American History Research Project- The Vietnam War

 

Sparked in the late 1950s, the Vietnam War was a terrible battle that dealt with the struggles of communism versus mankind. It began by the division of Vietnam into two parts- the north, and the south. The south fought against communism, while the north fought for it. The ultimate goal of the United States at the time was to stop communism from spreading, so they firmly stood by on the south side and got involved. Unfortunately, the north side was intelligent and ruthless, and the Viet Cong was known for using guerilla warfare that severely destroyed American troops. Also, during the Tet Offensive, innocent women and children were victims of bombings in South Vietnam. Due to these ongoing, horrific events, the South hardly stood a chance against the Viet Cong and the northern communist government, and remains to this day, a poverty-stricken country that will never know the word "democracy".


The War didn't just affect soldiers- innocent children's homes were bombed, their lives devastated



Young boys serve as soldiers for the Viet Cong government

     I knew a little bit about the Vietnam War, but not a whole lot, since I've never studied it in school history before, However, it has interested me ever since I traveled to Vietnam with my mom two years ago. I feel that it's important that I learn not only about a significant moment in the United States, but also in my birth country's history, as well.
    
     I remember attending a war memorial museum in one of the country's northern provinces with a guide who had been raised in the north. He had a very different perspective on the War than one of our other guides from the south had- he had strong communism ideals because it was all he had ever known and grown up with, and he held resentment toward American involvement during the War.

     While there, everyone was clearly able to tell that I was American, but with a Vietnamese ethnicity. Never really having crossed my mind before, the same question sometimes comes up today: "What would it be like to be a true Vietnamese?" And in that I mean a person that actually lives in the country, not an American that appears to be Vietnamese. I'm not entirely sure what it even means to be a Communist, but I know for sure that if I lived in Vietnam, it would be a very different life from the one I have now.


Sources:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar_2.htm

http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/628478/Vietnam-War

Video:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2166430461/