During the war in Vietnam, soldiers faced intensely extreme conditions, including hunger, disease, and of course, having to see close friends and other soldiers die. Upper-class men could afford to stay enrolled in university or get a doctor's note from a hometown physician to obtain a get-out-jail-free card that poorer men couldn't access. ", Neas was shot in the back. The draft lottery proved to be unfair in another significant way. Australian military history overview: Vietnam War 1962-1975. Upon hearing the news of MLK's death, some white soldiers paraded around the base at Cam Ranh Bay in KKK robes, openly cheering the news. When the grunts weren't walking or being shot at or eyeing the locals with suspicion, they were waiting around for something to happen. Check it out here. The use of pharmaceuticals to artificially suppress combat trauma may have contributed to the explosion of post-traumatic stress disorder cases among Vietnam veterans after the war. Black soldiers complained they were unfairly assigned worse details and that they received more frequent punishments and fewer promotions than their white counterparts. I had only seen the war. Over the course of the Vietnam War, the military prescribed more than 225 million tablets of speed to U.S. soldiers, earning itself the title of American's first "pharmacological war." In a war where morale was already weakened by unclear objectives and uncertain outcomes, unfriendly encounters with the Vietnamese civilians they were ostensibly liberating only made matters worse. They walked for days and weeks at a time, patrolling the land for Viet Cong guerrilla fighters or members of the North Vietnamese Army. Nguyen’s book draws on 54 oral history interviews with veterans of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF) and their relatives. "To be honest, I wanted to know what it was like to shoot at someone and have someone shoot at you," he said. Neas went on a recent tour of Vietnam, including a visit to Huế in March as part of an educational trip sponsored by College of the Ozarks in Missouri. Echoes of Conflict by Lachlan Wilson Read an overview of the Vietnam War from the AWM, here and more detail from the DVA here. But that's the only way you had a hot meal.". Repressing the negative mental effects of combat only worsened their impact when they finally surfaced. By Staff Writer Last Updated Mar 25, 2020 7:28:07 AM ET American soldiers stationed in Vietnam were met with an unexpectedly horrific experience. I survived because I was lucky and because I was not a city boy. In honor of National Vietnam War Veterans Day on March 29, signed into law in 2017 by President Donald J. Trump, AARP spoke with six veterans of the war about their most vivid memories — and about what they want Americans today to know or remember. But the success was short-lived. Places like the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Thailand were popular among the younger crowd who wanted to have less family-friendly fun. Thompson’s Hill (April 9-10, 1968), by Richard Dieterle. The land was a dangerous enemy by itself, but its biggest threat was the dangers it concealed. The NVVM is exploring an oral history project to record Veteran stories. The Vietnam War was the first American war in which its troops were fully integrated, a development that was supposed to turn the page on a ghastly history of … If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate in asking or come over to r/AskHistorians , which is … He said his first return visit in 1985 changed his perspective on Vietnam. "It seemed the right thing to do. We may have been shooting at each other. In some cases, the luxuries even exceeded the ones the men would have gotten at home. Overlooked because of 'medal quotas' 50 years ago, the courage of three young men who saved the lives of Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War has finally been recognised. This article was written by Tirdad Derakhshani from Philly.com and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. They walked without a bath, a hot meal, or a good night's sleep. The Viet Cong were frequently one step ahead, hiding in the trees or blending in with the locals, so the villages were never really secured, and the locations of the guerrilla fighters remained uncertain. Although the war in Vietnam caused a lot of grief and unrest in our nation and the war left lasting effects on its veterans, not all were affected negatively; many were able to grow from their experiences in Vietnam, learning about themselves and gaining a new respect for … These Vietnam War photos are a key part of understanding soldiers' experiences during the conflict and provide insight into operational specifics that were unknown to the press. What Life Was Like As A Soldier In The Vietnam War, paraded around the base at Cam Ranh Bay in KKK robes, deliberately avoided large-scale conflicts, could fly to any number of exotic locales, "the Army's last great tragedy in Vietnam. Three Vietnam War Veterans Share Their Stories W.D. The army headquarters at Long Binh boasted such amenities as a go-kart track, swimming pools, weight rooms, mini golf, an archery range, an amphitheater that frequently hosted live shows, and even a brothel — officially unsanctioned but well-trafficked. 58,318 names of American men and women who died in the war are etched on the black granite slabs of the Vietnam Veterans … ", He met a former North Vietnamese soldier. Instead of being stationed on the front lines, they might be assigned a support detail on one of the rear bases. That morning, as communist troops swept into … The Vietnam war effected soldiers physically with strain of fighting in the jungle but it also effected soldiers psychological mind set. phase of war and young American ales intent on asserting their superiority, their potency, their manhood…raping a woman in a combat zone is something a man has to do, needs to do, has the right to do. Learn the stories of the brave soldiers whose names are inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. And for the men who served in Vietnam … Reported cases of mental breakdowns among troops dropped to just 1% during the Vietnam War compared to 10% during World War II. For most this ethos seems not to have changed. But this was the first city we were fighting in. The taste, however, left a lot to be desired. At times, Vietnam resembled "a hated, dreary struggle" that dragged on and on with no end in sight. Jan C. Scruggs. These men had access to all the luxuries of home, including getting to sleep in a bed, eating hot meals, drinking at bars, and shopping at a well-stocked commissary. ... Veterans Memorial is names — more than 58,000 names of men and women who were killed or missing in action during the Vietnam War. Soldiers knew there would be another surprise attack, they just didn't know when, and the not-knowing could drive them crazy. While the symptoms of trauma were suppressed in the short term, the effect was something like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg. He fought in the Tet offensive of 1968. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Vietnam War claimed the lives of more than 58,000 American service members and wounded more than 150,000. B: John William Baber War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Air Forces/Corps Service Location: European Theater Theme: First, Serve: Athletes in Uniform Joe Baca War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Army Service Location: United States; Vietnam Theme: Patriotism Theme: Voices of War John Philip Baca War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Army Service Location: Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam Vincent Gabriel, Jr returned from his tour of duty in Vietnam thirty eight years ago. That morning, as communist troops swept into … Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com. Contact Us Contact Us PTSD was not known until after the Vietnam War; before Vietnam it was known as Shell Shock or Combat Fatigue. Our focus is on friendly, helpful advice and great service for every customer. According to James Fallows, these loopholes "were designed to allot American talent in productive way," but resulted in "the starkest class division in American military service since the days of purchased draft deferments in the Civil War.". ", Said Ehrhart, "I call that my trip of the heart.". Civilian casualties were common, and many local villages were disrupted, if not outright destroyed, by the arrival of U.S. soldiers, so it's no surprise that locals often viewed American soldiers with distrust and hostility. Heroes of Vietnam: The Stories of Fallen Soldiers. HANOI, VIETNAM—Forty years ago, on April 30, 1975, Nguyen Dang Phat experienced the happiest day of his life. Hal Kushner joined the Army and served as a … "It was such a waste of life on both sides, such a waste of youth. Now I was fighting 24 hours a day, seven days a week.". In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., inscribed with the names of 57,939 members of U.S. armed forces who had died or were missing as a result of the war. Caesar Smith was a career military officer who served two tours in Vietnam. Soldiers on both sides faced many difficulties and challenges during the Vietnam War – including climate, terrain, the complex political situation and unclear military objectives. Call us at . B: John William Baber War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Air Forces/Corps Service Location: European Theater Theme: First, Serve: Athletes in Uniform Joe Baca War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Army Service Location: United States; Vietnam Theme: Patriotism Theme: Voices of War John Philip Baca War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Army Service Location: Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam Most grunts passed through the rear bases on their way into or out of the field, but they didn't stay long. The Vietnam War helped shape a generation of Americans, none more than the 2.7 million who served in Southeast Asia. I also traveled with a long bamboo pole. This page contains the first-hand experiences of Vietnam War Veterans Albert French - He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1963 after graduating from high school. I was 17, so I couldn't go over there for another year.". After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, there was an increase in American films that were more "raw", containing actual battle footage. John "Chick" Donohue in 1967, on his way to Vietnam (inset). SOLDIERS TELL TRUE STORIES OF THEIR WAR. I was able to replace all those memories of the war with memories in color. But so were the swarms of mosquitoes that spread dengue fever throughout camps, and with the 30 different kinds of venomous snakes whose bites would prove to be fatal. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. If you are a veteran, know a veteran, or are related to a veteran, and would like to place a personal story on the Online Veterans Tribute, please mail it to: American Veterans Center 1100 N. Glebe Rd. They had to bear the dual burden of guilt for the brutal atrocities that had been committed and shame for the failure to bring home an American victory after such a drawn-out war. The Americans fought back with bombing campaigns that laid waste to villages, and sprayed napalm that burned the skin off fighters and civilians alike. And you lived through the maybe the closest thing this country had, even if only for a few short years, of being at peace. ‘Last Draftees’ details experiences of Vietnam War veterans Three Vietnam War veterans from Las Vegas say the draft should be abolished. The building at 727 Tran Hung Dao in Ho Chi Minh City – also known as Saigon – was a building that housed American service members for much of the Vietnam War. The average age of a U.S. soldier dropped from 26 in World War II to just 19, not even old enough to vote at the time. A U.S. The refugees had reached Australia. As time went on, civilian casualties continued, American soldiers grew increasingly frustrated with the locals' reluctance to help, and suspicion and mistrust increased on both sides. The main problem with most of those books is the complete lack of Vietnamese voices. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, about 30% of soldiers who saw combat in Vietnam experienced PTSD in their lifetime. By 1969, more than half a million Americans were stationed in Vietnam. The belief that the antiwar movement was antagonistic toward Vietnam-era soldiers still has a deep grip on popular memory and political culture. The 1980s was a time to tell the stories of the Vietnam War. Via Cat-uxo.com. We weren't soldiers: growing up with Vietnam War stories on screen. Today, he is surprised at his sophisticated response. Veteran Stories . "It was as if I got to see it like a real country, to see the real people. He was treated on the field and continued to fight. Soldiers on leave with their wives and children made up a large chunk of Hawaii's hotel room traffic during the Vietnam War. ". They fought together and returned home to build lives, families, and communities across the country. Usually, it was in the jungle, where you had to look for ambushes. The rations were commonly compared to wet dog food, and the only way to heat them up in the field was by resorting to potentially dangerous explosives. Vietnam War Veterans share a common bond. "And I realized all my memories of Vietnam were in black and white. The refugees had reached Australia. 2. So the grunts kept walking. The Booby Trap … He had been to that very same battle [at Huế﾿]. We've got an advance excerpt from the 15th Pike Logan novel. Instead, they waited in the vegetation for nightfall or awful weather or other convenient moments. Trish Wood. I was overwhelmed to be back. In addition to speed, officials also supplied soldiers with painkillers and steroids to increase their stamina, strength, and aggression on long-range missions. Since World War II, little research had determined whether amphetamine had a positive impact on soldiers’ performance, yet the American military readily supplied its troops in Vietnam with speed. They carried the fear that at any moment, a surprise attack could kill them. That's not to say the drugs deserved all the blame for the difficulty veterans faced after returning home. Ehrhart, the son of a Protestant minister, joined the Marines at 17, and while he had no strong political reasons, he felt passionately that he ought to do his bit. Even if your knowledge of the Vietnam War comes exclusively from Hollywood films and Texan textbooks that only refer to it as "that one the good guys lost," you've probably heard about the Viet Cong. The roll contains information from the Service records of more than 60,000 military members who served during the Vietnam War. The American Soldier in VietnamMore than 2.5 million American men served in Vietnam during the war. A gay soldier’s story of Vietnam and after Mar 13, 2020 | 0 Larry Sanders writes about serving in the army, where he could have been arrested for being gay during a very unpopular war NT: You grew up in the shadow of World War II and served in Vietnam. If they weren't miserably wet or miserably hot, they were miserable hacking through the jungle brush and elephant grass with leaves so dense and so sharp they drew blood. Some Viet Cong soldiers were uniformed and highly trained, however, most were volunteers and reservist farmers who received only occasional training, if any at all. For "Huế﾿ 1968: A Turning Point of the American War In Vietnam," Mark Bowden interviewed more than 100 men and women from both sides of the fighting. “Bill” Ehrhart joined the U.S. Marines when he was 17. Unsurprisingly, this did not sit well with black soldiers, and discord only worsened as the war dragged on. “ From The Misogyny of the Vietnam War Article Sometimes the US soldiers would sneak into the villages and kidnap pretty looking Vietnamese. Vietnam was the first major U.S. war in which black and white soldiers were fully integrated, but fully integrated did not mean fully equal. HANOI, VIETNAM—Forty years ago, on April 30, 1975, Nguyen Dang Phat experienced the happiest day of his life. American troops, with their vastly superior firepower, had the upper hand face to face, but the Viet Cong deliberately avoided large-scale conflicts where they could be outgunned. The 1980s was a time to tell the stories of the Vietnam War. Anyone who experiences trauma, usually life life threatening, can have PTSD. The whole city had been leveled [in 1968], and it has been totally rebuilt.". Besides weapons, each of us carried an extra 30kg of personal material and food. I had a rude awakening. The influx of American tourists was a catalyst for Bangkok's massive growth in the 1960s, as the construction, finance, air, retail, and hotel industries boomed to accommodate the influx of soldiers looking for a good time. According to the New York Times, African Americans were drafted at a disproportionately higher rate than whites, representing more than 16% of all draftees and 23% of all combat troops, despite being only 11% of the civilian population in 1967. Nowhere is the heaviness of the presidency clearer than in Obama's descriptions of deciding to authorize military action. Le Carre's books grappled with betrayal, moral compromise and the psychological toll of a secret life. "Not bad for a 17-year-old," Ehrhart said, laughing. "I spent three weeks in the hospital," he says, "and then went right back.". Instead, the military developed long range patrol rations to take their place. (There are well-documented stories of gay soldiers in the U.S. armed forces going back to George Washington’s army, and the Newport sex scandal of 1919 occurred two … ... An Oral History of the Iraq War by the Soldiers Who Fought It Show More Show Less 6 of 7 ONE-TIME USE ONLY ... in Vietnam … "The land itself could kill you," remembered Tim O'Brien. The most common loophole was the college student deferment policy, which excused any man enrolled in college or graduate school. Contact Us Contact Us Most crucially, they carried mosquito repellent and dry socks. They hid landmines and booby traps to inflict casualties and heighten the fear American GIs felt with every step. The ways we remember the Vietnam War concern more than just the past. Photo by Brandi Redd Few American military conflicts of the 20th century were as controversial as the Vietnam War. In honor of National Vietnam War Veterans Day on March 29, signed into law in 2017 by President Donald J. Trump, AARP spoke with six veterans of the war about their most vivid memories — and about what they want Americans today to know or remember. " he said. But many others were poor or working-class teenagers who enlisted or were drafted into the military right out of high school. They had their own jobs to do. SOLDIERS TELL TRUE STORIES OF THEIR WAR. About 75% of the 2.5 million soldiers fighting in Vietnam worked in support roles as clerks far away from the front lines. Ian McNeill, The Team; Australian Army advisers in Vietnam, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1984, p470 'Australian soldiers who fought in Vietnam were imbued with the notion of serving an honourable cause at the nation's behest. Although the official goal of the war was to prevent communism from spreading into South Vietnam, American soldiers felt they had reason to mistrust everyone, North and South Vietnamese alike. The draft wasn't the only problem. "I quit high school at 16, and on my birthday in 1966, I enlisted. Troops were supplied with so-called "pep pills," their nickname for Dexedrine, an amphetamine that was double the strength of the stimulants the military had prescribed in previous wars. While drinks and companionship were always a draw, recreational drug use skyrocketed during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War killed more than 58,000 Americans. Some of 2020's best military movies are 50% off for the rest of the year from streaming service Vudu. After returning home, Vietnam War veterans experienced PTSD in record numbers. We look forward to meeting you. Our focus is on friendly, helpful advice and great service for every customer. Drug use had taken its toll on troops. "I wanted to go to Vietnam, but for my own reason," he said. LRPs were freeze-dried, dehydrated field rations that came in waterproof bags and were much lighter than the bulky cans soldiers had previously carried. I stood on the spot where I had been shot, but it's so different now. The Armed Forces during the war and even today is the most successfully integrated institution in our society." It’s an experience that changes soldiers, and those changes last a lifetime. Since large-scale warfare was rare, soldiers could go for weeks without encountering enemy forces, but far from being a respite, the quiet only heightened the tension. One thing soldiers didn't have to take their mind off things — the one thing that was almost impossible to come by — was a good, hot meal. In Vietnam the task force had no sense of defeat. Their goal was to locate and defeat the Viet Cong, but often it felt like there was no real goal except providing human bait to provoke the guerrilla fighters into revealing their positions. A FilmReference.com article noted that American filmmakers "appeared more confident to put Vietnam combat on screen for the first time" during that era. Neas, 68, who lives in Rahway in Union County, recently retired after running his own telecommunications company. By 1971, 10-15% of lower-ranking troops were returning home as addicts, and over 1,000 were returning as criminals, having been charged with heroin-related crimes. Retired Trenton ironworker Carl Dileo, 69, was 18 when he was drafted in 1966. The Vietnam War was Many young NVA soldiers died along the way before they ever got into the fight because of sickness (malaria). The Vietnam War helped shape a generation of Americans, none more than the 2.7 million who served in Southeast Asia. Marijuana and Heroin Use During the Vietnam War . Home / History / Modern History / Vietnam War / What Was Daily Life Like for Soldiers in the Vietnam War? 19 years old—and many have never been away from home chunk of Hawaii 's hotel room during..., Hong Kong, and today DVA ) U.S. veteran Caesar Smith a... 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