Vietnam

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Ho Chi Mihn was a very powerful communist in the Northern part of Vietnam. The United States decision to try to contain Mihn and his guerrilla forces the "Viet Minh" from invading South Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries had its positives and negatives as well. First off, it seems since the United States existed, it has been a country who believes in freedom and helping others when in need. I think that the USA shows off to the world in a way by always butting their heads in other countries business and always acting like the big brother. This was the case in the war against Vietnam. Ho Chi Mihn wanted to spread communism throughout Asia including the south of Vietnam. The U.S.A feared that if any of the surrounding countries fell to the communists then the rest of the countries around would fall as well like dominos. I believe the U.S decision to invade Vietnam was looked as a piece of cake because A. Vietnam is a much smaller country B. The U.S.A was much more advanced when it came to artillary and thier armed forces, navy seals, green berets, pilots, etc.....they were wrong. Although Vietnam lost about 4 million people, The Vietnamese army made a huge impact killing about 58,000 Americans and forcing the U.S to retreat back home. Peace was eventually brought upon, but was it worth all those killings, or all those Americans left living now with amputated legs, arms and horrible memories. I have heard of Vietnam veterans not being able to sleep or having very bad flashbacks of the hell that they went through in Vietnam. Before I moved I used to have a neighbor who served time in Vietnam, and it was kind of scary talking to him. I had a hard time looking at his face because he had gotten shot in the eye and had it replaced with a glass eye. He would walk around with a limp and I remember him telling me how rough it was not knowing if or when his time was up. Reading through the personal narratives one veteran talked about how he felt that someone was watching him at all times and how he never know where the enemy was. The Vietnamese were very smart because they knew their own land. They made many booby traps ranging from large holes with sharp spikes in the ground covered with leaves to grenades that were activated by wires that soldiers would trip over when walking through the jungle. The Vietnamese had underground lairs where ammo and soldiers would hide out. I think that the U.S.A went into Vietnam a little to confident because they obsiously got shown up. After the war, when the American troops came back home to the U.S. one would think that everyone would welcome them back with open arms. That was not the case in some situations. During the war there were many protesters and there were also many war supporters. In one of the narratives, one veteran told how some people looked at him and spat at him because they were mad at the U.S for killing many innocent lives in Vietnam. There were probably many citizens that were angry because of the heavy drug use the soldiers did over in Vietnam. At the time, a study showed that not the majority but a very good amount of troops were smoking marijuana and using heroin. Many soldiers felt that everything in daily life seemed so different. Friendships and conversations with others probably seemed weird because these soldiers were gone for such a long time. One of the narratives talks about a soldier who made a friend with a rat and called it "George." This story makes the soldier seem like he going nuts and is so tramatized by the war that he is talking to rodents. The soldiers must have felt lonely without having their family or partner by their side. I wonder if many of these soldiers fought for their country with pride or if they went to war because they were forced by the draft. It's a shame that 58,000 Amercans lost their lives in an effort to help out another country and had nothing to do with ours. It's a shame that so many Americans are left with permanent bad memories and struggling everyday to adjust to normal life while the government sat and still sits on their high stools avoiding public humiliation. You see, if the U.S.A backed down from Vietnam back before the war started then it would have not looked good for the image of the great strong and mighty UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. In the end I believe that the U.S.A helps out many countries because when or if that time comes where we need support from other countries, they probably would not hesitate to help us out and vice versa.