Vietnam War Essay

September 10th, 2009

The Vietnam War greatly changed America forever. It was the longest war fought in America’s
history, lasting from 1955 to 1973. The Vietnam War tarnished America’s self image by becoming the
first time in history the United States failed to accomplish its stated war aims, to preserve a separate,
independent, noncommunist government. The war also had great effects on the American people. It
was the first war ever broadcast on television. The public was able to see what happened on the
battlefield. One of the chief effects of the war was the division it caused among the people. Not since
the Civil War had America been so divided. This war would have lasting affects on the United States.
The Vietnam conflict began long before the U.S. became directly involved. Indochina, which includes
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, was under French colonial rule. The Vietnam communist-nationalist,
also known as the Vietminh, fought for their freedom from the French. The French were being
slaughtered, and were doing little to keep the communist North Vietnamese out of South Vietnam. The
U.S. sent financial aid to France to help them eliminate the communist threat. At the Geneva
Conference in 1954, the major powers tried to come to an agreement on Indochina. There would be a
temporary division on the 17th parallel in Vietnam. The Vietminh would control North Vietnam, and
South Vietnam would be ruled under the emperor Bao Dai. There was to be an election held in two
years to set up the permanent government. The U.S. did not agree to these terms. After the
conference, the U.S. moved to create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization to protect Indochina
from communist aggression. The U.S. supported the new leader Ngo Dinh Diem when he took power
in South Vietnam. The National Liberation Front, also known as Vietcong, was a guerilla group who
supported the communist North Vietnamese and opposed to the Diem rule. At first the United States
attention was diverted from Vietnam to other foreign affairs, but with the threat of communist taking
over all of Indochina, the U.S. gradually was pulled into the conflict.
President Eisenhower had been sending aid to South Vietnam and helped them to create the Army
Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). This would hopefully help stop the communist North Vietnamese from
taking over. Despite American financial aid, South Vietnam was still being defeated and needed
serious intervention from the U.S. With the Cold War, the United States had vowed to keep
communism from spreading. President Truman stated that any nation challenged by Communism
would receive aid from the United States. The Truman Doctrine, initially for Europe and the Middle
East, was adopted by the future presidents and applied to the Vietnam conflict. They feared that if one
of the Southeast Asian nations fell to communism, that all the others would eventually follow. This
was known as the domino theory. To the U.S. communism anywhere was a threat.

When John F. Kennedy took office in 1961, Vietnam was not a major issue. There were more pressing
situations to be taken care of, such as the Cold War. The Vietnam conflict became more of an issue
when civil war broke out in Laos. Vice President Johnson was sent to Vietnam, and when he returned
he greatly urged President Kennedy to become more involved in the conflict. John F. Kennedy decided
to send military advisors and special forces (Green Berets) to work with and train the ARVN troops
instead of sending combat troops. Aerial spraying of herbicides like Agent Orange were used to try and
deprive the Vietcong of their food and their jungle cover. Kennedy’s advisors secretly reported to him
that the ARVN was weak and the situation was becoming more serious. The president wasn’t ready to
send troops, but increased economic aid and sent more advisors, increasing the number from 900-
15,000.

The leader of Vietnam at the time was Ngo Dinh Diem. He was a Catholic, which caused much dispute
because the majority of Vietnam was Buddhist. He was blamed for the worsening situation in Vietnam.
Many South Vietnamese united against Diem, and in October 1963, a military coup aided by CIA and
the United States ambassador overthrew and murdered Diem. On November 22,1963 President John
F. Kennedy was riding through the streets of Dallas, Texas, when he was killed by an assassin, Lee
Harvey Oswald.
After the death of the president, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was appointed president of the
United States. Johnson felt that the U.S. should stay involved in Vietnam to prove the U.S. kept its
commitments and could stop communism aggression. August 2, 1964 the USS Maddox was off the
coast of North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, when in was fired upon by North Vietnam coastal
gunboats. On August 4 the USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy both reported attacks from North
Vietnam forces. Johnson decided to escalate the war. He ordered bombing of different North Vietnam
targets. Congress soon authorized the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave the president authority
“to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States and to
prevent further aggression.” Johnson came up with a strategy to take control of Vietnam called
Operation Rolling Thunder. The operation would consist of bombing of North Vietnam, more air power,
and increase the number of ground troops. In June 1965, U.S. advisors were sent into combat. This
would shift the U.S. “from helping the Vietnam people help themselves, to fighting a full-scale war on
and over the land mass of Asia.”
In September 1967, Nguyen Van Thieu was elected president of South Vietnam. The U.S. now had a
total of about 650,000 ground troops in Vietnam. Johnson tried for peace talks, but nothing was
agreed upon. In January of 1968, the Vietcong and North Vietnam prepared for a major attack. Tet is
the lunar New Year, and is Vietnam’s biggest holiday. They planned a surprise attack, hoping the
ARVN and U.S. would have let their guard down. Every important city in South Vietnam was attacked,
including the capital Saigon. The fighting lasted for about a month. America was able to witness much
of this footage on the news. The outcome was a major military victory for South Vietnam, but it was a
great political victory for North Vietnam. It proved that the war was nowhere close to being over, and
proved how determined the Vietcong was. It also demonstrated how costly the war would be. This was
a major turning point in America’s public opinion on the war. It made people begin to loose hope in
winning the war, and to question the president’s tactics for the war. When the Pentagon announced
the number of U.S. casualties since the beginning of war, the number reached 15,058 killed, 109,572
wounded, and about $25 billions dollars spent each year. President Johnson knew his popularity was
lost and decided not to run for reelection.

On January 20, 1969 Richard Nixon was inaugurated. A few months later he announced the removal of
25,000 United States troops by August of 1969 and another 65,000 to be sent home by the end of the
year. His planned was called “Vietnamization” which would bring “peace with honor.” It was designed
to turn over the responsibility of war to South Vietnam. The U.S. would strengthen the South Vietnam
army so they could fight without direct help from the U.S. This would allow American troops to
gradually come home. Vietnamization would also set up a self sufficient South Vietnam government.

The Communist soon agreed on a peace plan, but it fell through when they claimed the U.S. wasn’t
going along as agreed. The same year Nixon ordered secret bombing of Cambodia to try and wipe out
the Vietcong and North Vietnam base camps. On April 30, 1970, President Nixon informed the
American people that troops would be sent to Cambodia. This outraged people even more. Nixon had
promised peace, but was now bringing on more war. Many more young students became worried that
they would be drafted. On May 1, 1970 Kent State University became grounds for anti-war rallies.
About fifteen thousand dollars worth of damage was inflicted on downtown Kent. On May 2 protestors
burned down the campus ROTC building. The Governor decided to call in the National Guard. On May
4 rallies started again on campus, and the National Guard used tear gas as a means to try and
disperse the crowd. The crowd had become very rowdy and all of a sudden shots were fired. No one is
certain as to why the shooting started, but 4 people were shot dead, and 9 were wounded. Two of
those that died were innocent students switching classes. This tragic news caused much uproar across
the nation. A great deal of respect for authority was lost by many citizens. The tragedy made many
people realize that protest can go too far, and law enforcement can also go too far in trying to
maintain the law.

In 1971, Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution as to limit the power of the president with
the war. In January 1973, a cease-fire was negotiated. On January 25, 1973, The Paris Peace Accords
were signed ending the fighting between North Vietnam and the United States. U.S. troops would be
withdrawn, American POWs would be returned home, and the South Vietnam regime would remain in
power. This didn’t end the war, but got the U.S. and our 27,000 remaining troops and 540 POWs out
of Vietnam. Soon after the United States left, fighting resumed between North Vietnam and South
Vietnam’s weak army. May of 1975, two years after Nixon pulled out of the war, South Vietnam
surrendered. Vietnam was reunified under a communist Vietnam regime. By the end of the war the
United States suffered 57,000 casualties and 153,303 soldiers were wounded.
There are many things people blame America’s defeat on. For one thing the North Vietnam and
Vietcong armies were much stronger than anyone anticipated. Their guerilla warfare tactics was
something the U.S. soldiers were not used to. The fact that there were no clear combat zones also
made fighting confusing. The Vietcong also would dress as peasants to trick the soldiers before they
would attack. This made it hard for soldiers to distinguish between the enemy and friendly civilians.
The Vietcong was also fighting for a cause they were willing to fight to the death for. They had heroic
determination and fighting spirit. The American soldiers on the other hand didn’t always have
confidence in their goals, and some felt the war was unwinable. There was no direct threat to their
own country and there was no support from the general population. The soldiers were also angered by
the government lies they had to witness. Those who returned from war joined the forefront of the
antiwar movements. They began wearing peace symbols and other signs of their digression. The
African Americans were especially opposed to fighting “a racist war, in a racist army, for a racist
government.” Military discipline broke down, and “fragging” began. Fragging was when soldiers would
attack their officers, usually by tossing fragments of grenades into the officers sleeping quarters.
Some soldiers also openly refused their orders. The military also experienced financial corruption,
theft, murder, and suicide. All these factors seriously hurt the U.S. army.
At first many people volunteered to fight. When the draft came into affect many questioned its
fairness. Until 1969 local boards had selected those for the draft, and most of those selected were
usually minorities and poor working class youths. In 1965, 20,000 men per month were drafted, by
1968, 40,000 were drafted per month, and served 12-13 months. Some people tried to avoid the
draft. People moved to Canada, burned draft cards, and went to college. Others served prison
sentences, like Muhammad Ali, or avoided the war on moral grounds and instead served a set term of
community service. The working-class communities were also another area where resistance was
strong because these were the people usually drafted. People began to see the body bags return home
and video clippings from the fighting. These factors greatly worried the American people.

The anti-war movement is also blamed as to why the Untied States lost the war. The war was popular
in the beginning, and most of the American public supported the war. The success of World War II
kept people optimistic about the outcome of U.S. involvement and kept them from objecting.
Americans wanted to preserve their way of life and stop the threat of Communism. Some people even
benefited from the war at first, such as aircraft manufacturers, but this didn’t last for long. When
involvement of the U.S. was escalated in 1965, America supported this decision and was positive that
the U.S. would come out victorious. When this escalation failed to produce the results that were
expected, people started to become doubtful. America had been told that they were winning the war,
but as the number of deaths and injuries increased the people realized that this war did have its costs.
Just because it was fought thousands of miles away, didn’t mean that it didn’t affect the people at
home.
The Media caused major changes in America. The media brought all the horrors of the war to life. For
the first time, people were able to see the action everyday on the news. Death and destruction caused
by the bombing were shown, and the nightly news even counted the dead. This greatly affected
America’s opinions on the war. The media itself also experienced changes. Before the war the media
focused on the positive aspects of wars. It showed U.S. action in a positive way and focused on what
people wanted and needed to hear. Money wasn’t a factor for journalist, and they didn’t need to
compete. Their job was to help the public stay optimistic and keep them from panicking. Many people
from the television, magazines, and newspapers were able to travel to Vietnam to gain information to
write more informative stories. Most reporters supported the war initially, but after being in Vietnam
for long periods of time they grew skeptical and formed biased opinions. They lost enthusiasm and
started to give offensive and biased reports. In 1971 the Pentagon Papers were published by the New
York Times. They were a copy of the Defense Department’s history of involvement in Vietnam, and
were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg. This revealed that Kennedy and Johnson had misled the public about
the intentions in Vietnam. America would no longer fully trust the government. Journalist criticized the
army’s methods and revealed the true horrors of war. The media became an endless competition to
earn money, fame, and success.

As citizens realized the seriousness of the war many people started to revolt and publicly display their
opposition to the war. When Johnson approved the Operation Rolling Thunder and began the massive
bombings of Vietnam, the anti-war movement grew to enormous proportions. The citizens of the
nation really began questioning America’s presence in Vietnam. They asked how a small country like
Vietnam could cause the world to fall to communism. They used national images in a distorted way to
get their opinions across. Demonstrations, rallies, sit-ins, and other anti-war movements became
regular occurrences on the college campuses. Teach-ins became popular in classrooms. This was
where the teacher and students would discuss the war openly in class. The protest really intensified in
1965 to 1970. On November 15,1969, 300,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. for the largest
antiwar demonstration ever. Priest and other religious leaders even joined in the rallies. The Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution and the Tet offensive were both events that caused much uproar. Civil rights
leaders even became active in the antiwar movements. Martin Luther King became a vocal antiwar
activist and expressed his opinions about the racial discrimination occurring in the draft and army. The
My Lai Massacre, the killing of 200 civilians by the U.S. soldiers who couldn’t distinguish the civilians
from enemy forces fueled more protest. People even started calling the soldiers “baby killers.” In
previous wars, soldiers had been seen as heroic, but in the Vietnam War it was just the opposite.
Soldiers were embarrassed to wear their uniform when coming home. To be a soldier was no longer
something to be proud of.

There were two extremist groups present during the war, the hawks and the doves. The hawks were
nationalist who wanted to escalate the war. They saw the conflict as part of the struggle against
Communism. They felt the war could be won. The doves in contrast opposed to the war on moral
grounds. They wanted peace at all costs. Norman Morrison a strong activist burned himself to death in
front of the Pentagon. Even people in congress were willing to speak out against the war, like Senator
J. William Fullbright. Many celebrities and musicians became strong activist. Their speeches and music
reflected the views the Americans had towards the war, their anger and feelings that the war was a
hopeless cause. Woodstock held in August 1969, was a gathering of many folk and rock artist singing
anti-war songs and voicing the same opinions on the war raging in Vietnam. Thousands of people
attended this anti-war rally.
The war also had effects on the economy. In the beginning the war spending increased the economy,
but soon the cost of war caught up to the United States. The budget had to be expanded. The cost of
living rose greatly between the years of 1965 to 1975. The spending of the war was about 150 billion
dollars in all. Prices of goods had increased 16% by 1970. Inflation occurred wiping out almost all
economic gains, and wages were lowered, leading to many strikes. President Johnson finally asked
Congress for extra taxes to help pay for the war. Congress agreed as long as he cut domestic
spending. By 1961, 25 billion dollars per year were being spent on the war effort. Business leaders
thought it best to end the war than to cause more civil rights movements, strikes, and youth
movements against the government.
The war also had devastating results in Vietnam. Many civilians were killed and many children were
born with birth defects. Their largest crops were destroyed because of the herbicides used. 800,000
children were orphaned in South Vietnam and at least 10 million people were homeless.

The transition for the soldiers back into public life was a hard one. They only received about half the
benefits the veterans from other wars received. Some even faced psychological problems, drug
addiction, and employment troubles. Their homecoming wasn’t such a celebration as it had been in
the years before. They didn’t receive anywhere near the recognition they deserved.

Since the war America’s views have changed greatly. The soldier are no longer looked down upon, but
are honored. Today there is a national memorial in Washington D.C. in their honor. It was built in
1982 and commemorates all the U.S. Military personnel who died or were declared missing in action in
Vietnam. The wall is 493 feet long and in 1984 a bronze statue called Three Servicemen was added to
the site. In 1993 a bronze sculpture of 3 nurses and a wounded soldier was also added to honor those
women who served. Since the war there have been many movies, documentaries, books, and poems
that remember the war and honor the veterans.

The Vietnam War had many cost. Not only the billions of dollars spent, but also the thousands of
American lives taken, and the effects it had on American society. The war cost Lyndon Johnson his
presidency. Many programs promised to the American people were never fulfilled because of the
demands from the war. The President’s power in waging war was limited. The war also permanently
changed the way the media functions. It changed the public view of the government and its leaders
permanently. Serious questions were raised about the U.S. getting involved militarily in many future
situations, and the U.S. stayed out of other countries affairs for many years. The war in all, damaged
America’s image and taught the U.S. about its limits of power. The war did have its positive affects.
Communist pressure was kept out of Indonesia and other areas in the pacific. This enabled them to
remain non-communist since most of the communists’ focus was on Southeast Asia. The Vietnam War
is one that will never be forgotten, and its affects on America have changed the way Americans will
look at all future conflicts.

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