Did you know the military was in open revolt during the Vietnam War?

Question

In the 1960’s an anti-war movement emerged that altered the course of history. This movement didn’t take place on college campuses, but in barracks and on aircraft carriers. It flourished in army stockades, navy brigs and in the dingy towns that surround military bases. It penetrated elite military colleges like West Point. And it spread throughout the battlefields of Vietnam. It was a movement no one expected, least of all those in it. Hundreds went to prison and thousands into exile. And by 1971 it had, in the words of one colonel, infested the entire armed services. Yet today few people know about the GI movement against the war in Vietnam.

The Vietnam War has been the subject of hundreds of films, both fiction and non-fiction, but this story–the story of the rebellion of thousands of American soldiers against the war–has never been told in film.This is certainly not for lack of evidence. By the Pentagon’s own figures, 503,926 “incidents of desertion” occurred between 1966 and 1971; officers were being “fragged”(killed with fragmentation grenades by their own troops) at an alarming rate; and by 1971 entire units were refusing to go into battle in unprecedented numbers. In the course of a few short years, over 100 underground newspapers were published by soldiers around the world; local and national antiwar GI organizations were joined by thousands; thousands more demonstrated against the war at every major base in the world in 1970 and 1971, including in Vietnam itself; stockades and federal prisons were filling up with soldiers jailed for their opposition to the war and the military.



Yet few today know of these history-changing events.



Sir! No Sir! will change all that. The film does four things: 1) Brings to life the history of the GI movement through the stories of those who were part of it; 2) Reveals the explosion of defiance that the movement gave birth to with never-before-seen archival material; 3) Explores the profound impact that movement had on the military and the war itself; and 4) The feature, 90 minute version, also tells the story of how and why the GI Movement has been erased from the public memory.
http://www.sirnosir.com/home_about_film.html

THE COLLAPSE OF THE ARMED FORCES

By Col. Robert D. Heinl, Jr.
North American Newspaper Alliance
Armed Forces Journal, 7 June,

Full text:
http://www.chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/Vietnam/heinl.html#5

SOLDIERS IN REVOLT

Soldiers in Revolt.
GI Resistance During the Vietnam War
by David Cortright

http://www.citizen-soldier.org/cortright.html

There are massive amounts of documented evidence supporting the reality that soldiers who realized they had nothing in common with the political pursuits of the wealthy elite and their representative officers in the military, and who came to comprehend that they were nothing but cannon fodder for those pursuits rebelled against those who sent them off to kill and be killed. The political elite and military brass who represent the interests of the wealthy elite do everything they can to coerice the soldier into believing their fighting for their country. This is, of course, a lie. War is always an economic event and the real pursuit is always greater riches for a ruling elite.

Answer 1

I saw this movie and it's very good. The fact that this movie has not been widely released despite its many awards serves to illustrate how the wealthy elite, whose interests and pursuits are diametrically opposite to those of the underclass, work very hard to promote their propaganda while squashing any truth and reality that may find its way to the public.

Answer 2

As an ex-serving foreign national in the Vietnam war (and there were thousands) yes, I'm aware of such events in all branches of the services and the concurrent attitude of all ranks, however, the magnitude U describe while certainly revealing - is not surprising!

As in the British Malayan campaign, many UK officers were quietly "knocked-off" by their own men for their arrogance and behavior. This stemming from WW11 i.e. the UK military officer corps a law unto themselves / abusing their rank and privilege to extremes / covering up for each other!

It remains much the same today - hence the reason it cannot attract the numbers it requires and many serving ranker's either quit and/or leave after their first period of service.

An element of desertion does exist - but its by no means to the extent it was during the days of compulsory service.

One day the US Govt will also own-up to having enlisted the help of allied and foreign troops in its ranks during Vietnam.

Answer 3

Some of what you claim happened happened. Quite a bit of it is overblown crap though. I want more sources than a website and a "documentary". Scour the 'net and you can find dozens, if not hundreds of well produced documentaries that are full of crap, but look great. Want one on how we faked the moon landings? How about how aliens secretly landed and have been running the world for the last 60 years? You can find them, well produced, on their very own web sites, with eyewitness testimony, and people with fancy letters after their name. Doesn't make them 100% true.

But one thing you little idiots who hope to forment dissent in the military forget is, now it is an ALL VOLUNTEER FORCE, not a bunch of draftees. A lot of the guys who got drafted were probably pissed, and for the first few years of the AVF it wasn't much better. My father spent over 30 years in the Army, and he remembers the mid 70s. Yeah, some of what you were saying happened, like I said. The last of the draftees wanted out, and no one wanted to join up to replace them because the pay and living conditions sucked. Then along came Regan, who bumped up pay and training, let the Army kick out malcontents, and helped foster esprit-de-corps. It is a completely different force today. I served until 2003, and my wife is serving now. There isn't a huge movement of guys drafted to fight against their will anymore. Get over it, you hippies, it is a different military and a different world. I know you 60's wannabes are projecting your own dislike of the war on today's troops, and, hey some do. In a 1.2 million person force, there will be people of all walks of life. MOST of them support what they are doing. They want to come home, I certainly did, and my wife does, but not if it means leaving Iraq in chaos.

EDIT: Oh look, you posted links to anti-military and anti-war websites as more "proof". It's not like I can't sign on to GoDaddy.com and create my very own shiny website in less than 2 hours. Link to a major news organization, or maybe show me some research the MILTARY did. Trust me, if there was a revolt, they studied it.

Here, watch this. I'll be like you. THE EARTH IS FLAT. Here is a link to a website that supports my claim:

http://www.alaska.net/~clund/e_djublonskopf/Flatearthsociety.htm

http://theflatearthsociety.org/forum//

See, I must be right, they have a website.

Answer 4

Look man I've never heard anything about this you’re going to have to offer more proof then a website...an 11 year old can make a web site.

But to be honest its Treason point blank when the Military starts making decisions like which war we are going to fight or not its a domino effect into US having power over the Gov instead of the other way around...I've been to Iraq twice and headed back again soon and I don’t want to go but its my duty and i will..

Answer 5

I enlisted in 1974 and retired in 1997. I think you're exaggerating the state of affairs, but yes, there were problems. The problems didn't end with Vietnam either. I'd say the problems lasted until about 1981 or 1982 when the Reagan administration authorized the massive discharge of trouble makers, whether they liked it or not, and severely limited the number of CAT-4 men and women on active duty.

Today's military is largely made up of men and women from the upper middle class and bears little resemblance to the military I joined back in 1974.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/cda05-08.cfm

Answer 6

So what's your point? We don't have the draft today, so everyone thinks the troops serving are volunteers., Actually many are national guard who signed up to protect this country. Our government has allowed 11 million illegals to invade this country. Now our Government wants to send border guards to Iraq. They don't ever care if America is secure. Big business can now take your home if they want to build on it and employ people. Our infrastructures are in adequate and crumbling. Politicians are giving contracts to big business at the expense of small business and the American people. Greed is all that counts in this government. They would rather let the people die then give affordable health care, after all they can get cheap labor from Mexico and Mexico wants to get rid of their poor and criminals.

Answer 7

Very much news to me since I was in the Marine Corps and was also in Viet Nam during that time frame. I know of no Marine units which refused to go into battle and that word would have spread rapidly if it had happend; if you think that enlisted (I was a PFC-L/Cpl at the time) don't find out about that stuff you never served. The biggest fear at the end of my tour was that we would be dying for nothing because the personnel there knew we were pulling out and that we were going to lose; again enlisted aren't stupid and we ended up being right, there was no peace with honor in what the politicians did. That many desertions in that time frame is high but the size of the militayr was much larger then it is now and was largely comprised of draftees. I did hear about fraggings but it was mostly hearsay and when it did occur was supposedly because the officer was being "stupid or a medal hound" and getting the troops killed to get his ticket punched. I remained in the Marines after the war and retired, one of the main reasons I did so was it was where I felt at home and because of the "Do your own thing" civillians who did not like me because I did my own thing, they had some VietNam vets who were with them in this-the VietNam Vets Against the War with there spokesman JK being primiary but after a period of time it was discovered that many of the VVAW vets weren't ever in VietNam and some were not even vets. For your information the most angry I saw my fellow enlisted Marines in that time frame was in 1975 when Saigon fell and the US broke the treaty it signed that got it out VietNam and made our fellow serviceman's sacrifice a matter of personal honor and not national pride; many of us cried when Saigon fell because it meant what we did and those who dis did so for nothing. That was the closest I ever saw Marines ready to "revolt"-it was to go back not to get out. You can put together anything and show it as fact or skew facts to make a political film but I would guess that most of the vet's of that time while they would agree with some of what you said but not the "widespread revolt and mutiny/treason" you say happend.

Answer 8

I enlisted in 1972 in the Active Army and served until 1976. I joined the National Guard in 1977 transferred to Army Reserve in 1984 and transferred back into the National Guard in 1993 and continued to serve until 1998. Since then I've volunteered in the Massachusetts State Guard and the New York State Guard, I presently working on re-activating the New Hampshire State Guard. That works out to 34 years I've served in some way, manner or form. I've served with Vietnam veterans and have a great many Vietnam veteran whom I am honored to call my friends.

503,926 incidents of desertion means nothing at all! Many of those desertions occured pre-deployment to Vietnam while many others were movitated by nothing more than a desire to get drunk or high.

Exactly how many of your "Heroes" are willing to step forward today and accept credit for killing their fellow Americans in time of war. How many of them will accept responsibility for creeping up in the night under cover of darkness to commit an act of murder?

The one document incident of a entire unit refusing to go into battle stems from the fact they had only just stood down from nearly two weeks of combat operations. The unit was in fact unfit for further action which is the reason why they did not face court martial.

The vast majority of United State Servicemen who served in Vietnam served honorable, they served their country with pride. They were not the 2-5% who did drugs or felt they had to commit criminal acts. To paint them all with your B.S. Paint Brush is a grave disservice to them and to the memory of all service members.

Answer 9

The enemy of the US Soldier during Vietnam was in Washington DC

The USA is in the WAR BUSINESS...

The USA will get its rotten face smashed in IRAQ..oh well

Answer 10

I was in during that time, but I do not recall any such revolt. How long did it last (ie did I miss it because I went to chow?).