The My Lai Massacre: Military Involvement In Vietnam
From the beginning of the United States military involvement in Vietnam in 1955, to its withdrawal in 1973 public support for the war was strong at first, but began to slowly erode as military actions escalated. Among the soldiers fighting in the war a critical turning point in their support for the war occurred after the revealing of the My Lai massacre. The My Lai Massacre was a turning point in the soldiers’ about the war and their support for the Vietnam War. Because of its documentation and publicity the My Lai massacre among many atrocities had such an impact, that it turned the viewpoints of the soldiers who were present at the massacre, but also those who were not. In 1955 the tensions related to the Cold War spilled over into the …show more content…
In March 29, 1969, Mr. Ridenhour wrote letters to inform the government about important details the US military wanted to keep a secret. Despite the military’s previous attempts to cover up the incident, Mr. Ridenhour efforts helped spark the publicity of the My Lai massacre and draw the publics attention even more to this atrocity. To the soldiers who had once fought in the war enthusiastically, the My Lai massacre caused them to see the ward in a new light they never thought of. “There is more wanting to kill or to hurt, than to love or to care. The loving feeling or the caring feeling is not there…that was caused by My Lai.” These were words of Vernado Simpson who was present at My Lai.
The soldiers fought in the war to protect the southern Vietnamese from communism, but in this event it was not the South that was protected, rather they were victimized. All of the soldiers who served honorably in Vietnam were unfairly tarred with the brush of the My Lai massacre. That terrible event spoke more about a failure of American leadership, than it did about the American
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My Lai Massacre Research Paper
1185 Words | 5 PagesU.S. soldiers are trained to follow orders, which is exactly what they did as hundreds of villagers were indiscriminately killed in the My Lai Massacre. Even if the soldiers were acting under confusing orders, that is a failure of the chain of command, and even if the killings were orchestrated by a few incompetent officers, those officers never should have been placed in leadership roles. The real tragedy of My Lai represents an entire system of willful negligence and lack of accountability on the part of the military. Thus the responsibility for the massacre lies with the men involved, but also with the military chain of command that gave the order and then tried to cover it up.
Ethical Issues In The Vietnam War
1101 Words | 5 PagesThe Vietnam war took a major death toll in Vietnam, United States, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia. Just in the U.S., “more than 58,000 American soldiers were killed while more than 150,000 others wounded”. On both sides, there were almost 2 million civilians dead and 1.1 simply on the Vietnamese side. The My Lai Massacre, where soldiers brutally killed Vietnamese children and mothers, presents an example where the war mentally changed the soldiers in the war in a very horrendous way. On the other hand, the United States took brutal losses in the Tet Offensive, where the Vietcong slaughtered over 100 towns and twelve United States air bases.
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United States Involvement In The Vietnam War
1353 Words | 6 PagesThe Vietnam War was fought to stop the spread of communism that threatened the United States way of life. War strategies that were used were harsh, major battles bloody, and war opposition at home was high. The leaders of our countries decisions caused devastating effects that not only shook our country but the whole world. The United States had fought wars in the past to stop the spread of communism.
Guilt In Tim O 'Brien's The Things They Carried'
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527 Words | 3 PagesMike Royko describes the Veteran’s Administration 's treatment of Leroy Bailey in his article, “A Faceless Man’s Plea” published in the Chicago Daily News. Royko’s purpose was to expose the unfair treatment of veteran’s such as Leroy Bailey. He uses a frustrated and critical tone to convey the inefficiency and hypocrisy of the Veteran’s Administration. Royko centers the beginning of his article on Leroy Bailey, a Vietnam War veteran who was sent to the infantry and was later on injured by a rocket at the age of twenty-six.
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1079 Words | 5 PagesIn 2013 when Viet Thanh Nguyen began to write The Sympathizer, it had been 40 years since the Vietnam War. It had been 40 years since French and American military involvement ravaged a once beautiful countryside and littered lush forests with napalm. It had been 40 years since 2 million people were displaced from their country and left to die in the Pacific Ocean. In those 40 years, many works were published about the Vietnam War. These stories came from many, contrasting, perspectives.
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437 Words | 2 PagesThough the Doves presented logical and well-thought through arguments, I agree considerably more with the Hawk’s perceptions over the Vietnam War. It was crucial in the achievement of world peace and aimed to help Vietnam through a detrimental
How Did The Vietnam War Affect People's Life
551 Words | 3 PagesOn November 1st, 1955, a country divided into two, North and South Vietnam will soon have a war known to many countries around the world. The Vietnam War, or the Second Indochina War occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. At the time, Vietnam had a dispute on what the country should be, Communistic or Republic, which had led war breaking out. North as the Viet Cong group while the Republic Of Vietnam group was South; eventually unexpected events started to unfold, leading towards the end of the war. To this very day, The Vietnam War has changed the ways how many civilians live their lives, especially my family.
Summary Of Bloods: Black Veterans Of The Vietnam War
1502 Words | 7 PagesHis 24-month long mission gave him the opportunity to use his journalism and educational experiences to cover the important roles that African American soldiers were playing in the Vietnam War. The military’s goal in this assignment was to show the American people and potential African American soldiers that African American soldiers were now treated equally. There was a stigma regarding the maltreatment of African Americans in the military, and with the passing of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964, the image of the African American soldier began to quickly change. The new breed of African American soldiers no longer tolerated bigotry and hatred. African American soldiers began uniting to combat the injustices in America as well as within the military overseas.
Tet Offensive Research Paper
2237 Words | 9 PagesSection 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources The purpose of this investigation is to explore the question: How did the Tet Offensive change American public opinion on the Vietnam War? The focus of the investigation will be on the years 1965-1970 in order to allow for analysis of American public opinion from the beginning of American involvement to the years following the Tet Offensive. Sources analyzing the Tet Offensive as a whole and American public opinion on the Vietnam War will be used to accurately determine the effects of the Tet Offensive on American public opinion. The first source that will be evaluated is the book “The Tet Offensive,” which was written by Marc Gilbert and William Head in 1996.
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Ho Chi Minh's Letter More Persuasive Than Lyndon B. Johnson
280 Words | 2 PagesI find Ho Chi Minh’s letter far more persuasive than Lyndon B. Johnson’s. Using ethos, pathos, and logos, he forms a solid argument that supports Vietnam’s stance on the war. He appeals to one’s emotions by expressing the injustices faced by his people, writing, “In South Viet-Nam a half-million American soldiers and soldiers from the satellite countries have resorted to the most barbarous methods of warfare, such as napalm, chemicals, and poison gases in order to massacre our fellow countrymen, destroy the crops, and wipe out villages.” Words such as “massacre” and “barbarous” highlight the severity of these crimes, and invoke feelings of guilt and remorse in the reader. Chi Minh uses ethos to support his logos, or logical, views on the
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