Tony Arellano: The Vietnam War
Vietnam War
Richard Nixon, former United States president, once stated, “No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.” The Vietnam War was exhausting for soldiers because it involved unknown attacks brought on by the North Vietnamese. Tony Arellano, a Vietnam veteran, shared out his experiences overseas in Vietnam. He witnessed deaths, injuries, and surprise air strikes. In remembering the Vietnam War, it’s important to note the complex preparations made by U.S. soldiers, complications in air warfare, and all of the lives lost during the war.
Firstly, when going into a war, preparation was key for different military units. During his interview, Tony Arellano explained, …show more content…
Embassy. From first hand experience, Arellano recalls, “And the VC had the crowns, the Marines were on the outside; we had people on the inside. They called – Westmorland called for a unit from 101st Charlie Company – 1st and 502nd to do an air assault on the roof of the Embassy.” (Arellano). A large part of the war was fought in the air to avoid losing an abundance of lives in battle. Consequently, a surprise air assault against the U.S. caused countless casualties due to not being aware that an attack was going to happen. The article “Viet Cong Attack U.S. Embassy” described the air raid on the Embassy as, “...a squad of Viet Cong guerrillas attacks the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. The soldiers seized the embassy and held it for six hours until an assault force of U.S. paratroopers landed by helicopter on the building’s roof and routed the Viet Cong… General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, requested an additional 206,000 troops to finish off the weakened enemy forces.” (History.com Staff). Moreover, the Viet Cong were dangerous in the way that they would surprise attack U.S. troops, so the best way to shake them off was in the air. In brief, all the battles, air raids, and ship warfare caused a great deal of injuries and deaths in the Vietnam
Richard Nixon, former United States president, once stated, “No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.” The Vietnam War was exhausting for soldiers because it involved unknown attacks brought on by the North Vietnamese. Tony Arellano, a Vietnam veteran, shared out his experiences overseas in Vietnam. He witnessed deaths, injuries, and surprise air strikes. In remembering the Vietnam War, it’s important to note the complex preparations made by U.S. soldiers, complications in air warfare, and all of the lives lost during the war.
Firstly, when going into a war, preparation was key for different military units. During his interview, Tony Arellano explained, …show more content…
Embassy. From first hand experience, Arellano recalls, “And the VC had the crowns, the Marines were on the outside; we had people on the inside. They called – Westmorland called for a unit from 101st Charlie Company – 1st and 502nd to do an air assault on the roof of the Embassy.” (Arellano). A large part of the war was fought in the air to avoid losing an abundance of lives in battle. Consequently, a surprise air assault against the U.S. caused countless casualties due to not being aware that an attack was going to happen. The article “Viet Cong Attack U.S. Embassy” described the air raid on the Embassy as, “...a squad of Viet Cong guerrillas attacks the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. The soldiers seized the embassy and held it for six hours until an assault force of U.S. paratroopers landed by helicopter on the building’s roof and routed the Viet Cong… General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, requested an additional 206,000 troops to finish off the weakened enemy forces.” (History.com Staff). Moreover, the Viet Cong were dangerous in the way that they would surprise attack U.S. troops, so the best way to shake them off was in the air. In brief, all the battles, air raids, and ship warfare caused a great deal of injuries and deaths in the Vietnam