were you in the vietnam war?! and if you were please help me!?

Question

I have to do an interview for my Junior UShistory class.
What is your occupation?
Where were you during the Vietnam War?
Why did the US fight a war in Vietnam?
How did you feel about the war at the time?
IN what ways were you affected by the Vietnam war?
Do you think the United States should be praised or condemned for its involvement in the Vietnam War? Why?


thanks!

Answer 1

I'm currently a retired Deputy Sheriff. I grew up during the Vietnam years.

After World War II, the French held what was then called, "French Indo-China". The leader of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Mihn, raised forces to drive out the French. As hostilities escalated, the French decided to pull out. Combat continued throughout the late 50's and early 60's. The US, intent on stemming the wave of global Communism, sent military advisers to S. Vietnam, to train their forces. As the S. Vietnamese Army began to lose ground, the US began sending it's own troops. The war gradually escalated. It continued on until 1975.

I personally witnessed the dead boys coming home. It was a daily event seeing the coffins being unloaded off of the cargo planes at Dover AFB, in Delaware. The war was the talk of the news at the time. There was alot of civil unrest over the war. I always thought that those who protested the war were doing alot of harm to the soldiers who were being sent there to fight, and I still have that same attitude today.

The Vietnam War, on it's face, was necessary. The free S. Vietnam was under invasion by Communists, and they were killing just about everyone who got into their path. The life for the Vietnamese citizen was pure hell. There was barely a soul there who had not lost someone to Communist forces.

The management of the war was another story. They placed ridiculous restrictions on our troops. Many of these restrictions caused needless casualties. It was because the politicians were trying to run combat operations rather than the field commanders who were trained to do so. There were no established lines, and no real apparent plan for victory. It was total mismanagement.

Richard Nixon ordered the bombing of N. Vietnam in the early 70's and it was beginning to take it's toll on Communist forces. They actually got N. Vietnam to the negotiation table in Paris. Somewhere along the line, the US decided it best to pull out their forces and leave. This is one of the most controversial decisions of the war. To this day, I cannot fathom why they would leave a job undone. In 1975, the US pulled out, and those S. Vietnamese who were left there, chaotically tried to leave. It was a heartbreaking scene. Those who could not leave, were subject to the N. Vietnamese offensive, which they began after US forces began their pullout. It was a tragedy.

The intents of the war were good. To stem the tide of global Communism. But the management of the war was bungled, as was retrieving our POW's, etc following the war. Unfortunately, many schools are teaching students that the US "lost" the Vietnam War, which is the furthest thing from the truth. US soldiers won every engagement in which they were involved. The decision to pull out was a political one, not a retreat, as many attempt to claim.

The soldiers who fought in Vietnam deserve our love and respect. They were pawns in a mismanaged war, and they were treated like dirt by their own country. It was sickening the things that they came home to.

If you do your study, please be objective, learn the facts, and show respect to the 58,000 who died in Vietnam, as well as the hundreds of thousands who were maimed for life, and the 2500 POW's who are still missing, as of today.

Thank you.

Answer 2

I am The son of a Vietnam Veteran, 11th Armored Cavalry Regimen 3 division. "THE BLACKHORSE," currently he works for the City of Los Angeles, water & power. (Less than 3 years till retirement.. He was at the (III corps Bien Hoa) during the tet offensive. we have had many looooong talks about the war, and he says "to help stop the spread of communism, if the North would have over taken the South, that would have given vietnam, a wide open door, to gather and conquer other non communist nations." he was strongly affected, became abusive, addi. 2 alcoh. & drgs. flashbacks would occur throughout the day. would toss and turn when in bed, along w/ many others. His best friend, while together on patrol, was blown up by an rpg. became an introvert. many years he would hide during a storm, 07/04 and 12/31.

Answer 3

I am an entrepreneur. we landed in Qui Nhon Provence July 1965. We never knew at the time why we were fighting. We were in cold weather training because we thought we were going to be shipped to Korea. Most of us were teen agers. I didn't feel anything. We had a job to do.

Coming home most of the guys on my ship were wounded or maimed. We had heard that protesters met ships and threw garbage at the GI's . Many of our lives would never be the same.

If you wanted a date , you did better in civilian clothes. We were asked by the republic of Viet Nam. They wouldn't let us win. since it wasn't a war , but a police action, we had to ask permission to attack a VC village. There were many things we could not do.

If you see a Viet Nam vet , welcome him home and say Thank You. We never got either.