Did Vietnam affect more people then the Iraq war?

Question

Other then military families, no one I know really is affected by the Iraq war. Was this diffrent for people during the Vietnam era?

Answer 1

Absolutely! In the Vietnam war young men were drafted into the military. In Iraq, all of our military personnel volunteered to be a part of the military (no the war but..). Also, the casualty rate in Iraq is much much lower than in Vietnam.

Answer 2

Lyndon Johnson, who was President when the war was biggest, had a policy of "guns and butter," meaning that the people at home should not experience any shortages while the troops were supplied with the weapons they required.
Enough people remembered the shortages caused by fighting WWII, that they did not want to repeat that.
"Guns and butter" did result in considerable inflation, but the nation was prosperous.
During the later part of the war, men were being drafted, but would get a temporary exemption if they were in college; this meant more men went to college than otherwise would have. Some men who did not want to be drafted, left the country. Also, there were many mass protests that produced some local disruption of normal activities, but not enough to affect our lifestyles.
By the end of the Vietnam War (but not in the first few years) virtually everybody was close to somebody who was in or had been in the military.
There were no attacks on US soil, nor any such attempts, by the Communist enemies.

Answer 3

58,000 Americans dies in Vietnam. So I would have to say more military familes were affected. As to others being affected, the draft was part of our society during Vietnam and today we have an all vuluntary force. Our country also does not put alot to the war effort like we did for WWII, where everyone sacrificed for the war effort. For a list of war deaths in campaigns, go here: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004615.html

Answer 4

Fewer american troops died in Vietnam than in Iraq so far. And we all know what happened in Vietnam don't we?
And the ironic thing? There actually was a chance for victory in Vietnam. NO such chance exists in Iraq...

Answer 5

Over 100,000 Americans died in the Vietnam war. Would that affect anyone?

Answer 6

I will tell you this. The media controlled it then and controls it now. They are the fuel to how people feel. When something happens, you are fueled by that which has happen, your in the moment. As time goes by the media slow takes the peoples influence one way or another. They are in your moment.