Preview

Vietnam War Benefits

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
272 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Vietnam War Benefits
Although the Vietnam War was clearly a detrimental event in the history of America, some still try to argue that it benefited America and or strengthened our nation. They may say it benefited our country because in reality, it was a place where we had the opportunity to test new weapons and learn about many new medicines. When trying to refute my personal claim that Vietnam was a bad war for America to join, these are the only two main reasons others say the war was a good event for America’s history.

Agent Orange was used during the Vietnam War to destroy thickly forested areas. Agent Orange was a chemical mix and was the most commonly used herbicide and was the most effective for the task soldiers were trying to achieve. In just 9 years

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The Vietnam War lasted about two decades. The United States was engulfed in a civil war between North and South Vietnam and wanted to assist the south with preventing a hostile takeover by North Vietnam under the Communism banner. The Vietnam War was not only America’s longest War, but also costliest and deadliest. We spent over $150 billion and suffered close to $58 thousand American deaths and nearly 300 thousand wounded. By the time we decided to withdraw from the war, North Vietnam easily swept through the south and unified Vietnam under Communism. Still to this day, one of the most debated topics regarding the Vietnam War is why the United States got involved and why, when and how we should wage future wars. (Dunn, 2001)…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Operation Ranch Hand; 1961-1972; The heart of the Vietnam War, and the U.S. needs an advantage. “[The military] sprayed more than 19 million gallons of herbicides over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam...Agent Orange, which contained the chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used of the herbicide mixtures, and the most effective,” (“Agent”). In total, this agent accounted for 11-13 million gallons of the total herbicides released. Agent Orange was later found to be the origin of various health problems; these include tumors, birth defects, skin irritation, psychological changes, and cancer. The herbicides main purpose was to clear the vegetation, allowing the front line to detect approaching enemies in time for defensive action; the…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Several different chemicals and defoliants make up agent orange.The prime chemical in agent is Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid was used to eliminate broad leafed plants. According to Open Chemistry Database, trichlorophenoxyacetic…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Vietnam War was a place of death, destruction, and confusion. Not only was the war a failure, but many soldiers were forced to fight. This lead to many negative effects that I must bring to your attention in this paper. The negative effects on soldiers during and after the war were depression, regret, desensitization, insanity, and the loss of friends.…

    • 690 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Vietnam War involved many decisions and outcomes, many of which have latter been reviewed with more uncertainty then confidence. With this Michael Hunt, the author uses both American and Vietnamese resources, some which before the book were never heard from. He uses these sources to try to explain how the United States of America was sucked into involvement with Southeast Asia. The overall conclusion of the book does not bring to many new views on why the United States involved itself with the issues of Vietnam but more confirms already believed views that they began in the conflict with comprehension of Vietnam’s problem other than the issue of the cold war.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Agent Orange

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Agent Orange played a major role in the Vietnam War. Without the knowledge that Agent Orange could cause more damage than good, the United States employed this chemical to defoliate the vegetation. Using the chemical was supposed to help the Soldiers shift through the foliage so they may carry out their mission. Everything was going smoothly and as planned until they realized what Agent Orange really was.…

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Agent Orange In Vietnam

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In 1965, the United States entered into the Vietnam War. Millions of US troops were deployed during this campaign, many of whom were tasked with carrying out Operation Ranch Hand. This operation was a large scale attempt to clear out the Vietnamese forests which were difficult for American troops to move through and which provided the Viet Cong with ample cover. Gallons upon gallons of the defoliant Agent Orange were used to rid the land of the thick trees populating these forests. After the war, it was discovered that Agent Orange caused life-threatening illnesses in the soldiers who handled it, and the Vietnamese who lived in the affected jungles.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Agent Orange Vietnam War

    • 1674 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide used as a defoliant by the United Stated military forces during the Vietnam War to eliminate the forest. A defoliant is a chemical that removes the leaves from trees and plants. The Vietnamese soldiers were using the forest as cover to attack the enemies. The military also sprayed a chemical mixture on the crops that were used to feed the Vietnamese army and population. The original problem that the U.S. military was trying to solve with the “Rainbow Chemicals” was to eliminate the mangroves and to expose the Vietnamese soldiers. Agent Orange was the main chemical used to try and solve the military’s problem. Along with Agent Orange there was also Agent White, Purple, Pink, Green, and Blue. All of these…

    • 1674 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, the US’s decision to take part in the Vietnam war was a mistake. They should of remained neutral and let other countries handle their own business instead of encroaching into international affairs. From the Americans citizens perspective, the involvement was unnecessary and it lost the trust of…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I have decided to do my research paper about the effects of Agent Orange on the ecosystem and environment of Vietnam and the soldiers who were fighting during the Vietnam war. This topic is one of many examples of how dangerous chemical being used for warfare also destroyed the environment. This event also caused damage to the people who were in contact with the agent and spread genetically through their descendants. I often wonder how the government can use such dangerous chemicals without thinking of the consequences it would have on the people involved. I want to understand the negative effects of agent Orange during the Vietnam war.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Vietnam War had a lasting impact on Vietnam Veterans, who although they fought their hardest for their country, they returned to a country who saw them as less than heroes. They suffered both psychological and medical problems from open battles, sniper attacks and chemical warfare, and stress from war-life. Although the Vietnam War had some negative impacts, the Vietnam War was the turning point in Australian society, changing to a multicultural community we are proud of today.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    War is an undeniably complex subject and although most people know how they feel about the Vietnam War, it is rare for us to agree on exactly what was right and wrong. Despite this, we have the tendency to support facts, and the fact in this case is that Agent Orange had detrimental effects wherever it was spread. Agent Orange is a herbicide that was used by the United States Military during the Vietnam war, it is made up of equal parts 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. Its purpose was to destroy forests and enemy crops during the war (Agent Orange, 2015). Although this substance was already considered an environmental hazard, it was later found that the manufacturing of Agent Orange resulted in a dioxin byproduct. When exposed to dioxins, humans experience…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vietnam War DBQ

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Vietnam war was the longest war in American History which fought between 1964 to 1975 and the most unpopular war for the American of the 20th century. This is the only one war that United States lost the war but no one knows the truth because the US government had not told about this war yet. The resulted in nearly 60,000 American deaths and in an estimated 2 million Vietnamese deaths. It seemed like the American won the war but actually they were not. The experience for the American soldier in Vietnam was long and painful one for the nation. During the war, the Vietnam is spilt in the two groups; the South which was Capitalism and the North which was Communism. To support the South Vietnam’s government, the American sent the soldiers…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Vietnam War Justifiable

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Beginning on the first day of November in 1955, the second Indochina War was fought between North Vietnam, who was communist, and the government of South Vietnam, that was anti-communist. For the most part the war was fought in the countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and lasted approximately 20 years. There is a large debate amongst many people about whether the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam war is justifiable or not, but it is clear that their actions led to many more negative effects than positive ones. These effects hurt both the United States as well as Vietnam. One significant reason that American involvement was unjust is that it left many veterans with mental illnesses, which they struggled with for the rest of their lives. Another large reason that the United States should not have been engaged in the Vietnam War is that a large amount of the American population was against the idea of it, causing internal conflict as well. Although most of the effects from the American intervention in the war in Vietnam turned out to be negative, there is still a positive impact it had for the…

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although very popular the Vietnam war was huge conflict during the years of 1964 through 1975, this single incident changed many Americans opinions about the nation's role both in foreign affairs and domestic ones. The Vietnam war failed in its primary purpose which was to assists in the defense against north Vietnamese communism, just like the cold war previously this proved to be another example of escalation. The US involvement in Vietnam damaged the us reputation due to very misguided and complex intentions on the part of political leaders like those in the Johnson and Nixon administration which brought upon unhappiness and social unrest among the public. This political corruption along with mismanagement on the economic system and the…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics