Understanding People, Events and
Pictures related to the Vietnam Era
Students,
you will research one of these topics or photos/topics for this exercise. Pick one and work to research the topic.
--What do we need to know that will help us
understand the Vietnam era and the novel we are now reading?
--Seek
to answer these basic questions: Who or what is this, what happened, and why is
this subject important?
Post your ideas
and reflections about this idea on our blog in the Comments section below this
post.
William Westmoreland
Battle of Khe Sahn
The Tet Offensive
The Ho Chi Minh Trail HANS
The Tonklin Gulf incident and the domino theory CODY
The DMZ de-militarized zone LUKE
Jane Fonda and ‘Hanoi Jane’ controversy-- HAILEY JACKSON
Abbie Hoffman and antiwar protests SHELBY
Thomas W. Bennett and one other Medal of Honor winner of your choice from Vietnam era LORENZO
Ho Chi Minh JORDEN
Song “Four Dead in Ohio” released and impact KATIE WELLS
Song “Fortunate Son” released and impact ANDREW
Song “All Along the Watchtower” released and impact GRANT
Lyndon Johnson
Martin Luther King gives “Beyond Vietnam” speech HALEY BULL CLEVELAND
Muhammed Ali JACOB
Richard Nixon and Watergate
The My Lai Massacre SHRAVAN
Agent Orange use and effects PRESTON
The draft for the Armed Services: how likely it was and who got drafted the most, plus ‘draft dodgers’ or those who fled or avoided service
Geography and climate of Vietnam SANDEEP
Economy and Lifestyle of Vietnam HALEY
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| DILLON |
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| LILYAN |
The first photo is of Nguyen Ngoc Loan, South Vietnams chief of national police shooting Vietcong operative Nguyen Van Lem. What is interesting about this is the AP photographer Eddie Adams writes about how "there were two people killed in that photo the prisoner Lem killed by Loan and Loan killed by the camera". Adams regretted taking the photo ruining the mans honor. It is also talked about how this picture doesn't tell the whole truth, the man killed was caught executing the family's of The police officers of this area. What also is interesting is there is a clip of the shooting and Loan takes no hesitation shooting the man he walks up and just does it then walks away. Loan doesn't make sure the street is clear as the bullet does go completely threw Lems head. It is just done.
ReplyDeleteThat photo has always left me with an eerie feeling. I don't like looking at it. It's just so brutal.
DeleteWhen I first saw Muhammad ali on the list I got confused, I wasnt sure how he fit in to the war, so I decided to do research and find out. Most people know that Ali was one of the gretest boxers in history, he won multiple heavy wieght championships and had at one point a record of 100 wins and 5 losses. He was also known for his mouth, a notorious trash talker.
ReplyDeleteWhen he was drafted to fight in the vietnam war he decided to refuse to go. He was arguing that war was against his religion, which outlawed killing for any reason. Ali was then fined $10,000 and sentenced to 10 years in jail for draft dodging. The prison time was later dropped, but he lost his fight card and for a time he wasnt able to fight. Howerver in 1970 he returned to the ring and won his first bout.
I was also initially confused on why Muhammad was on the list. It was interesting to learn how he was arrested and stripped of his title.
DeleteYes, this is such a sweet part of history! I think Ali was justified in not going, so I think he was okay. He also opened more eyes because of his influence.
DeleteI found it shocking that a person that was that famous was drafted to the war. Then refused to go. That could a lot of courage.
DeleteIt is cool that when he returned he went straight back to winning fights, even after being stripped of his title and losing his fight card, he did not stop trying.
DeleteI like but then dislike what he did. I liked that the refused to part of the unfair drafting but I also think that he thought because he was famous that kind of made it okay to refuse to go.
DeleteI would expect him to be able to join the war without question! But I guess we all have our own fears...
DeleteHo Chi Minh- Ho Chi Minh helped to start the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930 and the League for the Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh) in 1941. During the Vietnam War he was a behind the scenes leader also known as Uncle Ho to the Northern Vietnamese's independence and liberation cause. Behind Ho's facade of a nice liberator and herald of independence was the a man who massacred his countrymen to reform Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteHe sounds like a nice man and he portrays himself as nice. in reality he is a cruel man, who takes advantage of his people.
DeleteThat is how all true evils make their way into power they will never tell you what they really want just what the people want to hear.
DeleteThe Geography and Climate of Vietnam, is a large part of why the Vietnam war so difficult. The weather is humid and rainy everyday. This made the land very swampy. And difficult if the land was flat but Vietnam is very hilly in the middle and north. So going the distance was a backbreaking task, made worse with the fact they were soldiers, carrying their own meals and things. The terrain, is all swampy rainforest, the closest thing to it on US Soil is the Everglades. This all matters because Vietnam soldiers trudged across the country of Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteThat type of climate must have been hard for the soldiers to adjust to considering the climate in the US that varies throughout the country.
DeleteYou did some really good research to show how hard it must have been for the soldiers to live and get use to such weather conditions.
Deletewow. I have never thought about that connection to the Everglades. That is really cool and accurate too when you think about it. The geography played a huge part in the war itself in Vietnam.
DeleteWith the US soldiers having no experience with this kind of geography, the North Vietnamese and Vietcong really had an advantage in the war.
DeleteI can't imagine how hard humping through all that muddy terrain with almost 100 pounds worth of equipment.
DeleteEconomy and Lifestyle in Vietnam- the economy was damaged due to being in wars from 1940 to 1989. They became fully socialist for the first 11 years of ratification.The main priority for Vietnam is their economic development. Their economy is largely agriculture and they have five themes. They struggle to be free from foreign domination and also against natural disasters like typhoons and floods. They feel the need for additional land and territory because of the dense population. Education and potential for human resource development is the other theme along with importance of village life. Their lifestyle in Vietnam is that both the men and women work while the grandparents watch the children. They have respect for the social order and children are taught the importance of nationhood and patriotic duty. Three generations will live in the same home when it is possible. Villages are determined by the season when it comes to the amount of work as the cities come alive as early as 6 AM.
ReplyDeleteThe song, "Four Dead in Ohio" is based off of the Kent State Massacre that happened on May 4, 1970, killing four students from 90 to 130 yards away. The song was written by Neil Young immediately after the Kent State Shootings, when he saw pictures of it in Life Magazine. This song became the anthem of a generation. In the song, Neil Young expresses his opinions on war and specific details that happened at Kent that day.
ReplyDelete"Tin Soldiers and Nixon coming,
we're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio."
Those lyrics are from the song itself. Tin Soldiers meaning the National Guard, the line "We're finally on our own", meaning the feeling of freedom and independence, and lastly, the line "Four dead in Ohio", meaning the four students killed that tragic day.
You did some good research. I really like that you included some lyrics form the song that struck you. those are some powerful words.
DeleteNice research, really encases the song. I enjoyed your favorite lyrics and that you described what they meant.
DeleteIt is interesting to see the impact that the Vietnam War had on the United States as a whole; and to see a song that was written about a specific event that took place directly close to home is saddening and impactful as well. It definitely shows the divided state that the entire country was in to have an event such as the Kent State Massacre occurring here in Ohio, in the United States.
DeleteI think it's crazy to think that just because students were protesting, they got shot...you dont think of that kind of thing happening here.
DeleteHonestly, it was a disheartening time to be an American. With multiple presidents in and out of the white house in a short period of time, this shooting at Kent State, people arguing for and against the war. This could potentially be the the most split our country had been since the civil war.
DeleteRichard Nixon and Watergate. Richard Nixon was became president in 1969 during the Vietnam War. During his campaign he promised America that he would withdraw troops slowly when he became president. The public couldn’t really tell if he was or not because it was hard to get good information on the war, and because of this and many other reasons it was a very unpopular war with citizens of the U.S. May people blame Nixon for keeping us in the war for longer than we needed and having faith the South Vietnamese government which was very unlikely to survive. The Watergate scandal was where members of Nixon’s reelection campaign broke in to the Democratic National Committees Headquarters and were wiretapping and stealing secret documents from the Democratic Party. They were caught while trying to break in a second time to fix the wiretaps. Nixon denied he had any involvement in it. Then he took any steps to cover up the scandal by destroying evidence and trying to throw FBI investigations of track. Eventually they found out he was involved but needed evidence which was on tapes he had which he wouldn’t give up. The House of Representatives formally impeached him, and he resigned from office before they could impeach him which would have happened.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that someone with so much resonsibility and power can use it for bad. This scandal is something that america can never forget because now it always creates that bit of fear or doubt.
DeleteI always found it interesting that even after all the wrong doing Nixon was involved in, Gerald Ford still pardoned him for everything.
DeleteI feel like we have repeated history not as bad as before but its the same thing with bush and obama, obama said he would bring troops asap and we see how far that went. Next will be a scandal.
DeleteAgent Orange is one of the herbicides that was used by the U.S during the Vietnam war. It was use by the military as a defoliation program aimed at destroying the forests that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong would use to for cover. There were side affect doused from agent orange that include lung cancer, prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, and birth defects. These side effects were caused because agent orange has minute traces of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin which lab studies have shown to be a toxic even in minute doses. Within The Things they Carried O'Brien doesn't say that they were using agent orange but it was something they affected them and they had no idea want it was doing to them.
ReplyDeleteVery nasty stuff Agent Orange is, necessary to clear out the Viet Cong but not necessary to destroy the country itself.
DeleteI am surprised the there were no laws on what kind of chemicals you could use as weapons back in the 60s and 70s.
DeleteIt is so unbelievably sad to know that the United States resorted to using things such as Agent Orange in Vietnam, and that it not only hurt the people of Vietnams health, but it hurt the health of our soldiers as well.
DeleteThe effects of agent orange still come out today, my grandfather came in contact with some of the aftermath and they think that is what causing a lot of his medical problems today
DeleteThe song Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival was released in 1969. It was written to protest the Vietnam War and focus towards the people who supported the use of military force without having to pay the costs themselves. John Fogerty, author and singer of the song, was inspired to write Fortunate Son because of the marriage between David Eisenhower, grandson of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Julie Nixon, daughter of Richard Nixon. Fogerty said "Julie Nixon was hanging around with David Eisenhower, and you just had the feeling that none of these people were going to be involved with the war.” The song was meant to protest about how the people considered higher class could easily dodge the draft without any issues. This was one of the first protest songs to raise the issue that it is the poor people that have to fight the wars that the rich people create. This song, like Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA, is very often misinterpreted as a patriotic song when it is the complete opposite.
ReplyDeleteI think its wrong how people with money can get out of anything, whether it is today or back then in the 1960s and 1970s. Our country is supposed to be based on equal rights, where wealthy Americans aren't above low income Americans.
DeleteI completely agree with Brandon here. Its insane to think that even in the world's most fair country one could buy ones way out of the draft.
DeleteI agree with both Shravan and Brandon, it is wrong to use wealth and status to exempt yourself from a war that was said to include all men, and that less wealthy and less prominent men were forced to go to fight in the Vietnam war, but it is a good thing that songs like this were created to bring to the surface the truth about what was happening within our own country during the Vietnam War.
DeleteThe fact that you could by yourself out of the draft is pretty wrong. I dont know if it was the same then, but today the government kind of black mails us, (males in the united states 18-25) into applying for the Selective Service (essentially the military draft), by excluding us from governmental aid if we don't complete the form.
DeleteThat is the first song i think of when i think about Vietnam, its one of those we are the people things should be fair songs really awesome.
DeleteI honestly had no idea this song even existed before seeing it on this list. It's a very controversial topic what and how you should be able to get out of the draft, of if you should even be able to at all.
DeleteThe Tonklin Gulf incident and the domino theory. The domino theory basically says that if one thing falls others will fall in suit, it relates to our book and the war, because America wanted to end the spread of communism and and it was believed that if one nation fell to communism then others well fall in suit. The tonkin Golf incident, was a conflict that took place in the Tonkin Golf between North Vietnam and the united states. A U.S. ship was stationed in the golf, when they radioed that thy were fired upon by the North Vietnamese. the truth behind this can not be proven, however the united states used it to get involved in the war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The north was communist and the south was not, so the united states sided with the south so stop the spread of communism into south Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteI remember learning about this in high school and thinking how it was very interesting because the domino theory, too me atleast seems to make very good sense.
DeleteThe domino theory makes perfect sense. But accusing the N.Vietnam of bombing the US ship without solid proof and using that as an excuse to get involved in the war....i don't know if that right.
Deletesounds like the US to call that, just like in the Spanish-American War. But, we needed something to spark jingoism, so it makes sense. The domino theory was a real scare too during this time, even though we don't care today.
DeleteOne of the most horrific event that took place during the Vietnam war was the My Lai Massacre. In this massacre the a company of american solders brutally murdered innocent civilians in the of My Lai in 1968. Even though the exact number is unidentified, it is believed that over 500 people mostly women, children and elderly men were murdered the American solders. Initially, the U.S. troops went into the village in search of the viet cong, however when they found none the solders brutally gathered hundred of innocent civilians and open fired killing a majority of the population of My Lai.
ReplyDeleteMany women and young girls were also raped.After the massacre the high ranking offerers managed to cover up this act for nearly a year, until a solider confessed. This event shows that even though the U.S. troops were helping the vietnamese at the same time some troops were taking advantage of their power to murder innocent people. It also shows the mental state and morale of the solders.
I think its crazy that someone actually did those things. That really makes the phrase " war is hell" ring true.
DeleteThis really explains why many people in America were opposed to the war because senseless things like this were happening. It just made them want to end the war even more.
DeleteIt is horrible to know that our US soldiers were capable of such things, because we want to believe that they are all perfect beacons of integrity and character, but what is hard to face and remember is that they are human too and are capable of making mistakes whether on a large horrifying scale such as this or on a smaller scale.
DeleteWhat I think is the most shocking thing about this is the fact that the military officers who were involved in this received little to no punishment for this.
DeleteGuess this is very predictable, according to our book, like the way Rat Kiley went crazy and took all of his stress and sadness out on the baby buffalo. It would have been very stressful to be out in a climate that you don't know, getting shot at by an enemy you cant see, however i am not saying this was justified at all.
DeleteNo rules for war, period. But it is still a sad thing to hear about.
DeleteIt is sad to hear that our U.S. soldiers did such horrible things during the war. War is war, but shouldn't there be some limitations?
DeleteThe thing fact that always stood out to me about the My Lai massacre is that it was ended by Hugh Thompson, an American helicopter pilot, who threatened to open fire on the US Soldiers if they continued.
DeleteThis is think is on of the most interesting topics. When I had a class and this topic was taught, the teacher said that the soldiers were frustrated and pissed of and they got tired of trying to find the VC. Its a really interesting subject, but its very sad
DeleteThe Kent State Shooting happened on May 4, 1970 and during this shooting police officers shot 67 rounds in 13 seconds, killed 4 students and injured 9 others. The relation between the Kent State Shooting and the Vietnam War is the Ohio National Guard’s verdict was to go to the Kent State University campus was particularly the same way America got tangled in the Vietnam War. The reasons thousands of students got together to protest was because, although Nixon, who was elected president in 1968, encouraged that he would end the Vietnam War, he ended up making a decision to invade Cambodia, through national television, and on April 1970, the US invaded Cambodia, further involving the United States in the war. This created tension with the citizens because they felt misled and fooled. Both the Vietnam War and the Kent State Shooting are controversial subjects and are major events that everyone should research and know about so the United States can learn from their mistakes.
ReplyDeleteIts sad that people who were using there rights as an american had to die on US soil over the war just because of some mistakes that were made here.
DeleteJane Fonda visited Hanoi in 1972. During her visit she claimed that on her last day she was taken to a North Vietnamese military site. She was pictured taking part of a small celebration with the soldiers. She danced and singed and was taken to a gun site and was order to sit down. These pictures outraged america and she was seen a a traitor. Jane claims that she was an emotional wreck and may have been set up. Even though she has openly opposed the war, she apologized for the picture and said she takes responsibility for her actions. another controversy was when stories of torture of american POWs was getting to America, Jane said that they were liars.
ReplyDeleteAlthough what she did could easily be seen as siding with the enemy, i dont think should should be given to much problems about it, it isnt the biggest deal and it makes sense since she is against the war.
DeleteI mean she was in north Vietnam and even though she opposed the war, she isn't going to express her beliefs in front of military people, who knows what they could have done to her if she said something they didn't like.
DeleteI agree with Grant and Brandon. Even though it outraged America because they felt like they were being traded, shouldn't have been a main concern as the Vietnam War was going on.
DeleteThe Ho Chi Minh trail was the logistical system from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia. The trail provided troops, raw materials. ammo, health supplies, and information to the front line of the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army. The majority of the trail had existed for centuries to support trade in the region. This trail cuts through rugged mountains, the jungle and rainforests. During the war, North Vietnam had set up five major bases around the panhandle of Laos. To combat the VietCong and North Vietnamese using these trails, the United States Air Force under command of President Lyndon B. Johnson bombed several sites in Laos. Once the truth of the Bombing of Laos was discovered in the United States, the people out cried causing in more disapproval of the Vietnam War.
ReplyDeleteFun Facts:
- The Ho Chi Minh trail was named by the United States after the North Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh.
- The Ho Chi Minh trail was called "one of the great achievements of military engineering of the 20th century."
Sources:
Robert J. Hanyok, Spartans in Darkness. Washington, D.C.: Center for Cryptographic History, NSA, 2002, p. 94.
It's amazing that something as simple as a trail could play such a significant part of the war and cause so many problems and issues.
DeleteThat really would have been in incredible feat of engineering. It must have taken a lot of time and effort to bring it off.
DeleteDespite knowing that the citizens of the US were against the war in Vietnam alone I find it strange that the US government still went on booming countries they had no business booming thus causing more up roar in the citizens back home.
DeleteI know that the U.S. should not have been bombing in countries that they should not have been in at all, but stopping North Vietnam from getting supplies so easily would have helped the U.S. and South Vietnam.
DeleteThe DMZ, or De-Militarized Zone, is a line dividing North and South Vietnam. It is a result of the First Indochina War in 1954. Shortly after World War II, the French entered in for the French Indochina War, commonly known as the First Indochina War or, in as known in Vietnam, the Anti-French Resistance War. This ended with a line of almost no contact between he North and South. However, later on in the Vietman War, or the Second Indochina War, made the line an important battleground between the Communist North and the Democtatic South. It is important to reiderate that this war and the US interest in it has to do with the Co-existing Cold War with Communist Russia, who was helping back North Vietnam in this conflict.
ReplyDeleteToday, the DMZ stilll exists, but mostly as a tourist attraction. As you may know from history, the DMZ was a line defended by the US in the Vietnam War. As we left quickly, we left some of our things there. Tourisits along the DMZ today can look at numerous tanks and artilary left behind from that area by US forces.
Abbie Hoffman protested the Vietnam War and the American economic and political system for many years. He did this by conducting numerous acts which were imaginative and creative. One of Hoffman's protests was when he, along with a dozen Confederates showered the New York Stock Exchange's trading floor with hundreds of dollar bills. Another protest that Hoffman helped lead was when over 100,000 people marched in Washtington, D.C. to the Pentagon in plan to exorcise the building of its evil spirits, levitate it, color it orange, and immediately end the war. Some 600 people were arrested during this protest. Hoffman was known for his creative ideas of how to protest the war. He was also considered a yippie during that era. He went underground after several charges of possession of cocaine came about.
ReplyDeleteThis guy is funny, though is suspect that he did those things seriously. These really were publicity stunts that he staged. no one is seriously going to try and levitate the pentagon and try to color it orange. But it is pretty funny to imagine him trying it!
DeleteIts odd to think of exorcising a building in a literal sense. I wounder if it was another way to say vanquish the evil within the people running the Pentagon.
DeleteI can understand the idea of protesting to try and make your voice heard so that the war could end sooner but the idea of exorcising a government building of evil spirits is just ridiculous.
DeleteHoffman got really creative with thinking of ways to protest. I don't think I've ever heard of the guy until now and it's hard to forget someone who planned to paint the Pentagon orange! Crazy.
DeleteThe fact that this guy had numerous cocaine charges actually explains quite a bit how he came up with all of these crazy ideas. I mean come on, wanting to preform an exorcism on the pentagon to remove its "evil spirits", then levitating it and painting it orange... he had to of been trippin'.
DeleteResearch Topic: "Beyond Vietnam"
ReplyDeleteOn April 4th, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed America with his speech "Beyond Vietnam" in front of the Riverside Church in New York City, New York. This speech was a powerful and influential speech not supporting the war, but opposing it. His speech was intended to educate, and wake up the public in America. Martin Luther King, Jr. claimed in his speech that he was not supporting either side in the war, but was instead brining light to the fact that the poor of every color was suffering because of the Vietnam War. At one point, towards the beginning of his speech, he discusses a program called the Poverty Program, which gave aide to the poor both black and white alike. When the war began, the Poverty Program diminished because those who were wealthy were more interested in funding the war efforts than funding the Poverty Program. In his speech Martin Luther King, Jr. states an impactful message he said, " There were hopes of new beginnings... through the Poverty Program... there was promise for both blacks and whites... Then came the build-up in Vietnam and I watched this program [become] broken and eviscerated as if it were some idle plaything of a society gone mad on war... America would [now] never invest the necessary funds in the rehabitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continue to draw men, skills, and money like some demonic destructive suction tube" ("Beyond Vietnam, Martin Luther King, Jr.). Martin Luther King, Jr.'s perspective on the war, as shown in his speech is showing the public that the war is not only a matter of politics but a civil matter as well.
I think Dr. King played a role in history here that we often miss in our textbooks. We usually only know King as his "I Have A Dream" speech, and forget he did many other things like this as well.
DeleteThis is a speech I've never heard of. I have a lot of respect for his I have a dream speech as well as this. He always was full of words so wisdom and fighting for a significant cause.
DeleteI agree with Luke, he did a lot more than one speech. He constantly had peaceful protest and preached about what he believed in.
DeleteResearch Topic: Thomas W. Bennett and one other Medal of Honor winner of your choice from Vietnam era.
ReplyDeleteThomas W. Bennett was a "conscientious objector" during the Vietnam War who received a Medal of Honor. A conscientious objector is a person who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service on the grounds of freedom of thought (conscience) and/or religion. Anyway, Thomas W. Bennett was a field medic during the Vietnam War. On February 9, 1969 his unit, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, came under intense fire and he risked gunfire to pull at least 5 fellow soldiers into safety. Then, on February 11th of that same year, he was gunned down as he was attempting to reach a soldier wounded by sniper fire. On April 7, 1970, he received the posthumous Medal of Honor.
Another Medal of Honor recipient is a man named Sammy L. Davis. He enlisted in the army in 1965 and served as a private first class in November 18, 1967 with Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Artillery Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. On that day, his unit fell under heavy mortar attack by the NVA (Northern Vietnamese Army) while a group of NVA infantry, approximately 1500 strong, swarmed the area. Davis mounted a machine gun to give his comrades cover fire so they could fire artillery in response. He was wounded, but ignored warnings to take cover. Not shortly after, he took over the unit's burning howitzer and fired several shells himself. He also crossed a river on an air mattress to help rescue 3 wounded American soldiers. He then found his way into another howitzer site and continued fighting the NVA until they fled. He received the Medal of Honor the following year.
You can really tell that you took a lot of time to research for this topic. That just goes to show what people in war will do to save lives of their fellow comrades. Very powerful stuff.
DeleteSammy L. Davis's story kind of sounds straight out of a movie or something, to be able to think on your feet like that and be that brave to save your fellow troops is just astonishing
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ReplyDeleteThe song all along the watchtower was originally made and released in 1967. it was then remade by Jimi Hendrix in 1968 to a different style. Both versions of this song were a huge hit and very successful. they were important because the song was about the war. Music was an important way for people to voice there opinion and thoughts about the war.
ReplyDelete