting in a futile war. It makes me wonder why we aren't rioting right now against the war in Iraq. Perhaps the American people feel just as helpless as the soldiers actually in battle, the sentiment that it wouldn't really matter anyway. Then I wonder, how democratic is our country really?
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