Should The US Involvement In The Vietnam War

“No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and misremembered now.” This quote by Richard Nixon reveals the intensity and difficulty of the Vietnam War which spanned for almost two decades and still is greatly discussed even today. Throughout the generations, many historians and common people have questioned the decisions and ideals of our nation’s involvement in the war and the causes leading up to United States action. The Vietnam War is a largely debated topic, especially over the many factors that contributed to our decision to join in the war, such as the spread of communism, the use of presidential power and execution, and the choice to assist our allies in South Vietnam. These linked
News reached the United States that North Vietnam, who was supported by the Soviet Union, wanted to unite North and South Vietnam, meaning the whole nation would fall to communism. The U.S. government agreed that even though South Vietnam may not be highly important to national interest, it was important to prevent communist takeover. The fear of the “Domino Theory” was present in many government leaders' minds. If Vietnam fell to communism, surrounding countries like Laos and Cambodia and westward countries from India towards Turkey would also fall to the red peril. The U.S. knew it needed to contain and even eliminate the spread of communism from all corners of the world to protect all democratic nations. The United States did not want communism to attack and overturn their own national security, liberty, and free enterprise (Kimball 7). Even though the threat of communism was a major reason for the U.S. involvement in the war, there were other factors leading to their
still followed through with the decision, hoping we would get something out of it. In the end, our credibility was weakened, not only with other countries, but also with our own people. In my opinion, the Vietnam War was not a noble war the U.S. should have been involved in. The war was a violent and devastating war that was full of ups and downs, but in the end, it really got us nowhere. Gary Korf, who was a part of FDC training, said “The war intentions were good in the beginning but one day we would overrun the enemy, then the next day, the enemy would regain what we just fought so hard to overtake, there was no tactic to the military efforts.” Also, the government and especially the troops did not know what they were getting themselves into during the war. “The people in charge did not understand that the North Vietnamese had no mercy, they would shoot, stab, and burn their opponents. We also did not understand that we were outsiders to their homeland. They knew the area and how to fight, within a few years it was a losing battle.” -Gary Korf. The United States was impulsive and once we involved our nation and troops it was difficult to back off because of how much the South Vietnamese leaned on us for