Why Is The Vietnam War Important

“I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service” (“John F. Kerry Quotes."). The Vietnam War, although not a war since congress has not declared war since 1941, occurred from 1955 - 1975. What does that quote mean though? It says something very interesting about this conflict. That is that the Vietnam conflict was one of the most influential conflicts of recent history. The following will show the aspects that made this conflict so influential.

The first main reason the conflict was so influential is because of the protests to the war. The protests affected what went on during the time period and how the war was received. They got very violent
at times. Some examples are Kent State and Columbia Universities. First, in 1970 at Kent State many protesters rallied on the campus of Kent State. They started out peacefully but quickly grew more and more violent. Law enforcement arrived and felt unable to handle the protesters. They ended up having to call in the Ohio National Guard. When the national guard arrived they fired into the crowd of the protesters. They killed 4 people and wounded 9others. The student revolt of Columbia University occurred in 1968. They started out by demanding that the new gym on campus be open to black residents. They believed in the political ideology of socialism. The protesters then took the acting dean hostage and occupied buildings on campus. The protests lasted for a about week. On the 8th day of the protests 1,000 police officers entered the buildings and attacked the students, dragging them out of the buildings. As a result 150 students and faculty were injured. Later, thousands of students went on strike and once again occupied the buildings on campus. The police once more showed up and attacked the protesters. Many arrests were made all over the country as a result of these protests. Many young men also refused to fight in Vietnam. Most of them just did not believe in the conflict. They thought it was unnecessary. In order to get out of fighting, Jehovah’s Witnesses claimed they were all religious leaders because religious leaders were exempt from having to fight. If someone refused to fight though they could face the possibility of going to prison. The protesters wanted to get the word out about the conflict and what they thought about it. President Lyndon B. Johnson tried to keep public awareness low so he never asked Congress for a formal declaration of war. Make Love, Not War became a motto for the protesters of the conflict. 20,000 people marched in protest of the conflict at one point.

The second reason the conflict was so influential was because of the draft lotteries. This conflict really affected how the lotteries could be used in future wars or conflicts. The draft worked by putting 366 plastic capsules, that contained birth dates, in a large glass container. The capsules were then drawn by hand and the first date selected was September 14th. This meant that any man born September 14, 1944-1950 were given lottery number 1. This continued until all dates were assigned a number. Those numbers were picked later and if your number was picked then you were required to serve in the military. The ages of the men that could be drafted were originally 21-31 in previous wars, but during this conflict the ages were changed to 18-26. Men are now required to register for the draft within the first 30 days of their 18th birthday. Some people did not want to go over to fight. One of these men was Fran Galt. Fran moved to Audubon, Iowa and received a white draft card. He said that it felt like he had a phantom gun against his shoulder. His father went to prison during WWII for not wanting to fight. Fran said there was no way he was going to support the military. So he returned his draft card and decided to do community service instead. A US Marshal came to his door with a new draft card. He once again refused and was sentenced to 4 years in a federal prison. Fran said later that going to prison was not worth it. He encouraged men to find other ways to protest the conflict.

The last reason the conflict was so influential was because of the strategies and weapons of the conflict.
The US used herbicides in the jungles to destroy the tree cover that the Viet Cong or North Vietnamese soldiers were hiding in. Agent Orange was the name of the herbicide that they mainly used. There were many side effects of using herbicides like Agent Orange including that when it was sprayed, it affected thousands of people including civilians and as a result both sides lost many men. Agent Orange is now outlawed after this conflict. The Viet Cong had some interesting weapons. Most of their weapons were Soviet versions of US weapons. The Viet Cong also used captured US weapons because they were always running low on weapons. One of the Viet Cong’s most famous strategies was the Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive had the Viet Cong lure US and South Vietnamese troops to Khe Sanh. With the US and South Vietnamese troops occupied, the Viet Cong attacked 36 of the 40 provincial capitals, 64 districts, 5 of the 6 major cities, and 24+ airfields and bases. Even though this may sound very effective it was not because the US and South troops recovered fast. The Viet Cong lost many soldiers and supporters. The US was led in combat by General William Westmoreland. He said the US troops could best fight in less populated areas and the US government and him insisted that the conflict was being won with this strategy. The American Public was very skeptical though. General Westmoreland’s strategy was tactically successful but politically unsuccessful. He was also a huge critic of how the US handled the disengagement of the troops in Vietnam. Westmoreland asked for only about 200,000 more men and he thought he could win and end this conflict but the new Secretary of Defense denied this
request.

In conclusion, the Vietnam War was a time of change in history. It became an influential conflict on most of the ways modern conflicts are fought and how conflicts are received by the public. 18 year olds were affected somewhat the most because of this conflict. If there is one thing you anyone should take away from this war, it is that Vietnam changed society and that everyone should be somewhat grateful that it happened. Remember, that patriotism is also protest and not just doing military service.