All wars are terrible but for some reason I have a particular fascination with the Vietnam war. I've read countless books on the subject. I'm baffled as to why but there you go. I find this picture says it all really. It was a such pointless war.
All wars are terrible but for some reason I have a particular fascination with the Vietnam war. I've read countless books on the subject. I'm baffled as to why but there you go. I find this picture says it all really. It was a such pointless war.
They all are kind of pointless.
But the problem is, a lot of humans don't really like seeing other humans subjected to forces they don't want to be subjected to.
Whether its Hitler invading Poland, N Vietnam invading the South, or Russia invading Ukraine.
Our reactions range from doing nothing, to sending food, to sending arms, to sending our own troops.
What's the correct answer to aggression?
Obviously the war in Vietnam didn't threaten America. Technically that's supposed to be the criteria for our involvement.
Obviously we have expanded on that quite a bit to justify our foreign policy.
My husband lost two generations to both world wars. His great grandfather in WW1 and his grandad in WW2. I lost relatives too. It touches us in different ways, and what makes me so sick is that with some wars the masses are sent to fight and die at the behest of men in high places. In WW2 everybody had to defend themselves, and that was bad enough. But for wars like Vietnam? What a waste of all those young lives. I'm reading an autobiography at the moment written by a medic. It's horrific what went on and what they had to put up with.
I visited the Imperial War museum here in Manchester some years ago. It's a very sombre experience, all dim lighting in this huge building with slide shows and bits of war footage being projected onto the walls. As we walked round I spotted this massive 'thing' made out of brass squatting in one dark corner. I had no idea what it was but it made my stomach churn and I felt sick looking at it. I couldn't go near it. Turned out it was a flame thrower.
My husband lost two generations to both world wars. His great grandfather in WW1 and his grandad in WW2. I lost relatives too. It touches us in different ways, and what makes me so sick is that with some wars the masses are sent to fight and die at the behest of men in high places. In WW2 everybody had to defend themselves, and that was bad enough. But for wars like Vietnam? What a waste of all those young lives. I'm reading an autobiography at the moment written by a medic. It's horrific what went on and what they had to put up with.
I visited the Imperial War museum here in Manchester some years ago. It's a very sombre experience, all dim lighting in this huge building with slide shows and bits of war footage being projected onto the walls. As we walked round I spotted this massive 'thing' made out of brass squatting in one dark corner. I had no idea what it was but it made my stomach churn and I felt sick looking at it. I couldn't go near it. Turned out it was a flame thrower.
There was going to be war in Vietnam because it was split after WWII and the north believed the country should be reunited under their control.
The war started before we sent in troops amd continued after we left.
That war was inevitable. Our involvement was of our own choice though. In hindsight, it was a bad idea.
We could have just let it go..
Or did like we did when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, or like the current war in Ukraine.
The answers are never easy when evil people flex on the innocent-ish.
But I understand how many Americans who lost someone defending a country half way around the world, don't see the point in any of it. I wouldn't either. Their sacrifice was for nothing.
The one consolation is the Vietnamese in this country are very humble and appreciative of what we tried to do for them during that war, amd after Saigon fell.
