Vietnam War
Soldier’s Experience
By: Craig Griffin
The Vietnam War was between U.S. and Vietnam. France had taken over Vietnam in 1800 and Vietnam communist leader Ho Chi Minh began his military and was ready to go to war against France. The U.S was against communist Asia, so the U.S. helped France by giving them money and supporting their fight. So then the Vietnamese targeted the USS Maddox Johnson decided it was time to send in the troops.
Although the U.S had a strong army, Viet Cong had brutal tactics that made it difficult for the U.S. In 1965, Johnson sent 184,000 troops to battle and eventually 3 million went to war. Between 1955 and 1975, 58,208 people died. It was a scary life for a soldier. They were young and unprepared. Most of them were not out of their teens and most were not ready for what they were about to face in the war.
Many of them did not know what was happening in the war at that time. They were not expecting what they were about to get into. Medic David Ross describes his experience. “All of sudden, four choppers came in and they didn’t even touch down. They just dumped bags.
One of the bags broke open and what came out was hardly recognizable as a human being . . . . All the guys stopped laughing. Nobody was saying anything. And some people were shaking and some people were throwing up, and one guy got down and started to pray.
I said to myself, welcome to the war, boys.” (Yancey 32). Basic training was horrible for them. The soldiers were abused by their sergeants. One soldier recalled, they tore you down they tore everything civilian out of your entire existence . . . and then they re-built you and made you over” (Yancey 23). They experienced and saw violence. There was no support and the soldiers that got out alive- they were scarred for life. Most of the soldiers that went to war and came back got PTSD. There was no support for them once they got back home.
Over 58,000 U.S soldiers died and millions were abused in the process. After the war, many of the soldiers did not get any help or support when they came back. Many people suffer from PTSD, the effects of Agent Orange, and general depression from their experiences. My opinion about the war is we should've never got involved with the war.
By: Craig Griffin
The Vietnam War was between U.S. and Vietnam. France had taken over Vietnam in 1800 and Vietnam communist leader Ho Chi Minh began his military and was ready to go to war against France. The U.S was against communist Asia, so the U.S. helped France by giving them money and supporting their fight. So then the Vietnamese targeted the USS Maddox Johnson decided it was time to send in the troops.
Although the U.S had a strong army, Viet Cong had brutal tactics that made it difficult for the U.S. In 1965, Johnson sent 184,000 troops to battle and eventually 3 million went to war. Between 1955 and 1975, 58,208 people died. It was a scary life for a soldier. They were young and unprepared. Most of them were not out of their teens and most were not ready for what they were about to face in the war.
Many of them did not know what was happening in the war at that time. They were not expecting what they were about to get into. Medic David Ross describes his experience. “All of sudden, four choppers came in and they didn’t even touch down. They just dumped bags.
One of the bags broke open and what came out was hardly recognizable as a human being . . . . All the guys stopped laughing. Nobody was saying anything. And some people were shaking and some people were throwing up, and one guy got down and started to pray.
I said to myself, welcome to the war, boys.” (Yancey 32). Basic training was horrible for them. The soldiers were abused by their sergeants. One soldier recalled, they tore you down they tore everything civilian out of your entire existence . . . and then they re-built you and made you over” (Yancey 23). They experienced and saw violence. There was no support and the soldiers that got out alive- they were scarred for life. Most of the soldiers that went to war and came back got PTSD. There was no support for them once they got back home.
Over 58,000 U.S soldiers died and millions were abused in the process. After the war, many of the soldiers did not get any help or support when they came back. Many people suffer from PTSD, the effects of Agent Orange, and general depression from their experiences. My opinion about the war is we should've never got involved with the war.