Vietnam War

3 Pages 708 Words

The American conflict in Vietnam and Indochina during the 1960’s and 70’s has been seen through many different perspectives. Hollywood has given its portrayal in countless movies ranging from “Good Morning Vietnam,” “We Were Soldiers,” and “Platoon.” Books and magazines have also given their opinions in both fiction and non-fiction pieces of literature. Most of the time Vietnam is painted as a beautiful country cursed with a gruesome war. But no movie or book can describe what accurately went on more than the young soldiers who saw the violence with their own eyes. Military men had to deal with risking their lives, fighting a foreign enemy, being on constant edge, and dealing with the constant pressures that come with military service. This paper will focus on the U.S. Army’s role in Vietnam, the “politics” surrounding combat, and the graphic images witnessed by many infantrymen on the front lines.
Between 1962 and 1975 approximately 2.5 Americans served in Vietnam and the Army had numerous combat units on the front lines fighting the enemy. When the first U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam in 1965 they were composed mainly of volunteers. The Air Force, Navy, and Marines were volunteer units. The escalating war, however, required more draftees. In 1965 about 20,000 men per month were inducted into the military, most into the Army; by 1968 about 40,000 young men were drafted each month to meet increased troop levels ordered for Vietnam (http://25thaviation.org/default.htm). The distinct element that the Vietnam conflict had over other major battles in U.S. history was that the fighting took place in “bits and pieces.”
“There were no Normandies or Gettysburgs for us, no epic clashes that decided the fates of armies or nations. The war was mostly a matter of enduring weeks of expectant waiting and, at random intervals, of conducting vicious manhunts through jungles and swamps where snipers harassed us con...