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Communism And The Anti-Vietnam War

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Communism And The Anti-Vietnam War
A long time ago, I was once 18. A mere young man just out of highschool. I thought my life was going great: good grades, friends, freedom. That was until the draft hit all of a sudden. All my dreams and goals - everything was gone. I got a letter in the mail telling me I was being selected to be drafted and sent on active duty in Vietnam. My heart sank when I read the letter. What will my family do without me? I walked into my kitchen, sat down, and turned on the TV.
I knew the basics of the war: Russia started Communism, a form of monarchy where they had an absolute ruler who could do whatever they wanted. Then a big thing called “The Red Scare” spreading around America because Russia spread this form of government to China and then to North …show more content…
We went out to see people lighting themselves on fire. This was to protest Diem’s ban on Buddhism (Larry H Addington pg. 65). I went back into the house, ashamed of what I had just seen. I noticed there was a small black and white TV in my room, so I turned it on to see what channels I could get. A news report of Americans top news came on. What I saw was an Anti-Vietnam war movement. The Americans didn't want us in the war and wanted us back home. This started in 1965 when the media saw the brutal things we were doing (Melvin Small pg. 9 Anti-Warriors). I kept watching throughout my time looking over the village and things just got worse. I heard news of Viet Cong members dressing as kids and civilians and lighting squads up. I heard orders to kill anyone in the villages because they didn't know who was Viet Cong and who wasn't. Not only did they kill them, but we raped and pillaged their villages. I watched it being broadcasted back to America, and by the next day the people were sick of …show more content…
I was flown out with only half of my squad left. The bloody attacks that happened in that village were plain awful. We were ambushed by Viet Cong so many times, but we defended against them by teaching the villagers how to fight. The plane ride was long and exhausting. I was so glad to be able to finally come home to my family. When the plane landed, I was so happy to be home, and I thought everyone else would be too. I thought wrong. As my squad got off the plane, we were booed, and spit on, people threw rotten food at us and yelled. The people hated us. After all we did in their honor, they hated us. That hurt me more than anything I'd encountered over there. I lost friends for them, I lost years of my life. I lost everything for those people who were spitting on
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