Vietnam-Perkasie
For the lucky few who survived Vietnam the experience changed their lives forever. The morality and responsibility of US action in Vietnam was questioned both abroad and domestically. The lack of support at home and ethics of war left the returning soldiers disillusioned and betrayed. In this time period spanning from the 1960's to the 1970's United States objectives in the war remained unchanged while the sentiment of the country transformed. The 60's and 70's were a time of enormous social and political turmoil and the almighty power of the nation was challenged both domestic and abroad. Abroad, the rules of war had changed since World War II. The enemy in Vietnam was unclear and the style of fighting had changed from massive targeted attacks to fighting a guerrilla enemy in futile search and destroy missions. Domestically, Hippies and Yippies had an tremendous voice, raising national consciousness about the blunders of US involvement in Vietnam. The Hippie lifestyle and greater message of peace was highly successful in changing the mood for support of war in Vietnam. The men who went off to the Vietnam with clear objectives of stopping the communists and returning home heroes, similar to their father
Even the men in the US who would appreciate the effort the young men in Vietnam had criticism. The World War II veterans used their experience of war to make judgments about Vietnam. "Yeh, we didn't do none of this one-year-and-come-home stuff like you guys got nowadays. You went in then, you stayed in till the war was over. They oughta do that with this Vietnam thing. Make you guys fight a little harder, wouldn't it?"(Ehrhart, pg. 376). In World War II ideals and individual roles were much clearer than in Vietnam. The Vietnamese did not want our help and our "help" was destroying and degrading their country. World War II veterans could not understand the complexity of the Vietnam soldiers experience. The turning point in Ehrhart's experience in Vietnam was when Trinh quits and questions the tactics of the US Marines. Trinh a native attempts to get rid of the communists by aiding the US Marines. After aiding for six years and only seeing the body count steadily rise, frustrated and fed-up Trinh stops helping the US. "You do not know what you are doing, goddamn you! You are ruining everything, and I am not going to help you do it any more! You are hypocrites and fools, and you are giving my country to the communist buzzards! Leave my people alone, you goddamned mercenaries! Take your ignorance and go home!"(Ehrhart, pg. 208). To alienate such a loyal and devoted comrade with similar goals struck a chord with Ehrhart. Ehrhart began to question his motivation and others motivations for US involvement abroad. s who participated in World War II, encountered an entirely different experience and their morality was questioned. The US goal was to stop the communists in Vietnam and return the original government to the Vietnamese. There was no success on either side of the battle, only loss of human life. This dynamic left he US soldiers questioning why they were fighting so hard. The sentiment of South Vietnam was to get rid of the Americans. In their eyes the US did more harm than good. "But even more staggering are the anti-American demonstrations that are rocking every major city in South Vietnam. It appears that we are not welcome there. We are fighting a war to liberate a people who do not wish to be liberated. American boys are dying
Some common words found in the essay are:
War II, Ehrhart Ehrhart, South Vietnam, , Marines Trinh, Vietnam Yeh, Vietnam Vietnam, Vietnam Hippie, Hippies Yippies, Vietnam Vietnamese, returned home, war ii, world war, world war ii, south vietnam, war ii veterans, soldiers disillusioned, returning home, enemy innocent, ii veterans, confused role, ehrhart returned home, war changed,
Approximate Word count = 1523
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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