A Son Writes Home: Analyzing Letters of a Vietnam War Soldier
A Son Writes Home
The Vietnam War was a very controversial war in American history. The War was infamously known as being a War supported by few if even any Americans. Many people lost their lives fighting in this war, and the people that survived are left with mental scars from the War. Most troops wrote letters home (America) detailing the events that were occurring in Vietnam. These letters allow us the readers to gain insight to a very honest detail of the events occurring in Vietnam. DB Post and Response
3. Jeff Rogers enlisted in the navy after a year at Harvard Medical because he realized he no longer wanted to be a doctor. “In America in 1968, any young man who left school was likely to be drafted in the army” (265), so it was either enlist or be drafted. Jeff Rogers’ father, William Rogers, was Secretary of State and had also served in World War II which might have influenced him to enlist instead of wait to be drafted. 4. Nixon’s Vietnamization policy was a policy brought forth “to advocate a withdrawal from Vietnam” (267). Vietnamization Policy was a combined effort of Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, and Secretary of State, William Rogers. The two men were focused on a peaceful retreat from Vietnam. The Vietnamization Policy “meant training and equipping the Army of the Republic of [South] Vietnam to wage its own war for an independent democracy against the Democratic Republic of [North] Vietnam. In reality, Vietnamization meant replacing American casualties with South Vietnamese casualties” (267). The Vietnamization Policy was desired by many Americans, they shared common feelings that America should have less involvement in the Vietnam War. 8. Our text describes that, “the great advantage of letters is their immediacy” (268). Letters allow us as readers to see what the author was thinking as well as feeling while they were writing the letter. “Letters also give us the author’s “voice” through their use of language, level of
The Vietnam War was a very controversial war in American history. The War was infamously known as being a War supported by few if even any Americans. Many people lost their lives fighting in this war, and the people that survived are left with mental scars from the War. Most troops wrote letters home (America) detailing the events that were occurring in Vietnam. These letters allow us the readers to gain insight to a very honest detail of the events occurring in Vietnam. DB Post and Response
3. Jeff Rogers enlisted in the navy after a year at Harvard Medical because he realized he no longer wanted to be a doctor. “In America in 1968, any young man who left school was likely to be drafted in the army” (265), so it was either enlist or be drafted. Jeff Rogers’ father, William Rogers, was Secretary of State and had also served in World War II which might have influenced him to enlist instead of wait to be drafted. 4. Nixon’s Vietnamization policy was a policy brought forth “to advocate a withdrawal from Vietnam” (267). Vietnamization Policy was a combined effort of Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, and Secretary of State, William Rogers. The two men were focused on a peaceful retreat from Vietnam. The Vietnamization Policy “meant training and equipping the Army of the Republic of [South] Vietnam to wage its own war for an independent democracy against the Democratic Republic of [North] Vietnam. In reality, Vietnamization meant replacing American casualties with South Vietnamese casualties” (267). The Vietnamization Policy was desired by many Americans, they shared common feelings that America should have less involvement in the Vietnam War. 8. Our text describes that, “the great advantage of letters is their immediacy” (268). Letters allow us as readers to see what the author was thinking as well as feeling while they were writing the letter. “Letters also give us the author’s “voice” through their use of language, level of