The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War that started in 1955 and ended in 1975. The war started from Northern Vietnam's push for communism. The Viet Cong was a communist party based out of South Vietnam and Cambodia, they were some of the North's biggest allies for a communist movement. The war was later joined by the United States as an  opposing party. We taught the southern Vietnamese soldiers how to fight and also carried eighty percent of the funding. Lyndon B. Johnson expanded the war while Richard Nixon created "Vietnamization." Vietnamization was a troop withdraw movement that was intended to last two years. The war finally ceased in 1973 and the United States removed the last of our troops in 1975.

The Vietnam war was a huge loss in many different aspects. It went on for way too long to no avail. Most of the anti-communist parties like ourselves were very blind. We didn't know our allies, landscape, or worst of all our enemy. The U.S. ended up doing a great deal of bombing from the air because of the conditions on the ground. This was not cost effective and it killed many innocent bystanders. Politically, this war was passed through a variety of presidents hands with contrasting views, that it presented a huge problem with finishing anything. One would expand it and the next one would skinny up. I believe our inconsistencies  fan the flames over time.

"pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty." I thought this was a bold statement by John F. Kennedy. It was this kind of liberalism that left our country with 60,000 troops killed. I understand the camaraderie of it but the "pay any price..." is what we did. I feel like this war got ramped up rapidly once when  the communists and the anti-communists started bringing in allies. Over time it seemed like everyone forgot what they fighting for. We knew how it started but didn't have any concept as to why it should be ended. Besides the war this was such an iconic time for America. This was Americas teenage years and it was the dawn of a new day. We were figuring out who we were and how to get in the street and shout it.