The Messenger

March 2014 Volume 1, Issue 2

Anti-Hero: A Soldiers Story

By Chloe Williams

Two soldiers in Vietnam

Did you know? That the Vietnam war was the longest war in Americas history, lasting approximately twenty years.

No regrets. It wasnt just a phrase or a slogan, it was something I lived by. Lives taken, hostile or not, without regret. Living without regret never meant living without remorse. Things still follow us. The lives of civilians taken without a second thought, the life of a child. No matter how far away we were, it was always there in the back of our minds. For me, it was the life of a girl. At nineteen, I was a private. The girl was no older than fourteen. She was laying on older brother, holding him and sobbing. Anh, shed cried, Vietnamese for brother. Anh. she looked up at me with her eyes the size of little worlds. The girl sobbed louder, looking to her brother, and drew a knife from his pocket. I was frozen when she approached. Petrified when she struck me in the stomach with the knife. The pain was dull before it was sharp. Then, there was a familiar bang and a crack. With her blood on my face, her brains on the ground, she was dead. At fourteen, maybe less, she was dead with her blood quite literally on my hands. Another private had shot her. Medics said I was lucky to be alive. The knife was dirty and I avoided an infection by the skin of my teeth. Though we were considered war heros, sometimes we feel like villians. We felt that when we came home. When people wept, there was a sense of gratification. Most of the time, however, people were less than welcoming. Sometimes, we were thought of as the enemy. So many people were against the war, that they saw us as the bad guys. People were belligerent and they were harsh, because of their attitude toward the war. We were shunned. Our mantra was to live without regrets, but it was easier said than done. Especially once we got home. We did our best to protect ourselves and fight for what we thought was right. The aftereffects of the war were brutal. Probably as bad as combat, if not worse.

Letter to the Editor.

Dear Editor, The war in Vietnam is a very sad

Between the traumatic, recurring dreams of Vietnam and

ordeal to me. As Americans, were supposed to support freedom. Communism isnt a traditional idea of freedom, but it is a great theory to enforce equality. I think countries outside of our own should be allowed to do what they want within their own right. As long as it doesnt affect us, why do we care? Communists were not planning to bomb America, and we went and bombed Vietnam regardless. I just dont get it. Please keep doing what youre doing here and spread the message of peace. Keep informing people. Stay groovy, Saul M. - Wisconsin

Americans neglecting our promised title of hero, it was hard to live life without regret. PTSD was the worst. Reliving combat. Seeing that young girls face. Watching brothers die. Therapy was extensive. Coming home was just as hard as leaving home, because when we arrived, everything was out the window. Every defense mechanism we had was gone. We were no longer soldiers. Now, we were men, When we returned home, our mantra was put to rest. All of the remorse and fear had turned into what wed avoided. Regret.

The Vietnam War - Why?

By Deseray Hendrickson

______________________

America went to war in Vietnam in 1954, and left Vietnam after 11 years of brutal war. Why? Why would we do that? Why did the United States get involved in a war that did not have anything to do with them? America should not have gotten involved after World War II. So why did we join the war that took 3.8 million lives? Before the Vietnam War started, the Cold War was still going on. This was an arms race between America and Russia, but there were no actual fights between the countries. It was also America fighting against the spread of communism, so that we could keep our self-righteous image of being capitalist and free. The word communism has become taboo for other countries, and quite possibly our own. We know that the U.S. will retaliate, crushing the delicate system of communism under the leather clad foot of the running capitalist government. Tensions were high after the Cold War, and the U.S. government was afraid of other countries succumbing to the tyranny of communism. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, there was a discord between the people who wanted Vietnam to be communist, and the people who wanted to be like the cool big brother, America. The U.S., in 1950, came up with a theory called the Domino Theory, where if one country became communist, other countries would soon follow suit. America then created a strategy of containment during the Cold War, which aimed to prevent the spread of communism throughout the world. Before World War II, Vietnam had been part of the French Empire. During the war, the country had been overrun by the Japanese. When the Japanese retreated, the people of Vietnam took the opportunity to establish their own government lead by Ho Chi Minh. However, after the end of the war, the Allies gave back South Vietnam to the French while the north was left in the hands of the non-communist Chinese. The Nationalist Chinese treated the North

Vietnamese very badly and support for Ho Chi Minh grew. The French, who had colonized Vietnam, started to lose their power in Vietnam to the communist parties. Ho Chi Minh, a leader of the Viet Cong, was very persuasive and many people believed his calm disposition and wanted Vietnam to be unified under a communist government. In April 1954, the world's powers had met at Geneva to discuss Vietnam. Vietnam signed an accord at the Geneva Accords that split the communists and anti-communists into North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel. Later, there was supposed to be an election to unite the country under one government, but there never was. This election did not take place and the split had become permanent by 1956. The U.S., gun-happy after not being able to fight during the Cold War, supplied the French with soldiers, ammunition, and money to fight back those dirty, rotten, no good commies. America believed that if the communism wasnt stopped before it was started, it would spread to America and take over. Thus, starting the Vietnam War.

Events During the Vietnam War

By Janeth Garcia

This map show where the Tonkin Gulf incident occurred.

There were several events going on during the Vietnam War. Ho Chi Minh was a very important leader during the Vietnam War. Ho Chi Minh founded the Indochina Communist Party (ICP) in 1930. Ho Chi Minh wanted to fight for Vietnam independents and he also wanted Vietnam to become communist. Ngo Dinh Diem was also another important leader during the time that wanted Vietnam independents as well the only difference was that he did not want Vietnam to become communist. Vietnam separated into two in 1954 the reason why Vietnam split was because Vietnam citizens couldnt compromise on the leader that they want for their their country. North Vietnam wanted to become communist while south Vietnam disagreed with then. Vietnam split into North and South Vietnam both north and south had their own capital and own president. Ngo Dinh Diem became the president of South Vietnam. One big event that happen during the war was the Tonkin Gulf incident. The incident happen on August 2nd 1964 it all started when American were in the gulf of Tonkin when they thought that they were being attacked by North Vietnam soldiers. Americans reacted really quickly to this attack and attacked back by dropping bombs on North Vietnam. On August 4th Americans found out that North Vietnam hadnt attacked them like they thought it was all a misunderstanding.

Another event that occurred during the Vietnam War was the Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive began on January 31, 1968 it ended on February 24, 1968. The NVA and Viet Cong began sneaking in cities with smuggled weapons. The NVA started to attack they launched the Tet offensive attacked cities and towns all throughout South Vietnam. Their major targets were provincial capitals.They accomplished to target 35 of 44 provincial capitals including the ancient city of hue, the Capital of South Vietnam in Saigon, U.S. Embassy in Saigon the battle of Saigon lasted 35 days. Thee Tet Offensive was a big public relations and Psychological victory for the communist. The Tet Offensive was the bloodiest and coldest year for the U.S. troop in Vietnam. After the Tet Offensive there was many anti-war marches and protest going on in the U.S. One important organization that protested during this time was the Students of a Democracy society also known as SDS. The SDS was an active protest group the group is made up of young college students during the 1960s. The SDS wanted to let people know their rights as humans. In 19651973 there was an anti Vietnam movement going on in the U.S. Another big protest group that was very famous at the time was the Weather Underground Organization. This organization was became very popular at because there motto was that violence was the answer for everything. This particular group bombed many places in the U.S. and the were wanted by the FBI. They mostly targeted government buildings and backs, they bombed the pentagon on May 19, 1972. This were some of the anti war groups that protested during the Vietnam War.

SDS Protesting

The peak of people who died in Vietnam during the Vietnam War was in 1968, where 16,000 military personnel died. This was mostly attributed to the Tet Offensive, which happened in

the beginning of the year. The surprise offensive was closely observed by American TV news crews in Vietnam who filmed the U.S. embassy in Saigon being attacked by Viet Cong commandos, along with bloody scenes from battle areas showing American soldiers under fire, dead and wounded. Americans at home had a front row seat in their living rooms to the fighting, ten thousand miles away.

Reconstructing Vietnam
By Moncerrat Avila

Post-war Vietnam encountered many changes, and with these changes, difficulties. Vietnam had finally become its own independent nation after more than a century of being controlled by an outside country. This newfound independence called for a new national constitution and a new form of government known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam was now led by the Communist Party of Vietnam which was formed after Lao Dong merged with the Peoples Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam. Although the Communist Party of Vietnam was eager to lead the country, they were faced with many complications. Amongst these complications was re-education which was considered by the CPV to be vital in the flourishing of the new Vietnam. Re-education consisted of getting rid of elements of the old order such as ARVN officers, Catholic priests, and capitalists by placing them in Reeducation camps. These camps forced inmates to participate in arduous labor and were known for their appalling living conditions. These camps were kept open until the CPV believed that the country had been rehabilitated. Along with rehabilitation, Vietnam faced several economic challenges. Vietnamese infrastructure had been left totaled, several provincial capitals had been destroyed, millions of civilians were unemployed, and several million people were left to search the streets for food. Without a doubt, the war had taken its toll on Vietnam and the CPV would have to transform its economy. Part of the CPVs economic plan was to eradicate private commerce and trade, nationalisation of industries, and the abolition of private ownership and exploitation of land along with the reorganisation of agricultural production. Unfortunately for Vietnam, the previously mentioned economic program proved useless as cereal, rice, pesticides, fertilizer, farming tools, and machinery production fell short. Civilians were eventually subjected to meger food rationing. To add to the already crumbling economy, Vietnam greatly struggled with foreign trade due to to disputes with the United States and its allies over the claims of missing American servicemen who were believed to be imprisoned in Vietnam. In order for Vietnam to thrive, they needed to find a way to rejoin the world and improve their economy. Vietnams economy began to transform itself into a capitalist economy. The CPV began to allow for small factories and businesses to produce for profit. Living conditions began to improve. In 1989, Vietnam was allowed to enter international fold after it withdrew troops from Cambodia. Vietnam also received foreign aid and became a member of the World Bank and the

ASEAN and in 1994, Washingtons trade embargo was finally lifted. Vietnam was slowly restoring itself. Today, Vietnam has a fast-growing economy and is a large exporter of agricultural products. They also export large amounts of clothing and electronic parts. Although their economy is growing and improving, the CPV continues to control and monitor citizens closely by approving organisations and candidates allowed to be nominated as well as censoring media and internet with the infamous bamboo firewall. Since the end of the Vietnam war, many changes came about, some positive and some negative. Now, whether the positive outweighs the negative is up for debate.

The Innocent Victims

By Moncerrat Avila

The Vietnam war impacted the lives of both Vietnamese and U.S civilians, but in very different ways. In Vietnam, citizens experienced the horror of war first-hand. They were exposed to toxic defoliants, they suffered as they watched men with heavy firepower sweep their villages, they saw the lifeless bodies of innocent civilians. It is estimated that around 587,000 Vietnamese civilians were killed. Evidently, many Vietnamese wished for the war to end, as did the U.S. civilians. Although the war wasnt in the U.S, Americans protested relentlessly against the Vietnam war. The opposition to the war increased after 1964 and patriotism fell. Many Americans were no longer interested in fighting the war and no longer believed in the war effort. Anti-war protests became more violent and that was when it became evident that the war needed to end.

Vietnams Fading Support

By Moncerrat Avila

Young men express disapproval and disagreement with the Vietnam war.

On August 2, 1964, the Maddox reported to have been shot at by North Vietnamese torpedoes in the Gulf of Tonkin. Two days later on August 4, 1964, a second attack was recorded. It was now that the U.S would take significant involvement in Vietnam. President Johnson stated that the Vietnam war would be worth fighting in order to stop the North Vietnamese dictatorship and prevent the domino effect of communism as well as to secure the availability of Vietnams resources. At the time, American patriotism was high and the support of the war was high. But as the years passed and faulty promises of an American victory coming soon were made, supporters turned into protesters. A large anti-war movement developed. Americans now believed that there would be

no type of victory in Vietnam. By March 29, 1973, the last U.S troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. Sadly, the returning soldiers were mostly met with anything but respect.

Vietnam War Draft

By Janeth Garcia

This is a notification that the government would send out in the mail to men that had be drafted.

During the war about of American troops were volunteer the rest of the troops were selected by the military service through the draft. Most of the soldiers that were drafted during the Vietnam war were men from poor working class families with low education. Men that couldnt go to war either because they were attending college or they were need at home usually got a deferment. Men from wealthy and educated were also given a deferment. On December 1, 1969 the government attempted to make the draft more equal. They selected a system where they placed 336 draft cards, each card had a date of an year in it. The government pulled out a card whatever year the card had on it meant that the men that were born that year had to attend the war. The draft was created so that the military could have lots of soldiers to fight in the war.

This is a chart that show the average number of men that were drafted from each birth month.

This is a piece of propaganda from during the Vietnam War.