Vietnam Veterans

Dear Vietnam Veterans
The Vietnam War is often overlooked and frowned upon as a loss for the US. It's a shame that the contruction of the Vietnam Memorial was almost denied. When I looked at the memorial I was so shocked at how many people died. I never really realized how big of a war it was until I saw the thousands of names on that wall. The thousands of men and women who gave their lives for their country need to be remembered. This was a long, long war and on this Memorial Day I thank you for all you did for your country.

Farmer Nguyen, Massacre at My Lai, and a Nun at Ninh Hoa

The war had a huge impact on the native Vietnamese. Many innocent civilians were killed, and many were harmed by both sides like Farmer Nguyen. The VC made him give them rice, and the US made hurt him. The Massacre at My Lai was a big example of the senseless killing of Native Vietnamese. Completely innocent people were killed for no reason. It obviously drove the Natives crazy, like in the Nun at Ninh Hoa, it was enough to make someone commit suicide. Many of their cities were fought over by the two sides which would definetely have an effect on the Natives. Put in simplest form, the Native's home was a war zone.

I feel like im fixing to die rag

It's asking the big strong men to pick up some guns and help Uncle Sam in Vietnam.

It's asking generals to kill some reds, and peace can only be achieved when they are all dead.

It's asking Wall Street to make some money because of the war production, and to cope if a bomb is dropped, it's on Viet Cong.

It's asking mothers to send their boys off to war.




Four specific lines from the song that display sarcasm, cynicism, or anti-war sentiment:

• Whoopee! We're all gonna die.
• What are we fighting for? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn.
• We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
• Open up the pearly gates,
  Well there ain't no time to wonder why.

Jack Smith

• Booby traps.
• Bombardment
• Artillery
• Napalm
• Bullets whizzing everywhere
• Having to see so many dead bodies.
• Rough terrain
• High grasses
• Ambush
• Friendly fire
• Death of friends
  

At first he was a boy looking for a little adventure in his life, but when he got there he was changed forever. Seeing the body bags, the man covered in dirt, the bodies all over, made him sick of war. Afterwards he hated anybody who had anything to do with that battle. He became cynical and started to have hate for mankind. Years later he realized how good life really is, and that people made mistakes like in other wars, and concluded that it's magnificent what a human can endure. His last thoughts on the war were that the war was pointless, and that because we lost the deaths weren't justified.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

The author's main thesis is that the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the Maddux could have been fake, and that thousands of lives could have been taken because of a lie. It's very contreversial. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was when Congress agreed to send troops into Vietnam to defend US interests after a ship supposedly attacked the Maddux. Goldberg's evidence is that Lyndon B. Johnson didn't say that the Maddux was attacked under oath, and that he easily could have lied and magnified this fake event to send troops into Vietnam. This links to the Dubious Crusade in that this was another point along the US crusade to contain communism and promote democracy that was uncertain, because it was definetely uncertain if going to Vietnam was worth it, and that all those deaths could have been avoided.

History

This poem does as its title says, give the history of Vietnam. The overall theme of this poem was death and destruction. Vietnam had been fought over for years and years, and it shows that Vietnam was always under the control of someone else. It was a big war zone, and destruction and death was at a high there.

Dubious Crusade

Dubious - Doubt or uncertainty
Crusade - Any vigorous, aggressive movement for the defense or advancement of an idea.

Warren is trying to show that after we surrendered Saigon to the communists our movement to stop communism and promote democracy was doubtful or uncertain. The citizens of the US were upset and didn't trust the government, and our nation was demoralized. I think this will relate to the study of Vietnam because it shows the impact of the war on the Cold War.