American and North Vietnamese Perception of War
Austin Beeler
American and North Vietnamese Perceptions of War
To the American Soldiers and the NVA/VC soldiers, the Vietnam War was both very similar and very different. Most of soldiers in Vietnam went into the war with a purpose, and they had a very high morale levels. Both the Americans and the NVA soldiers left with many problems. The war left most soldiers with very severe cases of mental issues. There were also many things about the war that differed to the soldiers. One was the type of patriotism, and the other was the consequences of choosing to not fight. The American soldiers were fighting with a different type of patriotism than the communist soldiers. The Vietnamese soldiers were fighting for their freedom and to protect their homeland. The Americans were fighting for their government. They went into the war completely trusting their government no matter what they thought about the conflict. The war left both sides with huge wounds that would take a long time to heal. The American soldiers left for Vietnam knowing that they have been the victors in all of the other wars and conflicts they have been in. The morale among the soldiers was high at the beginning of the war. The Vietnamese soldiers had very high morale after beating the French in 1954. One American soldier wrote a letter to his fiancé that was supposed to be given to her in the unfortunate event of his death. He told his fiancé that he is proud that he was even able to fight for his country, and even though the war has taken his life, he wishes that she doesn’t hate the war because of it. The soldiers that were first sent over seas were proud of what they were doing. They believed in their country and they believed that the people back home would have their back. The Vietnamese soldiers had been victorious in beating the French empire just years before the American soldiers arrived. They were in high spirits and it gave them a sense of invincibility because they just defeated a
American and North Vietnamese Perceptions of War
To the American Soldiers and the NVA/VC soldiers, the Vietnam War was both very similar and very different. Most of soldiers in Vietnam went into the war with a purpose, and they had a very high morale levels. Both the Americans and the NVA soldiers left with many problems. The war left most soldiers with very severe cases of mental issues. There were also many things about the war that differed to the soldiers. One was the type of patriotism, and the other was the consequences of choosing to not fight. The American soldiers were fighting with a different type of patriotism than the communist soldiers. The Vietnamese soldiers were fighting for their freedom and to protect their homeland. The Americans were fighting for their government. They went into the war completely trusting their government no matter what they thought about the conflict. The war left both sides with huge wounds that would take a long time to heal. The American soldiers left for Vietnam knowing that they have been the victors in all of the other wars and conflicts they have been in. The morale among the soldiers was high at the beginning of the war. The Vietnamese soldiers had very high morale after beating the French in 1954. One American soldier wrote a letter to his fiancé that was supposed to be given to her in the unfortunate event of his death. He told his fiancé that he is proud that he was even able to fight for his country, and even though the war has taken his life, he wishes that she doesn’t hate the war because of it. The soldiers that were first sent over seas were proud of what they were doing. They believed in their country and they believed that the people back home would have their back. The Vietnamese soldiers had been victorious in beating the French empire just years before the American soldiers arrived. They were in high spirits and it gave them a sense of invincibility because they just defeated a