Reasons of the Vietnam War

Reasons of the Vietnam War

1. Vietnamese wanted to become an independent nation, so they had to fight the French which were allies of the U.S
2. The election were promised by the Geneva Convention in July, 1954 but were never held, and Ho Chi Minh (a political leader) would have won.
3. For the Vietnamese to unify there country, they would have to fight the corrupt dictator of South Vietnam
4. U.S increased its military after the incident of the Gulf of Tonkin, which gave President Johnson the approval of Congress to fight an undeclared war.\
5. After founding the People's Republic of China, and the Korean war in 1950, the United States changed its foreign policy drastically towards Asia.
6. U.S military and politicians invented the "Domino Theory" which was falsely stated that if one nation fell to Communism, the others would follow like dominoes.
7. The American Government underestimated the will of the Vietnamese people to fight, they had fought the French, and the Chinese. The American people couldn't comprehend with the Vietnamese.
8. After Vietnam was declined assistance from the U.S (Western nations) Vietnam accepted assistance from China and the Soviet Union, turning the conflict into a Cold War stand off between democracy and the communism.

Table of Contents

1.  Discrimination of African American Soldiers.  Written by Connor Standring.  This article discusses ways that African American soldiers faced discrimination.
2.  Clothing and Fashion.  Written by Nico Vergara.  This article talks about the different clothing and the fashion styles that Vietnamese families wore during the war, versus what American's were wearing during this time.
3.  Vietnamese Leaders.  Written by Connor Standring.  This article is a brief biography on Le Daun, one of the most influential and important leaders for post-war Vietnam 
4.  Map and Geography.  Written by Evan Sheridan.  This article provides a short summary of where the war was fought and how the region was divided between sides.
5.  Music.  Written by Trey Davis.  This article talks about a specific Vietnam War song that was popular during this time.
6. Mental Effects of the War.  Written by Nico Vergara.  This artcile discusses how the war affected the soldiers and their families mentally with the trauma of the war.
7.  Weapons.  Written by Nico Vergara.  This article talks about the different artillery used during the war and which side used them.
8.  American Media During the War.  Written by Connor Standring.  This article discusses the pros and cons of the media coverage during the war, and how it may have affected the outcome of the war.
9.  Military: US. Written by Trey Davis  This article discusses various military tactics and leader conducted by the United States during the war.
10. Guerilla Warfare.  Written by Evan Sheridan.  This article discusses the use of Guerilla Warfare during the war, which proved to be a very successful tactic.
11. Remembering the Vietnam War.  Written by Evan Sheridan.  This story talks about the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C and the affect it has on Vietnam veterans today.
12.  Reasons of the Vietnam War. This article discusses a short summary of the causes leading up to the Cold war stand off between democracy and communism.

Works Cited

Works Cited

Hillstrom, Kevin. "Criticism of American media coverage of the war." Vietnam War . United States : The Gale Group , 2001. 233. Print.

 

Hillstrom, Kevin. "Black soldiers face discrimination in Vietnam." Vietnam War . United States : The Gale Group , 2001. 233. Print.

 

"Le Duan." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. U.S. History in Context. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.

Document URL

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow failOverType=&query=&prodId=UHIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=UHIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1631003857&source=Bookmark&u=centcath&jsid=87e8526cf5cfcfad5380ed473070bdbc

 

1965. Photojournalism, the Voice of War. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. <http://blogs.furman.edu/com221sp10d/2010/03/29/photojournalism-the-voice-of-war/>.

 

Web. 4 Apr. 2014. <http://diendan.songhuong.com.vn/showthread.php?t=1983>.

 



"Vietnam-Geography." Windows on Asia. Asian Studies Center, 2013. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/southeast_asia/vietnam/geography.htm.

Asprey, Robert B. "Guerrilla Warfare." History and Society. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/248353/guerrilla-warfare.

"Weapons of the Vietnam War." History. A&E, 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/weapons-of-the-vietnam-war>.

 
"Music of Vietnam." Vietnam War. Blue Host, 2010. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. http://www.lzcenter.com/Vietnam%20War%20Era%20Music.htm%20l.

"The Vietnam Veterans Memorial." The Wall. The Wall-USA, 2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://thewall-usa.com/>.


"Vietnam War Leaders." The Vietnam War. 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-leaders/>.

"Television Coverage of Vietnam." Vietnam. War Bird Forum, 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://www.warbirdforum.com/media.htm>.

"Vietnam War Fashion." Vietnam War. Vanderbilt, 2013. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/olli/class-materials/History_of_Fashion_Nov13th.pdf.

"Psychological Effects of the War." Vietnam War. EDGE, 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/war_peace/media/hpsych.html>.

Discrimination of African American Soldiers

African American Discrimination

By: Connor Standring

      

        During the Vietnam War, discrimination that took place in the United States, rolled over to the military.  Due to the creation of Project 1000 which encouraged people to enlist into the army from more poor areas, many African Americans had enlisted.  When the recruits from Project 1000 arrived in Vietnam, white soldiers saw them as inferior to themselves and treated them poorly.  African Americans often received the least desired housing and duty assignments that were available.  They also were passed over for promotions, no matter how efficient they were.  Studies also showed that African Americans received worse punishment for crimes committed during active duty than white soldiers did.  More studies show that a higher percentage of African Americans were killed, because they were often assigned more dangerous combat assignments. 

 

 



Clothing/Fashion

By: Nico Vergara

 

Vietnamese Family

American Hippies

            People at this time starting wearing anti-war clothing and symbols such as peace signs. Some people called this the starting of the hippie era. There were many decorations on many peoples clothing like patches, drawings/designs, and fabrics were added on the clothing as well. When the soldiers came back who survived they liked to wear their uniforms sometimes to show what they have done for our country. Many men during the 60's and 70's had long beards or mustaches and men started growing out there hair very long, going back to the start of the hippie era, because there were so many people against the war people liked and wanted to spread the word of peace. 

Vietnamese Leaders: Brief Historu of Le Duan

       Le Daun

 

Born: April 7, 1908

Died: July 10, 1986

Place of Birth: Quang Tri, Vietnam

Place of Death: Hanoi, Vietnam

 



       Le Daun was a very major political leader in North Vietnam during the war, and was the principal leader of post-war Vietnam.  Le Daun was one of the founder of Vietnamese Communism dating back all the way to the 1930s!  However, Le Daun was more experienced in leading a political party, thus when he came political power in Vietnam, he lacked government experience. 

       Little is known of Le Daun's early life, but many historians believe that he may have been part Chinese, which indicates why he never talked or wrote about his childhood.  Le Daun also was not his birth name, it was given to him.  Historians do not know his birth name.

Map and Geography: By Evan Sheridan

Map and Geography

Vietnam is shaped in a long "S" stretching for 1000 miles from China in the north to the Gulf of Thailand in the south. The country's land area including water is about 127,000 square miles. It is a country of tropical lowlands, hills, and densely forested highlands, with level land covering no more than 20 percent of the area. Three quarters of Vietnam is made up of mountains and hills. Because of the vast range of latitudes and altitudes, Vietnam's climate is very diverse, although the entire country lies in the tropics and subtropics. US soldiers had lots of trouble fighting in Vietnam due to climate and geography. The Americans weren't used to the humid weather, jungle, mountains, precipitation, and lay of the land. Therefore the whole war they were at a disadvantage due to not knowing the land like the Vietnamese soldiers themselves.
By:Evan Sheridan

Music

MUSIC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg9e4B3pLQA

"Run through the jungle," was a song written by Casper Aviation Platoon who served in the 173d Airborne Brigade during the Vietnam War from 1965 -1971.Casper was the only separate aviation platoon in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Casper Platoon Veterans still continue to be honored till this day. On May 5, 1965 Casper Aviation Platoon became the first U.S Army ground unit committing to the Vietnam war. 

     

    

  Mental Effects of the War on our Soldiers

                                                            By: Nico Vergara

   Families didn't like their relatives going out into war because they thought the Vietnam War was stupid and pointless. They thought that their loved ones were going and risking their lives for no apparent or very good reason. Because of this everybody was very scared, but mostly mad. Many soldiers that came back from that war would get shell shock because they were witnessing their best friends getting blown up or shot at right in front of their eyes. Many soldiers would have flashbacks to the war, partially because of shell shock. Some would become deaf because of all the bombs around them, many would have drugs abuse or become alcoholics. 

          You would think when the soldiers made it home from Vietnam they would be applauded, praised, and loved because they served our country and every single one of them out there are taking care of us and making sure nothing happens to us and while their doing that huge favor to us, their risking their lives all at the same time. Instead of giving love and support to them, they got spit at, cursed at, and they got treated like 2nd class citizens.

Shell shocked U.S. troop

         Life was pretty rough for soldiers, they either had to sleep on the ground or self-made bunkers. Usually they would eat cold food straight out of a can because it was the quickest and most convenient thing to eat. Most of the soldiers were from the age of 18-24, so very young and loved to play the guitar and listen to 60's rock. They knew how important they were to our country but in the end they just wanted to get back to "the real world."

                               Weapons

By: Nico Vergara

M2 Carbine, What the Vietnamese used.

M16, What the U.S. used.

        Weapons were a big part of the Vietnam war and it changed the war drastically. The M1 and M2 carbine were the two most common weapons used by the Vietnamese Military, police, and security forces. The Vietnamese used these guns for many reasons, including it didn't take that long to reload and it was very lightweight. The United States used the M1 and M2 carbines as well, but that gun wasn't the most commonly used gun for the Americans during this war. It was the M14 rifle, this gun was very powerful and was very convenient at the time. Later the M14 got replaced by the M16, mostly because the M16 had way more power to it and was more deadly.
         Helicopters were a huge part of the Vietnam War, the most common produced helicopter at the time was the Huey. More than 7,000 Huey's were produced and went into war. This helicopter made very easy transportation for the troops and you could fit about 10-12 troops on one at one time. It was very small and light so it could fly at low altitudes and speeds and could land in very small places.

         Many bombs were used during the Vietnam War, and if they weren't actually used the U.S. used bombs as a threat and for the most part it scared Vietnam. Nixon wanted to just use atomic bombs and blow up Vietnam but it was not right to do that and Nixon knew that. Bombs during this time created a lot of controversy and many policies were created because of bombs and how powerful they were. Both sides didn't necessarily use bombs a whole lot but they would threaten each other and both sides eventually fell for it because they both knew how much damage it would do and then they would fall very behind.
      

American Media during the War

American Media During the War

By: Connor Standring

       The media coverage of the war was at it's time, the most covered ever in history.  However, due to the result of the war concluding with a Vietnam victory, many people have been quick to criticize the media coverage of the war.  The majority of these critics have said that the majority of the coverage was either written by or reported by an individual who was personally opposed to the war, which in the eyes of the critics, means that they're information provided more negative and misleading coverage and was a form of propaganda to turn the support from the citizens of the United States away from the involvement of the U.S.  Many lawmakers, military leaders and historians also believe that American journalists did a poor job of explaining key events of their For example, President Nixon stated that the media didn't provide a clear understanding of the "underlying purpose" of the battles and certain decisions that were made that the citizens learned about.  " Eventually this contributed to the impression that we were fighting in military and moral quicksand," said Nixon when addressing the media coverage of the war.  Other critics say that some journalists even jumped to conclusions before knowing that their information was 100% accurate.  One example would  be the "Tet Offensive"  which was mistakenly published as a United States military defeat.  Others even say, reporters and journalists from different companies were very competitive and were trying to come up with the most interesting an dramatic story, rather than providing the full truth.  Lastly, the media was also criticized for providing graphic content of wounded soldiers and military attacks, which would gear the attitudes of the American people in a negative way.  This is very important because the poor attitude of the American people was one of the key factors that lead to the Americans withdrawing themselves from the war. 
       However, every story has a second perspective and that is the view of those who supported the media coverage during the war.  Many reporters say that the war in Vietnam was a learning experience for the American media and that our government and media both learned from this experience.  Journalists, however do not believe they in any way changed the attitudes of the American people and that they had established their beliefs before the media could publish any stories, even though they do agree that at times their information was superficial  Some historians do in fact believe that the majority of the coverage wasn't geared towards showing graphic and disturbing content, and that they covered very significant concerns and events, and that the war wasn't lost because of poor media, but because of poor strategy.  Media historian Lawrence Lichty, less than 5% of American media coverage during the war showed close-up violent content between 1965 and 1970.   Although, since the war, Journalists now have more restrictions on what can be covered during conflicts that American troops are involved.

   
 
  

Military

MILITARY

U.S:

Earle Wheeler was a general for the United states in the Vietnam war. Earle Gilmore "Bus" Wheeler, served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1962 to 1964 and then as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holding the latter position during the Vietnam War. Born on January 13, 1998 in Washington D.C, and died December 18, 1975 in Maryland.


Thomas Hinman Moore was a naval aviator in the United States Navy who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1967 to 1970, and as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 to 1974. Born on February 9, 1912 in Alabama, and died on February 5, 2004 in Maryland. His legacy was named after a middle school in Eufaula, Alabama and the National Guard Armory (Fort Thomas H. Moorer Armory)

VIETNAMESE:

Vo Nguyen Giap was a General in the Vietnam People's Army and a politician. He grew to his prominence by leading the Viet Minh resistance against the Japanese occupation in Vietnam. Giap was a principal commander in two wars, First Indochina War(1946–54) and the Vietnam War (1960–1975). 

Van Tien Dung was a Vietnamese general in the People's Army of Vietnam. He was also PAVN commander in chief, and Socialist Republic of Vietnam defense minister. Van Tien Dung was in office for all-Vaaround 10 years. He was born May 2, 1917 in Vietnam, French Indochina. And died on March 17, 2002, where he died is unknown. 



Guerilla Warfare: By Evan Sheridan

Guerrilla Warfare

        Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which a small group of combatants use military tactics such as ambushes, sabotages, hit-and-runs, raids to attack a less mobile and larger traditional military. The Vietcong avoided pitched battles with the Americans unless the odds were clearly in their favor. They focused on more hit and run attacks and ambushes. To counter the American build-up, Vietcong recruitment stepped up and more North Vietnamese Army troops infiltrated into South Vietnam. Main force Vietcong units were uniformed, full-time soldiers, and were used to launch large scale offensives over a wide area. Local guerrillas were given only a basic minimum of infantry training, but if they were recruited to a main force unit, they could receive up to a month of advanced instruction.
By: Evan Sheridan