Significance Of The Vietnam War

Significance of the Vietnam War
History, in general, is crucial because it allows individuals to be informed, allowing them to not conform to the society/government blindly. In the U.S history class this year, we gained proficient understanding of the fundamental principles this nation was founded upon, the impacts made by several pivotal wars, and racial discrimination that still exists today. The American Revolution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War were just some of the interesting yet significant topics we covered. Among these, the most important one is the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was one of the many wars the United States fought. However, it is not similar to other wars; it is a strange one that would impact the people
Not only an extensive amount of civilians died in the war, they died as a result of American intervention. The Vietnam War was “a war in which the US military had an almost singular focus on one defining measure of success in Vietnam: the body count - the number of enemy killed in action”(Was My Lai, BBC). Under normal circumstances, success in a war is defined by how much territory is gained by a specific participant; however, in Vietnam, the United States based their success on how many people they were able to kill. Consequently, the war became a meaningless display of mass murders. Civilians died, more due to being specifically targeted by the U.S military, as opposed to collateral damage. During a search-and-destroy mission in March 1968, “500 civilians were killed over the course of four hours, during which US troops even took time out to eat lunch”(Was My Lai, BBC). This occurrence would be known as the infamous My Lai Massacre. It is especially important for us, as students, to realize that in times of war, no governments can ensure an individual’s rights and safety; there is only room for barbarity. Peace is transient, therefore it is important to recognize the effort given by those to maintain this peace. It is also important for us to appreciate the tranquill condition we are living
For almost all of the U.S soldiers, Vietnam appeared to be a beautiful soil covered by green forests; yet atrocity is ingrained in every corner. Vietnam was a new and strange environment- it was a front in Asia, one America has very little experience fighting on. The weather, terrain, and atmosphere were completely distinctive from those in other wars. In addition, soldiers could not discern “enemies” easily because the Viet Cong disguised themselves as villagers. The confusion and disapprobation caused many to lose sanity. Although “the Vietnam War is over and long forgotten. Among those still suffering are several veterans who have felt forgotten, unappreciated, and even discriminated against. For some of them the trauma of their battle experiences or their physical disabilities have shattered their lives”(Psychological Effects of the Vietnam War). A large portion of the Vietnam War veterans were diagnosed with PTSD; some will probably suffer physically and mentally for the rest of their lives. It is important to learn about how a war truly impacts a soldier’s life, especially this war. It is not a topic to be brought up in jokes, it is not supposed to be glorified as it is in video games, and it certainly reveals just how meaningless and bizzare it could