3a+Discussion


 * Name of Contribuitor || Discussion ||
 * D. Renee || Mostly, what I know about the Vietnam War is from Movies…growing up during part of the time frame and having an uncle that was there.

As others in our group, I see the topography such as jungle and rice patties. I do believe the mission was poorly defined which created problems for the military personnel as well as the civilians.

I also visualize mostly rural communities and the people from them viewing Americans as terrorist (and/or saviors) using extreme force and environmental poisons to clear the land. Because it is hard to distinguish the “enemy” from the civilians/good guys/women, it became a very difficult undertaking for the military as well as the civilians. I had an uncle that came back from the war a completely changed person. It affected the rest of his life. I believe this is what happens in all wars to the military personnel as well as civilians. It also was difficult time period for our country. Many in our country protested the War and the Draft. Many had very strong feelings on supporting the War as well as protesting the War.

In a lesson plan, I think it is important to include the historical dates, events, politics and human cost to both the military personnel and civilians (on both (all) sides) and how War affects everyone. War and the politics of it are at work in the location of the War as well as in the home countries of the military personnel. The lesson plan uses a lot of pictures/images; it will be important to have the stories behind those events (kind of behind the scene stories) and have students reflect on how those stories affected them personally as well as all of us today. Other important questions are: How does War affect our global community then and now; How does War change people and communities; How does it pit one against the other and what can/could be done differently? ||
 * A. Ledbetter || In most of my American history classes, modern history (from World War II forward) was tossed into one unit, crammed in at the end of the course. Therefore, my knowledge about the Vietnam War is shaky, but I have tried to fill in some gaps. Hollywood has both helped and hurt, depending on how accurately it has portrayed the situation. What I know, or at least what I think I know, is written in the following paragraphs.

 The Vietnam War took place during the 1960s and it was really the first unfavorable war for the American people. After sending soldiers to fight in World War II and Korea, the people felt like we needed to keep our young men at home and let the rest of the world take care of itself. Thus, this war was protested by many in the U.S., as demonstrators adopted the slogan, "Make love, not war."

 The reason for our involvement in Vietnam was to try try to stop the spread of Communism from China southward. The Northern part of the country was already infected with this political stance, but South Vietnam was still free.

 During the Vietnam War, the draft was still in effect, but some young men dodged the draft by fleeing the country. I heard that former President Bill Clinton was among those draft dodgers, but that may be false information. Young men enrolled in college were sometimes able to avoid being sent overseas, if they were able to keep their grades up, and I personally know a few men who were spared the horrors of war in this manner.

 Those who were deployed received quick basic training and were sent to the front lines to fight. Helicopters dropped these men into the rice paddies that were the battlefield and they had to avoid enemy fire, land mines, and venomous snakes. I've heard the average life expectancy for these soldiers was measured in minutes or hours, rather than days or years.

 Specifics are more vague to me. I know Ho Chi Minh was a ruler, but I don't know for which side. I also know that Dien Bien Phu was an important battle and it falling was of great significance, but again I don't know if it was good or bad. (Confession: I did look up how to spell that place, but I did not read any information on it...and I know of it's significance because of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire.") Many soldiers were taken as prisoners of war, and some were held for years after the war ended. There was some famous walk that many of them took, but I can't remember what it was called. The Bridge over River Kwai is all that comes to mind but that might be a different war.

 At some point, we pulled out of Vietnam, I think because of political pressure here. It seems that Presidential campaigns included this part of foreign policy at the time. The result is that South Vietnam fell to the North, uniting the country under Communist rule. Today communism still is dominant in that land. The soldiers who returned home did not receive a hero's welcome, and many were shunned by their friends. The things they witnessed have traumatized them for life, and some wish they had met the same fate as their fallen comrades whose names are written on the Wall in Washington, D.C. ||
 * K. Smith || I will be totally honest here...I do not know much about Vietnam. I did not live during this time, in fact, my parents hardly have any vivid images of the war itself as they were not affected.

Mostly images of the jungle and rice paddies flood my mind first. Of course, the protests that occurred when the soldier's returned to the states. I know that Vietnam was an unpopular war spurring signs like "Make love, not war". I also know that some of the people sent over to Vietnam were somewhat disillusioned about the war. Many people hid from the draft (can't think of the term right now).

I recently saw the traveling Vietnam War memorial-very cool. ||
 * A. Phyall || Vietnam I think was the first time the American people got a chance the see warfare up close and personal. I think with this war (conflict) the American people did not feel it was a common enemy. To be honest I don’t even know why America was involved. I am 32 and most of my knowledge comes from movies and video games (Call of Duty). I think Chuck Norris and Rambo saved some POWs (Joking). But I really think that this conflict happened at a time when Americans stopped believing everything the government said and started to protest against injustices. This was also during the time of the Civil Rights struggle. Many of the protesters of the war also joined civil rights protest as well.

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