Preview

Difference of Vietnam Veterans

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1174 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Difference of Vietnam Veterans
Difference of Vietnam Veterans
There were approximately 536,100 American soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War, and about 58,220 were killed (Estimated n. pag.); this meant that there were many veterans of the war. The war in Vietnam was different than most, not because of the way it was fought or what it was fought over, it was different because of the veterans. The war created many Vietnamese veterans, and they were different than those of almost every other war. They were different in almost every aspect, therefore setting them apart from all others. The veterans of the Vietnam War were different than the veterans in other wars because the war in Vietnam was highly controversial, the veterans were treated poorly, and many veterans were actually against the war.
The Vietnam War differed from many wars due to the controversy of nearly every aspect of the war. During the Vietnam War, it was not only soldiers who were killed during all of the fighting. Yes others besides soldiers were killed in every war fought, but the war in Vietnam War was just greatly more so than nearly every other war. During the war, there were approximately four million civilians and innocent bystanders that were killed (Estimated n. pag.) The American population had minimal knowledge of what was actually happening in Vietnam during the war, so they ended up blaming the soldiers for all of the deaths and wrongdoings. After a short amount of time during the war, the majority of America’s public was actually opposed to the war. The public saw many parts of the war as inhumane and completely unnecessary. Americans were against the war in Vietnam because of the fact that it seemed as though we were getting interfering with a civil war, the U.S. army implemented draft, and the tactics used by the army were frowned upon by the public (Vietnam n. pag.) People can argue that the public was against many other wars, but never to the extent of the war in Vietnam, the public started turning on

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The Vietnam War lasted about two decades. The United States was engulfed in a civil war between North and South Vietnam and wanted to assist the south with preventing a hostile takeover by North Vietnam under the Communism banner. The Vietnam War was not only America’s longest War, but also costliest and deadliest. We spent over $150 billion and suffered close to $58 thousand American deaths and nearly 300 thousand wounded. By the time we decided to withdraw from the war, North Vietnam easily swept through the south and unified Vietnam under Communism. Still to this day, one of the most debated topics regarding the Vietnam War is why the United States got involved and why, when and how we should wage future wars. (Dunn, 2001)…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ronald Haeberle Essay

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After the public discovered what happened in My Lai, the people no longer knew what to think of the military efforts, they just knew they were sick of the war and constant bloodshed. When news of the massacre came out “Demands for withdrawal from Vietnam continued to grow, while others questioned the idea of blind loyalty to military leadership” (Experience). The people were already not happy with the war, but knowing that hundreds of innocents had been slaughtered completely destroyed their trust; more people began asking for a withdrawal from Vietnam and questioning the ideal of blindly following orders. These pictures didn’t just impact the Americans at home however, after the implementation of “Vietnamisation” many of the ground troops began to lose morale. The morale was so low among the ground troops that “many of them were annoyed, frustrated and addicted to drugs as a result”(Rohn). The My Lai massacre served as a huge turning point in the public opinion of the war; people no longer supported the war and soldiers could not handle such low morale, to the point where many soldiers turned to drugs. A mix of all these things coming together brought forth the idea of Vietnamisation, a system to equip and expand South Vietnamese soldiers and pull out American…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    People were afraid of going to war and the effects it could have on our country. In Alan Rohan’s How Much Did The Vietnam War Cost? he states “Among all the wars the United States had fought, Vietnam War is ranked 4th in casualties just below the Civil War and the two World Wars. Out of 2,594,000 personnel who served in Vietnam, there were 58,220 Americans dead, 153,303 wounded and 1,643 missing. More than 23,214 soldiers suffered one hundred percent disabled. Even when it already ended, the war continued to cost many American lives. It’s estimated that 70,000 to 300,000 Vietnam Veterans committed suicide and around 700,000 veterans suffered psychological trauma,” and continues with the cost of the war “The Department of Defense (DOD) reports that the United States spent about $168 billion (worth around $950 billion in 2011 dollars) in the entire war including $111 billion on military operations (1965 – 1972) and $28.5 billion on economic and military aid to Saigon regime (1953 – 1975).” (Rohn). The United States lost thousands of young adults and had to pay a high political cost for the Vietnam War. Parents were afraid of losing their children. There were thousands of American casualties from age 17 to…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In her article, “The Vietnam War in American Memory,” Marilyn Young discusses that the Vietnam War “happened among Americans.” What Young is saying is that there was a war going on in Vietnam, but there was also animosity between the American soldiers and citizens. It was a horrifying and devastating time in American during the Vietnam War and Young even describes it as, “American civil War.” Young inquiries the government on why America got involved in this war in the first place. In the film Platoon and the article “What Did You Do in the Class War, Daddy,” there is a discussion on how to interpret the Vietnam War.…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ighram Vietnam War

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The article written by Veronia Majerol in New York Times Upfront, titled “The Vietnam WAR” talks more on how the war divided America, mostly between generations, the older crowds supported the war and the younger crowd resisted even…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Past War In Vietnam War

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Vietnam War was a bad decision made by the United States government. There was no reason for the United States to start a war with this foreign country. The Defense Department released a film in 1965 addressing why the United States had to go to war with Vietnam. They said it was to defend freedom and aggression, and to stop the spreading of communism. In reality, this war was made by choice, it was not a “do or die” situation for America, but the United States saw Vietnam as a major threat and decided to declare war on them, only to lose a lot of soldier, time, and money.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Upon their return from the Vietnam War, many veterans were shocked upon the reaction (or lack thereof) displayed by the citizens of the States who had remained on the home front. When finally landing back on American soil, many veterans expected to be greeted with celebration and maybe even a parade, acknowledging their service and dedication to the Vietnam cause. However, veterans were instead greeted by protestors who did not agree with the United States’ participation in the war (ironically, not all veterans wholly supported the cause itself, but instead went out of respect and devotion to their country).…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Shulzinger Vietnam War

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages

    As I stated before, America basically turned the conflicts of Vietnam into ones of their own and made it now an American war not the Vietnam war anymore. American officials entered on false assumptions, as many believe. During the time of the Nixon administration, it became well known that the United States spent billions of dollars in military expenditures and held thousands of deaths before the realization that the war was not and could not be won.…

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dbq Vietnam War

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The American people were frustrated with the actions of their Government. They did not support the war in Vietnam for many different reasons, that was their prerogative. However, many Americans were also not in favor how some of the anti-war movement protested the war. It was an unusual paradigm that was, quite frankly, fueled by drugs and hormones. It was not unlike that of a modern…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The United States spent more than $120 billion on the war in Vietnam. This immense spending led to inflation. All of the anti-war protests left a tear between American citizens. Some people saw no point in the war and hated the idea. Others thought that opposing the war was unpatriotic. An estimated 3 million Vietnamese were wounded, while 2 million died and another 12 million became refugees. The war left Vietnam in shambles. Infrastructure was completely destroyed, as well as the economy. Conflicts with neighboring nations like China and Cambodia led to periodic violence which continued in Vietnam for 15 years.…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vietnam War DBQ

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Vietnam war was the longest war in American History which fought between 1964 to 1975 and the most unpopular war for the American of the 20th century. This is the only one war that United States lost the war but no one knows the truth because the US government had not told about this war yet. The resulted in nearly 60,000 American deaths and in an estimated 2 million Vietnamese deaths. It seemed like the American won the war but actually they were not. The experience for the American soldier in Vietnam was long and painful one for the nation. During the war, the Vietnam is spilt in the two groups; the South which was Capitalism and the North which was Communism. To support the South Vietnam’s government, the American sent the soldiers…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although very popular the Vietnam war was huge conflict during the years of 1964 through 1975, this single incident changed many Americans opinions about the nation's role both in foreign affairs and domestic ones. The Vietnam war failed in its primary purpose which was to assists in the defense against north Vietnamese communism, just like the cold war previously this proved to be another example of escalation. The US involvement in Vietnam damaged the us reputation due to very misguided and complex intentions on the part of political leaders like those in the Johnson and Nixon administration which brought upon unhappiness and social unrest among the public. This political corruption along with mismanagement on the economic system and the…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Vietnam War was a defining moment in American history, due to the fact that the American people where concerned about the war and the actions of President Johnson. The lack of trust kept on growing between the American people and the government, which left a lot of unanswered questions. After the country’s involvement in two world wars and the cold war, America felt the responsibility of imposing its way of life on the world to stop the growth of the communists. War has an impact on all the parties involved, and the Vietnam War was the most expensive and longest war in American history. The country did not just suffer financially, it cost the people involved greatly, physically and mentally.…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Vietnam War greatly changed America forever. It was the longest war fought in America’s history, lasting from 1955 to 1973. The Vietnam War scarred America’s self image by because this was the first time in history the United States failed to accomplish what they planned to do in war. The war also had great effects on the American people. It was the first war ever broadcast on TV.…

    • 1630 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The mistreatment of the soldiers upon their return contributed to the psychological troubles that started when they were deployed. They were not welcome in Vietnam, nor were they welcome back in the United States. Many suffered from depression as a result of the cumulative effects of war and rejection. Some veterans experienced suicidal thoughts with Vietnam veterans having one of highest suicides rates among all American veterans. Being a Vietnam veteran carried a stigma of being a social outcast, even though he risked his life to protect the very ones who scrutinized him. The pain of war did not stop just because the fighting had ended. It is a burden that many of the veterans will carry around with them for the rest of their lives.…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays