Effects of Combat on Both American and Vietnamese Combatants and Noncombatants in Vietnam

Effects of combat on both American and Vietnamese Combatants and Noncombatants in Vietnam The Vietnam War brought to both Americans and the Vietnamese a realization that not all wars are worth fighting. The experiences had by each person, both American and Vietnamese, varied significantly from individual to individual but overall there was more suffering then prosperity involved with this war on either side of the conflict. What originally may have seemed to be a good political battle for America to get involved in turned out to be a huge mistake. It ended up being one of the most psychologically and physically tolling wars in history, affecting everyone concerned; the Americans fighting in Vietnam, as well as the Vietnamese combatants and noncombatants. At the beginning of the Vietnam War between the U.S. and Vietnam, American soldiers seemed to be confident about their purpose in the war, which was the fight to stop communism in South Vietnam so that their children would not have to fight against it at home (126). They believed in fighting and dying for the freedom of those who were in oppression and fear from communist rulers (126). A lot of the soldiers in Vietnam had it easy and the combat did not affect them very much, they received three meals a day along with beer, soda, and as much water as they needed. This disturbed some of the men causing guilt when they saw how little the Vietnamese people had compared to themselves (128). For the soldiers fighting in at the front (the jungle) there was a lot of waiting and hiding; monotony, angst, and homesickness set in as they waited for combat (130). As the war progressed, “…the American soldiers began doubting the effectiveness of the military operations they conducted.” (143) As violence increased and more casualties took place American soldiers began irrationally arresting as many villagers as they possibly could. They began denying their leaders and began acting on their own commands (143). The unnecessary arrests and killings led to even more irrational actions against the Vietnamese. Entire villages of innocent men, women and children were massacred by American troops suffering from unfathomable mental wounds (144). The war had lost popular support in America and anti-war protests were becoming more popular by the hour (143). All of this excessive combat and loss of support led to a hatred of the war by the soldiers, they had lost the purpose they once had and drugs and alcohol were used to dull the pain from all of the horrific violence they had witnessed (151). Our troops entered Vietnam with too much confidence and did not give enough credibility to the Vietnamese. We underestimated their strategies and their patriotism, they had a stronger cause to fight for then we did and they truly fought for what they believed in. As American regiments began realizing this, they started losing belief in their own cause and lost a reason to fight. This along with the anti-war efforts and the lack of leadership at home led to our failure. Although we lost the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese still suffered tremendously during our involvement in their country. American soldiers guarded the villages’ harvests in order to prevent the regiments from receiving the food needed to keep the energy of their troops up (133). Like the Americans, the Vietnamese forces took little to no prisoners, killing our soldiers every chance they could get (127). Their tactics involved very sneaky, guerrilla combat strategies that meant miserable living conditions for the combatants. There was an extremely insufficient supply of food to them in the jungle and living conditions were unacceptable (137). Originally, VC soldiers were thought to be the “good guys” to the civilians until they started demanding forced labor and restricting movement and trade, preventing the Vietnamese citizens from living free lives. This loss of popular support led to even more harsh conditions for enemy combatants during the war because they lost a lot of their food and shelter sources (134). The Vietnamese combatants endured intolerable hardships and there seemed to be no silver lining at their horizon causing a lot of depression in both men and women in Vietnam (143). The warfare in their homeland caused the demise of many innocent Vietnamese families and this growing hatred and desire for revenge against the U.S. possibly led to the victory of the GVN (138). Although we lost the war, we sometimes fail to realize that the Vietnamese combatants went through just as much if not more suffering then the Americans did. They suffered from hunger, illness, and their own people often turning them away leaving them with no suitable shelter. They fought and came out the victors for what they believed in and although they are not the same ideals that I have, I respect that. The Vietnamese noncombatants may well have had it the worst out of anyone involved in the conflict. They had terrible living conditions, no restrooms, suitable homes, or privacy. Kids ran around the streets asking for cigarettes at the age of six and most did not even know what soap was (128). The Vietnamese people had no true government to base their ideals off of other then their village chief so it was extremely difficult to get them to place their trust to a cause other then their own village. Because of their lack of knowledge in politics, they were brought to the mountains to be “re-educated” by the NLF on their terms. There, they were forced to declare their activities since 1954 as well as their families’ activities. If they did not comply they were considered traitors and sentenced to 6-14 months of house arrest (132). In 1965 alone, the NLF and VC murdered 4,700 teachers and priests in South Vietnam in order to prevent children from learning about freedom and democracy (126). Once the NLF cadres began restricting movement and trade in Vietnam they lose villager support and some citizens even began hating them (132). While their fear of the NLF grew they began to think of the Americans as liberators until they started arresting them for no reason. As American support at home for the war decreased, the troops in Vietnam started treating the Vietnamese citizens worse and worse. Hatred grew for Americans and villagers grasped to their traditions and farms as Americans dropped bombs on their homes and came into their villages and massacred innocent women and children (141). A Vietnamese soldier stated that the villagers were heroes as well. They risked their own lives and faced dangers just like the combatants did everyday (158). From what I got out of this chapter it appears that the Vietnamese combatants were affected the most by the combat in Vietnam. Our troops treated them like trash. We beat, raped, and murdered thousands of innocent men, women, and children. It shocked me to hear the accounts of what was happening during the war to innocent people, especially the women and children. It made me extremely disappointed in America and I hope we do not decide to pursue this kind of behavior again. Both sides of the war suffered from unbearable conditions due to the combat that took place. Both sides were left with irreparable physical and psychological damages that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. There is nothing good or positive about violence, only what can occasionally come out of violence as a last resort. The effects of the Vietnam War are far more then can ever be written in a five-page paper but I believe I was able to capture the essence of what each of these individuals went through during their experiences in the war.