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Vietnam War was a war that had the many of the world stumped on how it accrued and what it was for. Many lives were lost and destroyed for a war that had no real purpose. As to why the US got involved is still a controversial issue to this day. Pin pointing exactly when the war started is a heated debate among historians. The war was not only in Vietnam but also right at home. Society was divided and conflict began.
Was Vietnam a lost cause for the US? In 1941, Ho Chi Minh, a communist activist, organizes a nationalist organization known as the Viet Minh. After defeating Germany in July 1945, World War II Allies U. S. , Britain, and Soviet Union, hold the Potsdam Conference in Germany.
During the conference, representatives from France requested the return of all French pre-war colonies in Southeast Asia. Their request was granted and once again Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became French colonies. August 1945 Ho Chi Minh's guerrillas occupy Hanoi and declare a temporary government. September 2, 1945, the Japanese sign a surrender agreement ending World War II in the Pacific. On the same day, Ho Chi Minh declares the independence of Vietnam. Two weeks later 1400 French soldiers are released from former Japanese camps in South Vietnam.
The French soldiers entered Saigon and went on a deadly rampage, attacking and killing innocent civilians and some of the Viet Minh. French civilians joined the soldiers in the deadly rampage. After this rampage, the Viet Minh retaliate by successfully organizing a strike shutting down all electricity and water supplies. In the outskirts of Saigon, a Vietnamese criminal organization massacres 150 French and Eurasian civilians, including children. September 26, 1945, the first American death occurs in Vietnam. Officer Peter Dewey was killed by Viet Minh guerrillas, who mistook him for a French officer.
The French government becomes involved in Vietnam in October 1945. Thirty-five thousand French soldiers arrive in South Vietnam to restore French rule. The French succeed in expelling the Viet Minh from Saigon. In December 19, 1946, 30, 000 Viet Minh launch their first attack against the French. That is when the First Indo China war begins and last for about eight year. The French established the (South) Vietnamese National Army in July 1945.
A victory in October 1949, where Communist forces defeat the Nationalist Army in the Chinese civil war, ignites an American anti-Communist sentiment. As a result a White House foreign policy goal of "containing" a Communist expansion in the region was born. The Communist forces of China begin sending military advisors and modern weapons to the Viet Minh: including automatic weapons, mortars, howitzers, and trucks. In turn on July 26, 1950, United States military involvement in Vietnam begins as President Harry Truman gives $ 15 million in military aid to the French.
American military advisors accompany the flow of U. S. tanks, planes, artillery and other supplies to Vietnam. Over a period of four years, the U. S. spent about $ 3 Billion on the French war and by 1954 provided 80 percent of all war supplies used by the French.
In Dispatches, Michael Herr, through experience, explains what happens when Western ideas and Vietnamese traditions collide together... a little girl with a withered leg darting back and forth on wooden crutches faster than a dragonfly to sell her cigarettes. (Herr 36) Western ideas influenced the Vietnamese way of life. The Vietnamese tried to make a living by selling Western goods to Western people. Many of the Vietnamese were poisoned by Western influence and betrayed their Vietnamese traditions.
The North wanted all Western influence out of Vietnam and the independence of Vietnam to protect what was left of the tradition. Many women participated in prostitution to make a living to support their family. Because of Western influence and the war, Vietnamese did not have many options on earning a living besides prostitution or swindling. Some Vietnamese traditions were replaced with Western traditions through the experience of Western education.
On the other hand, some Vietnamese met Western ideas with resistance. The Viet Cong did not welcome Western ideas they wanted to stick with their Vietnamese tradition. They did not sell Western products or take up Western tradition. Unlike the West they respected the land and all her powers. The Viet Minh for decades fought the military power of France and US. The war was devastating for the people and the land.
Most of Vietnam's landscape was destroyed or contaminated by weapons used in the war. When Vietnam was under French control famine was widespread after World War II. Many Vietnamese turned to the Viet Minh because they believed that it was time for Vietnam to be independent and under a different government, such as communism. Throughout the war the North fought against the military powers of France and the US. A civil war was going on: the North against the South, communism versus colonial rule. The Viet Minh kept Vietnamese tradition alive and proved that Vietnam could be an independent nation.
All the years of struggle helped strengthen the belief that Vietnam needed a change; because the government it had now did not care about the people or land, they just cared about control. As a result of the war, nationalism was spreading beyond the borders of the North. Nationalism was spreading right into the home line: the South. Because of the spread of nationalism the West could not have won. The Vietnamese pride and tradition was on the line. They were fighting for the right to exist.
They were fighting for more than just their lives; they were fighting for their race, home, freedom and against the extinction of their traditions. That was a main difference between them and the West. The West was not fighting that hard and did not have the drive of pride and social extinction that the North had. After each and every battle, the Vietnamese pride and feeling of nationalism grew stronger. Some people just wanted to blow it all to hell, animal vegetable and mineral.
They wanted a Vietnam they could fit into their car ashtrays (Herr 59). To the West, Vietnam was just a trophy to put into a case, something to brag to the enemy about: communism. But to the Viet Minh, it was much more; it was their heart, soul, and roots. With the rise of nationalism Vietnam was more then ready to become an independent nation. And with the last bullet Since the US pulled out in 1975, the relationship between US and Vietnam has been rocky. At first the Vietnamese did not want to return our POW (prisoners of war) and resisted establishing any relationship with the US.
It has only been recently that the US and Vietnam have begun to establish a relationship. In February 1994, President Clinton announced that the US was disbanding the trade embargo against Vietnam. He also announced that the US would establish a U. S.
Liaison Office in Hanoi. On January 28, 1995, the United States and Vietnam signed agreements resolving issues about property and private claims. Liaison offices were opened in Hanoi and Washington. Preceding the President's decision to establish relations with Vietnam, a U.
S. Embassy was opened in Hanoi on August 6. The relationship between the U. S. and Vietnam continues to grow. Several contacts between US government and Vietnam government are increasing rapidly.
Vietnam is cooperating with us on important matters. The Vietnamese agreed, in December 1993, to a rough plan to settle its official debts with all of its creditors. The US is involved in negotiations with Vietnam under this plan on our share of its foreign debts. In November 19, 2000, President Clinton visited Vietnam.
He has been the first US president to visit Vietnam since 1975. During his visit, Clinton tried to mend the relationship between two former enemies. In a speech at Hanoi's National University, and in separate meetings with the Vietnamese president and prime minister, Clinton focused on what he called a new chapter in U. S. -Vietnamese relationship, adding that the two countries "must not forget [the war], but must not be controlled by it. " Clinton also said accounting for U. S. servicemen missing in action (MIA) from the Vietnam conflict would be a priority.
Clinton met with Vietnamese officials to discuss finding the remaining MIA and thanked them for their help. He promised that the United States would also help Vietnam find out what happened to their servicemen. President Clinton tried to urge the communist government of Vietnam to open its economy and give their people more freedom. The government's response was that the Unites States should respect and not interfere with the governing of other countries. The old communist regime doesn't seem close to abandoning its controlled system for a free market economy, but economic pressures and the changing attitudes of reform-minded youth may eventually lead to greater freedoms for the people of Vietnam. Vietnam has been a country of struggle, war, independent and reform.
The US was involved in Vietnam War for about 3 decades. The question as to why we were involved may never be answered. Vietnam war is over but the lasting effects will forever remain in the hearts of those who fought in this war of mystery. Works Cited Herr, Michael. Dispatches. New York: Vintage International, 1977.
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