The Vietnam War was a time of controversy and strife. The war divided the country because many felt that American involvement in Vietnam affairs was unjustified. Furthermore, people often disagree when giving accounts of the war. There are many different versions as far as what actually happened during that time. Some people learn about Vietnam through older relatives who may have lived during that time and give direct accounts of the war or know someone else who did; while younger individuals tend to learn about the war in school. The stories told by veterans can often differ from those taught by teachers; depending on what aspects they focus on. Even when comparing the accounts of veterans of the Vietnam War one notices inconsistency among stories.

Roland Kunkel, an American soldier, talks about his arrival at Vietnam and adjusting to cultural differences. As a part of their training for the war, soldiers were trained in a "Mock Vietnam Village." Kunkel says that, "The Mock Vietnam Village was not too bad, and the class on Vietnam Orientation helped me understand certain customs that helped me avoid a few ugly-American mistakes (i.e., such as patting a child on the top of the head - a no no )." Despite these efforts taken by the American military, racial prejudice was still present throughout the war. A lot of this had to do with the rising anti-communist sentiment of Americans. As Professor O'Malley says in The Vietnam War and the Tragedy of Containment, many Americans felt that, "all nations must be aligned with either the U.S. or the U.S.S.R." Many Americans felt it was crucial that the rising communist regime in Vietnam be contained.

Sometimes, this anti-communist sentiment led to cruelty. O'Malley states how "a pronounced element of racial contempt characterized the military effort. Asked if bombing killed civilians, one sergeant laughed and replied, "What does it matter? They're all Vietnamese." Pete Childress tells a story similar to this one. He was a soldier with the American Army during the Vietnam War. One day his platoon was camped out on a pathway taking a rest when an elderly Vietnamese man and his grandson asked the soldiers for permission to pass them on the trail. The soldiers granted them permission and they peacefully continued along the path. The day before, the soldiers found communication gear but did not find the Vietnamese soldier to whom the gear belonged. The soldiers made up a joke that they would find the "commo man." When the elderly man and his grandson passed, one of the solders joked with the sergeant that he should not let the "commo man" pass. So the sergeant nonchalantly stood up and shot the elderly man in the back. The soldier, who tells the story, regretting he had not taken action to stop the shooting, ran over to the little boy. He says, "Suddenly, I was there, at the scene of my silent crime, standing over a little boy and a bloody bundle of white rags lying on the ground. The kid was staring at me, open-mouthed, snotty-nosed, tears coursing down his face leaving tracks on his dirty cheeks, looking in my eyes and asking but one question: 'Why?' We stood there what seemed an eternity, the skinny American soldier and the little Vietnamese kid, looking at each other, both knowing 'The Question,' neither knowing the answer." Hearing this story, one thinks about the My Lai Massacre when America soldiers opened fire on innocent Vietnamese women, and children. It seemed that the soldiers had become desensitized by the harsh cruelties of war. Unsure of what they were fighting for, the soldiers had become driven by hate.

From what I gathered from Professor O'Malley's electronic lecture and from the veteran's stories, they seem to tell a somewhat similar story. They both touch on the anti-communist and anti-Vietnamese sentiment in America. They both also discussed how war can desensitize a person. Some of the American soldiers were driven by hate and acted in ways that they might not have acted in had they not been under such harsh conditions. It was interesting to read some of the accounts of the Vietnamese veterans as well. Many of the Viet Cong used harsh tactic against the American soldiers. It seems that many of them suffered the hardships of war too. Both sides appeared to be driven by rage and frustration over a war that no one was really sure why they were fighting. This goes along with Professor O'Malley's argument that the war was fought for power more so than for 'justice.' Unforunatley, it was the soldiers who suffered (on both sides), rather than those who were seeking grandeur.