Which was the second largest call made in the war. In late 1967 the US had been told by General Westmoreland that the NLF (National Liberation Front – Comprised of SV citizens and NV advisors who lived in the cities throughout South Vietnam. They were part of the North Vietnamese forces reuniting the two countries as one.) had taken such heavy losses that they would be incapable of maintaining any military momentum in 1968. But during the Tet Offensive the NLF had entered the US embassy and occupied the main radio station before being repulsed.
The images that were broadcasted all over America did not please the public and before long riots and protests were being held in the streets to end the war. This was because hundreds of American soldiers had died in a war they thought was coming to an end. The Tet Offensive proved otherwise and caused a major disagreement between the public and the American government. Many people believe that this almost forced the government to end the war because without the moral support from their own country there would be no chance in another. On the other hand, the Americans actually won the fight and in doing so managed to kill thousands of Vietcong’s, unmasked Vietcong’s, which they had not been able to do very well until this point.
When the war started many American people was against it and want this to end son as possible. They were against it because United States didn´t have any trade with Vietnam or something like that. Many people give their opinions about the war in Vietnam. In the next paragraphs I am going to talk about two American groups fell about the war, the two groups are the American public and the soldiers. The first group the American public at the beginning of the war agreed with the fact that Us was helping South Vietnam, this because the president of the united States in this year told the people that they need to go to war and they have to go even if they don´t like the idea.
College campuses were a new place of protest and freedom. Many college students became involved with the war because it was the people their age, and their friends who were being sent to war; going as one person, and coming back completely changed. In January of 1968 the TET Offensive changed the American view of the Vietnam War dramatically. The Vietcong attacked over a hundred cities including the US Embassy. Many of the cities were occupied by Vietcong for many hours, or days.
Although the Tet Offensive was unsuccessful for the North Vietnamese Army, they showed that United States had seriously underestimated them and their capabilities. The United States boasted prematurely that the war was nearing its end and the North Vietnamese were all but defeated. However those statements were discredited by the media who brought the Tet Offensive into the homes of millions of Americans which resulted in the highest disapproval of any war amongst American citizens in the history of the United States. In addition the Tet Offensive also showed that the North Vietnamese were willing to fight until the last man and that regardless of how many casualties they suffered, they would fight the United States until the end. SGT Jordan Alvarado SFC Delong 13F ALC Class 017-13 19 July 2013 The
In comparing the seventies era with the present ; I have come to recognize similarities between events of today and the proceedings that occurred almost 40 years ago, both having impacted our nation . The Vietnam War, like the Iraq war, dragged on longer than expected. Because of this, the people within our country became polarized with extreme positions that ultimately divided our national focus. During the 2000‘s, many U.S. citizens expressed their opposition to the war in Iraq. Likewise this sentiment was shared by many politicians and political activist during the Vietnam War era, like the presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy and singer/songwriter John Dylan.
Another event that impacted the public’s view of government dishonesty during this time was President Nixon’s involvement with the infamous Watergate scandal which eventually led to his resignation on August 9, 1974. Furthermore, when President Nixon began his presidency, people believed he would work to bring an end to America’s involvement in the Vietnam. Yet, this was not the case as Nixon increased bombing raids and authorized the invasion of Cambodia. When the war started, the American people were led to believe that the war was a necessity to ensure the protection of the nation as a whole.
Vocabulary changed too “terrorism” “bomb” and “terror attacks” were terms used regularly and became a social norm with “war” being added to the list when Iraq was invaded. The acceptable images that were broadcast during this time were also changing the American use of a deck of cards as a hit list of people they wanted dead was a regular occurrence as were images of victories and injured soldiers. While all the graphic images were being beamed into our homes, printed in our newspapers and magazines the music industry was struggling with many radio stations choosing to censor music quite drastically. Many artists and bands had to change to avoid censorship. The attacks by Al Qaeda on September 11th were co-ordinated and calculated they hit the heart of capitalism and also the Pentagon another plane was ditched in a field in Pennsylvania which may have been heading for Washington D.C. almost three thousand people from many different countries were killed that day so the effects were felt world-wide.
The biggest fear of all growing and developed countries in the 20th century was the spread of communism. Communism is like a disease that spreads and kills all successful economies in its path. For the United States, communism was at its greatest threat potential during the time period between the end of the Second World War in 1945 up until the Vietnam war in 1970. However, the United States was successful in denying the threat of communism dispersion within America. From 1945 at the Yalta Conference, up until the end of the Vietnam war in 1970, the initial goal of United States foreign policy was to deny the spread of communism.
The cause struck a chord with those at university more so than other groups of people due to the immense number of students that were made to go and fight. The average age of soldiers fighting the Vietnam war for America was 19, meaning almost every student knew someone that had been killed or injured due to the combat they were being forced to take part in. This lead to not only resentment for the war, but also fear that they would be called up to fight, and therefore even more resistance and protesting towards continuing the fight. The war faced huge resistance, and in a way gave the rebels a force