Author: messinasanto

American Culture

One of the many changes the United States underwent during the Vietnam War was through its culture. The Vietnam War caused the most social destruction, pain, and division of any other point in American history. The most popular debate that sprung up during the war was whether the United States should have even been involved in it at all. Over 1,400 personal narratives, 100 short-story collections, 750 novels, and 250 films came about based on the events and effects of the Vietnam War. These numbers alone show how deeply passionate American citizens were about the war. Many of these works are still spoken of today and kept relevant like “Apocalypse Now”, “Catch-22”, and “Full Metal Jacket”. In fact, these movies and books are considered some of the most popular works of art for their time and beyond.

Aside from big movie productions or best-seller novels, the Vietnam War played a huge role in forming ordinary people’s political and social opinions. Whether or not they believed that the USA should be involved in Vietnam at all sparked both positivity and negativity toward government officials who had the authority to make important decisions regarding Vietnam. Some people threw riots and protested the war entirely, while others cheered on their military and supported the U.S. involvement in Vietnamese affairs. For example, in 1969, the musician Jimi Hendrix performed his own rendition of the Star Spangled Banner in which he added components and changed parts of the song entirely as an act of protest against the war. Some people find his actions heroic and inspiring, while others are disgusted by the amount of disrespect they believe Hendrix showed to the country. This performance is still relevant today and can still spark debates over whether his actions were good or bad.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3467

The Great “What If?”

The question of “What if the Vietnam war never happened?” has been a hot topic among historians for decades. The war spanned roughly twenty years, with about 60,000 US military deaths. But by no means was this war the most destructive or deadly. This war stands out in history for the war crimes committed by both the US and VC including rape, massacre of innocents, and scorched-earth policies. If this conflict would have never happened, anywhere from 1.3 to 3.9 million people would have lived out their lives (according to https://thevietnamwar.info/). Relations with Russia might have been on better terms in this alternate timeline since the Russians were supplying the VC communist armies with weapons. There is no definitive way of knowing what would have happened, but it is a great topic that is up for debate.

The 1960s Wrap Battles

Tet Offensive (30 January – 28 March, 1968)

The “Tet Offensive” was a ‘great battle’ in the sense of its scale. On January 30th, the VC attacked roughly 100 Southern Vietnamese US held strongholds. This attack was swift and done in union (Yes, not unison). The attack was named “Tet” after the start of the Vietnamese new year (Tết). With the cost of massive casualties, the US was able to regain the majority of the territory lost to the VC (including Saigon). (https://www.historyhit.com/major-battles-of-the-vietnam-war/)

Hamburger Hill (10 May – 20 May 1969)

“Hamburger Hill” received its title weeks after the battle was over. Apparently, in the 1960s hamburgers took a long time to make, and this battle was no different (lasting 10 days). The battle took place on Hill #937 (named for its elevation above sea level). There were heavy casualties on both sides, though the US Military had more casualties than the VC by May 20th. The hill was abandon on June 7th because it held no strategic or military value. (https://www.historyhit.com/major-battles-of-the-vietnam-war/)

The “Big Two” Battles

Battle of la Drang Valley (26 October – 27 November 1965)

The Battle of Ia Drang Valley holds significant military history because it was the first major battle of the war that used air mobility tactics. Done with the UH-1 Huey gun ship, these guerrilla style attacks dispersed the VC. The helicopters were know as the “Air Calvary.” (https://www.historyhit.com/major-battles-of-the-vietnam-war/)

Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January – 9 April 1968)

The Battle of Khe Sanh was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war. The US military held garrison in Khe Sanh was held under siege by the VC for roughly seventy seven days. The siege was ended when “Operation Pegasus” airlifted the troops out by airship. The battle was considered a great loss for the US. (https://www.historyhit.com/major-battles-of-the-vietnam-war/)

Why Vietnam?

During the Cold War, a battle between American capitalism and Russian communism, the United States found themselves fighting in Vietnam, but if the battle was against Russia, then why was Vietnam involved? The reason for this, simply stated, is because Vietnam was supporting the Soviet Union, and America needed to put a stop to it. At this time, Vietnam was divided in two parts: North Vietnam(Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam(Republic of Vietnam). North Vietnam was supporting the USSR, and South Vietnam was being aided by the United States to defeat North Vietnam. The Vietnam War refers to specifically the battle between the USA and North Vietnam. Once it was established that a war between these two countries had begun, other surrounding nations took their stances and supported their preferred side. As was already instituted, North Vietnam was aided by the USSR, but the People’s Republic of China also joined the fight in favor of the communist takeover. South Vietnam, however, was supported by many more nations. Those being the USA, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and the Philippines.