While these respective protagonists come from different backgrounds, their experiences are relatively similar, as they are all frustrated and left with permanent traumas as a result of their participation in the conflict and because of the events that they went through. "My wounding in Vietnam both physically and emotionally haunted me, pursued me, and threatened to overwhelm me" (Kovic, 16)
"But we also shared a common sorrow, the immense sorrow of war. It was a sublime sorrow, more sublime than happiness, and beyond suffering" (Ninh, 232)
The strategic hamlet program was, in short, an attempt to translate the newly articulated theory of counter-insurgency into operational reality. The objective was political though the means to its realization were a mixture of military, social, psychological, economic and political measures (The Pentagon Papers Gravel Edition Volume 2 Chapter 2, "The Strategic Hamlet Program, 1961-1963," pp
cfm The Pentagon Papers Gravel Edition Volume 2 Chapter 2, "The Strategic Hamlet Program, 1961-1963," pp. 128-159 (Boston: Beacon Press, 1971) Memorandum of Conversation (Diem, Thuan, Lodge, McNamara, Parkins, Flott), 29 September 1963 The Pentagon Papers, Gravel Edition, Volume 2, pp
When Robert Kennedy was killed, that meant that Lyndon Johnson's Vice President, Hubert Humphrey -- who was closely linked to President Johnson's war policies -- would become the Democrat candidate to run against Richard Nixon, a conservative candidate that the youth of America had grown to dislike and distrust. As he accepted the presidential nomination from his Republican Party in August 1968, Nixon said, "…If the war is not ended when the people choose in November…I pledge to you tonight that the first priority foreign policy objective of our next Administration will be to bring an honorable end to the war in Vietnam" (Franklin, 2000, p
As president, Reagan "rehabilitated the war…lauding those who fought in it." He said the soldiers came home without a victory "…not because they'd been defeated, but because they had been denied permission to win" (Hagopian, p
The negative response was overwhelming. On October 15, 1969, "the antiwar movement for the first time reached a level of a full-fledged mass movement" (Halstead, 1978, p
Meanwhile, on April 30, 1970, the president announced he was sending American troops into Cambodia, an obvious widening of a war that millions of Americans back home wanted ended. When a demonstration at Kent State University -- that was spawned by the invasion of Cambodia -- became rowdy and some vandalism occurred, the National Guard suddenly and inexplicably opened fire on unarmed students, launching 61 rounds in 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others (Kowalski, 2008, p
Eventually, he insisted that every member of his cabinet use the phrase Vietnamization to address the U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam (Boettcher 263)
This presented the Vietnamese forces with an unprecedented chance to win their independence. The strongest of these factions were the Communist Viet Minh, based in the North, headed by Ho Chi Minh (Bowman 15)
During the second phase, the focus would shift towards preparing the South Vietnamese armed forces to defend South Vietnam against the North Vietnamese armed forces and the Viet Cong. In addition to the training, phase two also involved arming the South Vietnamese with the latest weapons and technology to enable them to stave off the Communist forces (Davidson 107)
7 million American men and women who served in Vietnam, there were 300,000 wounded. An estimated 58,000 more were killed (Dudley 17)
United States involvement was premised on the "domino theory," the idea that if Vietnam falls to Communism, other satellite countries would follow. The United States, Eisenhower insisted, could not afford the possibility of a "dictatorship that is inimical to the free world" (Eisenhower 39)
S. military aid, these forces were also furnished with equipment like artillery, tanks, ships and airplanes (Herring 57)
7th Fleet to mine the Haiphong Harbor. Most importantly, he authorized Kissinger to insinuate the United States' willingness to launch a tactical nuclear strike against military targets north of the demilitarized zone (Kimball 305)
By the end of 1965, Johnson had dispatched 180,000 troops to South Vietnam. By 1967, the number of troops had increased to 485,000 (Mann 530)
Once this was done, the plan called for the transfer of day-to-day combat operations from American control to the South Vietnamese. Following this, American forces were to unilaterally withdraw from South Vietnam (Nixon, "Vietnamization," 146-147)
Once this was done, the plan called for the transfer of day-to-day combat operations from American control to the South Vietnamese. Following this, American forces were to unilaterally withdraw from South Vietnam (Nixon, "Vietnamization," 146-147)
S. advisors set in place through the CORD program had also been reduced to only a few division levels at the various corps branches of the South Vietnamese armed forces (Palmer 118)
Military Command, Creighton Abrams, pulled away from the offensive strategies like bombings. Instead, Abrams prioritized pacification and civic action (Schultz 54)