Vietnam War Analysis Essay Example For Students

Vietnam War Analysis Essay To many, the Vietnam War symbolizes controversy, myth and question in America. There are many events that made Americans wonder what reasons we had for puttingour troops and families in Vietnam. Up till that point, many other Americans hadnever questioned the acts of the American government and armed forces. Issuesdealt with in the Vietnam War showed great impact on the American people,particularly the students. American involvement started off very low key. Twomarine battalions landed in Da Nang on March 8, 1965 (Doyle, Lipsman). They werenot fighting a war yet, though a war was going on in the very country that theywere in. Their job was to merely protect an air field in Da Nang, not look fortrouble or initiate any kind of war tactics. But soon, holding off the enemy wasnot so easy for the American soldiers, and more troops were sent in. Thiscontinued on, and when May rolled around there were 46,000 American Troops inVietnam (Doyle, Lipsman). It was at this time when American troops were thengiven the permit to use more active defense, and soon after, thenumb er soared to 82,000 American troops in Vietnam (Doyle, Lipsman). From there,the American defense quickly turned into an offense, and transportation flightsturned in to rescue missions. This was about the time that Americans at homebegan to become worried that the war in Vietnam was getting out of hand. Smallprotests broke out amongst college students across America, but these began tobecome very serious. On April 17, 1965 The Students for a Democratic Societyorganized a national protest on the steps of the capitol in Washington D.C. (Doyle, Lipsman). Television coverage enraged people by misleading facts anddisturbing war images of troops killing women and children. Frustration inAmerica grew and riots and protests got out of hand as no questions seemed to beanswered. Students protested and gathered, building rage against the warspurring events like the Kent State Massacre. The Kent State Massacre is namedafter a calm protest uprooted when guards killed and wounded students by openingfire on a mass of students as they gathered on the Kent State campus (Encarta). Events such as the Kent State Massacre enraged Americans more than ever causingviolent riots and outbreaks. Meanwhile, Americas position in Vietnam worsened. More and more were sent, and more and more troops were killed. Americas greatoffense was tattering down and guerrilla warfare on unfamiliar terrain hamperedsoldier performance. The war then quickly switched over and put more weight onair attacks and bomb raids. Helicopters became Americas best friend as theywere a brand new invention that had not previously seen much use. The helicoptermade landing and exiting in rough terrain easier than any other method seenbefore by the United States military. Other weaponry made its debut in theVietnam War. Spurred from the second world war, where tanks were introduced, theanti-tank missile launcher was a key weapon for all countries to develop. TheVietnam War was the first war that the anti-tank missile launcher waseffectively used. Standard guns also were changing; they become lighter inweight, more accurate, and able to function better with less maintenance andmalfunction. All of these new, and newly perfected, weapons made the Vietnam Waran u nfamiliar territory for everybody as the death toll soared through the roof. More troops were sent, more black troops. Racism raced through the veins of manywhite Americans at this time, and blacks still felt discriminated against by thegovernment and the people of America. All of this as more black troops werebeing put on the battle front to fight. Black gangs erupted and dodged thedraft, became violent, and held to one another very closely. This was the firstsign of gangs in America, as we see gangs today. Many black Americans did notunderstand why they were being force to fight and die for a country that hatedthem. They felt as if they were being sent in place of whites, but in fact only12.5% of all troops in Vietnam were black, and it was merle stretched facts andmedia influence that caused the black eruptions in America (Westmoreland, VHFCN). Basics of Genetics and Genetic Engineering EssayCohen, Steven. Anthology and guide to a television history. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, inc., 1983 Doyle, Edward, and Samual Lipsman. America Takes Over-TheVietnam Experience. Boston, MA: Boston Publishing Company, 1982. MicrosoftEncarta Complete Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia. Computer software. Microsoft, 1995. CD-ROM. Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network. www.vhfcn.org. 2000. Westmoreland, General William C. Address. Third Annual Reunion of theVietnam Helicopter Pilots Association. Washington D.C., 5 July 1986. McCaffrey,Lieutenant General Barry R. Address. Memorial Day. Washington D.C. May 1993. Houk, Dr. Address. Hearing before the Committee on Veterans Affairs UnitesStates Senate one hundredth Congress second session. 14 July 1988.