Running head: THE VIETNAM WAR

The Vietnam War Debby Griffis University of Phoenix The American Experience Since 1945 HIS/135 John Kemp August 21, 2011

The Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict started in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The war was from November 1, 1955 to the fall of Saigon on the 30th April 1975. Right after the Vietnam War the first Indochina War was fought between North Vietnam was support by it communist allies and the South Vietnam, was support by the United States.("The Cold Warrior", April 9,2010, p. 1) Student unrest draws a lot attention when the war started; during Vietnam War the draft took place for the first time since 1942. There were two viewpoints in 1960 that evolve. One group felt Vietnam was for a purpose and we should stay until the job was done. The other side felt it was such a burden both socially and economically that United States needed to get out of Vietnam. (Ryan, 2008, para. 1) The Baby Boomers both men and women were eligible to be sent off to fight in a war that was a conflict begin question for the American involvement. Students that could afford going to college went after college they would then be eligible to be sent off to Vietnam. To protest the war large demonstrations took place on college campuses. This was an incentive to protest the war and tried to put a stop to it before they could be drafted. The young men who could not afford collage were outnumbered by the upper class and middle class. The war was long a drug out war as the resentment grew so did the financial cost. With the feelings of many Americans the students protests the lack of public support made things worse. Here are statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of November 1993. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall):

Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action
Deaths Number Average Age

Total Enlisted Officers Warrants E1 USMC 0351 11B MOS

58,148 50,274 6,598 1,276 525 1,122 18,465

23.11 years 22.37 years 28.43 years 24.73 years 20.34 years 20.46 years 22.55 years

One man killed in Vietnam was only 16 years old (RABER, PAUL J.) [CACF]
The oldest man killed was 62 years old (TAYLOR, KENNA CLYDE). [CACF] 11,465 KIAs were less than 20 years old. [CACF] When the US government saw that this war in a no-win situation they began making plans to withdraw after efforts by the US and the cease fire on January 27th, 1973. The soldiers began leaving Vietnam for good. The end of the Vietnam War for the Vietnamese meant the beginning of healing of their every day lives meant re beginning. Vietnam as well as home in the United States as a consequence of the Vietnam War many innocent people were hurt and kill. Haas (2009), Never before in American history have as many loyal and brave young men been as shabbily treated by the government that sent them to war; never before have so many of them questioned as much, as these veterans have, the essential rightness of what they were forced to do. For the United States it changed Americas policies on foreign and personal matters. Many soldiers that came backed from fighting in the war were received with cold welcomes from people because of their strong anti war beliefs and from fighting in the war were received. With

cold welcomes from people with their strong anti warfare beliefs many soldiers wonder if it was all worth it. Soldiers were poisoned by chemicals like Agent Orange and many soldiers return home disabled for life, some lost limbs. Many suffered mental problems as a consequence of their involvement in the war and others come backed from the war addicted to drugs. Veteran soldiers of Vietnam were often ignored, shunned, and even discriminated against by the public and their authorities, until recently. Both hawk and dove politicians did not vote for governmental programs that would assist the veterinarians. Almost ten years after the warfare ended, a memorial to the Vietnam veterinarians was not erected until 1982.Influence in the human beings and many considered the Vietnam War a loss for American prestige. With civilian authorities that interfered with the military operations of the warfare many people became disenchanted. From the Vietnam War future presidents would learn the lessons. The anti war demonstrations against the war seemed to cause a rift between generations. There was a definite loss in patriotic feeling for the United States. To the American public many felt the government did not handle the situation wisely, some felt the fashion these brave adult males were treated upon arriving home made them wonder if it was all worth it. According (Nixon, 1995) "No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic."

Politically and the Vietnam War was a very costly war, socially, economically the Vietnam War cause the country, the country suffered a great financial loss. After president Johnson had spent so much on a war that many considered lost he offered up no mode to pay for the war.

In WWll America gained by increased productiveness during war time and increased education in post war U.S.A. These elements were not present during Vietnam to aid boost the American economy. America went into a recession this was affected by many other factors including crisis in the Middle East which increased the price of oil greatly. In response to the Vietnam War Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973, which means the President needs to notify Congress in 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days with a further 30 day withdrawal time.

References

[CACF] (Combat Area Casualty File) November 1993. (The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial, i.e. The Wall), Center for Electronic Records, National Archives, Washington, DC Haas, Werner. (2009). the Effect of the Vietnam War on Its Veterans. Associated Richard Nixon (1995). No More Vietnams by Richard Nixon Ryan, J. S. (2008). Social and Political Outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1195187/student_unrest_and_the_vietnam_war_.html? cat=37 The Cold Warrior (April 9, 2010). Retrieved from http://www. the daily beast.com/newsweek/2000/04/09/the-cold-warrior.html