Essay, Research Paper: Soon

The Vietnam War is truly one of the most unique wars ever fought by the United

States or by any country. It was never officially declared a war. It had no official beginning or

an official end. It was fought over 10,000 miles away in a virtually unknown country. The

enemy and the allies looked exactly alike, and may by day be friends, but by night become

enemies. It matched the tried and true tactics of World War Two against a hide, run, and shoot

technique known as "Guerrilla Warfare". It matched some of the best trained soldiers in the

world against largely an untrained militia of untrained farmers. What exactly happened in

Vietnam, why it happened, and the effects of the war on American soldiers, the American

people, and the Vietnamese will all be examined.

Although officially, the Vietnam Conflict had neither a beginning or an end, for

the purpose of this paper it can be best examined through the decade the United States

was involved: February 6, 1965 - August 30, 1975 (Williams 17). During World War

Two, the French had been a major ally to the United States in the defeat of Adolph Hitler

and the Axis Powers. France occupied and claimed the small coastline country of

Vietnam in Indochina (Davidson 66). In this region there had been recent Communist

uprisings funded by the USSR. The Vietnamese were willing to accept Communism in

return for what they had been fighting for, for over 2000 years: self rule.

In 1950, the United States, owing a debt of gratitude towards France, sent several

advisors to aid French control in Vietnam. Over the next decade and a half, the United

States would send an entire Army and Navy to aid the French in maintaining control in

South Vietnam, which had separated from the Communist North Vietnam by treaty in

1954 (Joes 105). In early August of 1964 a small Vietcong (term used to identify South

Vietnamese in favor of communism and unification) patrol boat had an encounter with a

United States war ship in the Gulf of Tonkin (Young 54). Gunfire was exchanged, and, in

the end, President Johnson agreed to allow aggressive retaliation. On February 6, 1965,

the United States began the bombing of North Vietnamese cities, marking the unofficial

start of the Vietnam War (Young 147). "The incredible thing about Vietnam, is that the

worst is yet to come." --Bernard Fall, December 1965 (Young 150)

In the years of the war to follow, the media began to play a role. Photo-journalists

would accompany platoons on missions, and through the aid of cameras and video

equipment, relate the stories to the Americans at home (Sevy 300). "I wanna go to

Vietnam, I wanna kill a Vietcong, with a knife or a gun, either way will be good fun. But

if I die in the combat zone, box me up and send me home, fold my arms across my chest,

and tell my folks I done my best." --Army marching cadence (Young 150)

Every night for the length of the war, news programs were saturated with reports

of the happenings in Vietnam. They would report the death tolls for the day. Grossly

exaggerated enemy casualty numbers were reported also, giving the public a false view of

happenings of the war (Young 276). Suddenly on January 30, 1968, a Vietcong uprising,

now commonly known as the Tet Offensive, took place (Joes 78). Tet is the Vietnamese

new year and is commonly accepted as a cease-fire. With a cease-fire in effect, most

major cities' defensives were less tight. As if all at once, more than one hundred South

Vietnamese cities were being shelled with Vietcong gunfire. Included in the cities were

Saigon, capital of South Vietnam, and home to the United States Embassy (Davidson

303). At first the Tet Offensive appeared a failure for North Vietnam. A large portion of

Vietcong troops were killed, and major Vietcong outposts were discovered. Most of the

overtaken cities, including Saigon, had been regained (Davidson 305). Unfortunately for

the United States the timing of the Tet Offensive couldn't have been worse. For the past

three years the Americans at home had been promised a swift defeat of the (so called)

nearly destroyed Communists, which, after the retreating of the French, had become the

main goal of the United States. Worst of all, election year was approaching, and the

incumbent Richard Nixon was promising a swift plan of "Vietmenization" in which the

war was supposed to be placed in the hands of the South Vietnamese and allow for the

retreat of American soldiers. Johnson was so unconfident he didn't run for re-election

(Williams 280).

Finally, in 1972 the last United States foot soldiers were removed from Vietnam

(Sevy 198). In 1975 the North Vietnamese over took Saigon, renaming it Ho Chi Mien

City after their brilliant military leader (Sevy 214). At this time the United States

Embassy was surrendered, marking the end of the war. As the soldiers returned home

they had to adapt from a war in which over one million people were killed. There were no

banners or celebrations, and as the news of events such as the My Lai Massacre spread,

they were seen as ruthless killers. The My Lai Massacre was ordered by the army to kill

every inhabitant, (approximately 300) in a small southern Vietnamese city, mostly men,

women and children, because of suspicion they were hiding Vietcong soldiers (Davidson

436). No Vietcong soldiers, or guns or weapons were found at all, and 300 innocent

people died. When these soldiers risked their lives every minute for a reason they were

not told and seemingly was purposeless, and then returned to a country that despised

them for what they did, negative effects, criticism and harassment were bound to occur.

America's withdraw from Vietnam had an impact on world politics but not as

much as the US policy makers had predicted. The main country that was affected was

obviously Vietnam. One way that Vietnam was affected was by the west's corruptive

consumer culture. This corruptive culture was so prevalent in Saigon during the war that

after America pulled out, the city of Ho Chi Minh was run by bribery and dishonesty.

The biggest effect on Vietnam was economic deprivation. By 1979, the economic

growth rate of Vietnam was only 2% instead of the predicted 14%. The inflation was

increased 50%. The unemployment rate had sky rocketed, and there was a lack of food

for the Vietnamese people (Davidson 269-271).

The effects on American soldiers was quite different from the economic

problems of the Vietnamese. Many were diagnosed with different types of post-traumatic

stress disorders. Most Vietnam veterans have adjusted well to life back in the United

States, following their wartime experiences. That's a tribute to these veterans who faced

difficult homecoming to say the least. However, a very large number of veterans haven't

made it all the way home from the war in Southeast Asia mentally. At least half a million

Vietnam veterans still lead lives plagued by serious war-related readjustment problems.

Such problems include: Flashbacks to combat, feelings of alienation or anger, depression,

loneliness and an inability to get close to others. Sometimes drug or alcohol problems,

and perhaps even suicidal feelings (Young 300-319). Forty-seven thousand Americans

were killed in action and three hundred and thirteen soldiers were wounded, physically as

well as mentally (Joes 111). The war had cost the United States an estimated two hundred

billion dollars. There were two thousand, two hundred and sixty - one United States

servicemen listed as missing in action (Joes 111). The tally is still incomplete.

The effects on the American people at home were also devastating. Families lost

their children to a war they didn't understand. A poll was taken shortly after the war's

end, and it asked if the U.S. should intervene and send troops over to Russia to try and

stop them for spreading any more Communism ideas. Only 34 percent of people voted

yes (Joes 112).