History Essay on US Intervention in the Vietnam War

The war in Vietnam was a war between the North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The United States got involved in this fight through the aid that they were giving to South Vietnam. This war took about twenty years as North Vietnam was hoping to unite with South which had been colonized by the French. The struggle against communist leadership leads to fierce battle whose epicenter was the United States, a nation which was also against the communist. Filled with the belief that it is the duty of United States to defend other countries from communist, so many patriotic Americans lost their lives in this great battle. This article analyses the interventions of U.S in this war through news involving politics, natural disasters, and conflict war; through inventions in science and sports and entertainment.

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News

Vietnamization

The war in Vietnam was one of the most unpopular wars in that time in history. Despite its unpopularity, this was created deep wounds and more divisions among the Americans. The next American President Richard Nixon had no option but to push for his Vietnamization policy. Initially, the war had seemed to be beneficial to the United States government. No one foresaw its impacts on the American soil. The policy involved a plan to equip South Vietnam troops with the necessary military skills for them to be self-reliant. After achieving this, it would be so easy for the US to withdraw their soldiers. The government of the United States despite its involvement in this war was very much concerned about quitting with a good reputation. The policy was to ensure the goals of American government were achieved even without their presence (Trueman, 11).

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War ended shortly after the withdrawal of the US troops from Vietnam. The United States involvement in the War was announced by the President with the aim of thwarting the efforts of Communist to take control of the country. The media houses and local stations in the Country had little information. This was because much of the information was kept by the intelligence of the United States of America. The hoarded information made the war unpopular causing confusion and misunderstanding among the American citizens. There were fears that this cold war could lead into a much greater or even world war. The government of US had only sent reinforcement to the South Vietnam because of the belief in non-communism (Terrence, 161).

Agent Orange

The Agent Orange was a plot by the US to destroy the forest which acted as the hideout of the North Vietnamese. The destruction was done by spraying a powerful herbicide over the entire forest coverage. Millions of gallons of the herbicide were sprayed in the fields and farmlands of the North Vietnamese. The impact of this destruction was felt not only by the crops but also by the soldiers who returned from war (Tilfod, 22). This was a great mistake made by the American administration to use a biological weapon whose long-term effect was not well understood. The companies that manufactured the sprays had to be held liable for the damages of the weapon. The defects experienced by the veterans included soft tissue sarcoma and chloracne among others. Compensation had to include the next of kin because of the economic impacts of these diseases on the states of livelihood (Sinks, 2).

Sports

Pro-football was born in the 1960s at a time when the cold war in Vietnam was underway. The pro football was gaining popularity, and most media stations were keen to air the games to the world. This was a confusing moment for the nation since the attention was divided between the civil strife and the upcoming pro-games.

So many lessons could be drawn from the sports and applied. So many people have believed that strategies used in football are similar to those used in war. However, it is now understood that the scoring strategies used in games can not apply in war. The war in Vietnam could not be related to any sports policies since it had no rules. The troops fought without following any guidelines or directions. They were only guided by instincts and the desire to win. Winning against the enemy was the only option at this point (Candaele, 23).

The separation of Vietnam into North and South Vietnam led to the emergence of two national football teams. The game of football was the most loved and appreciated among the Vietnamese even at this time of the battle. The Northern football league had the pleasure of playing international games against other communist nations. The southern league, on the other hand, took part in the first two Asian AFC football matches and finished at position four. This was interpreted as a good start and the nation pride itself in becoming one of the football legends in the continent (Hanois, 56).

Entertainment

The South Vietnamese soldiers were greatly entertained by musicians from Australia. All these musicians come on a voluntary based on their agreement with the US government. Their contribution was to lift up the spirit of the men at war and to bring in a new wave of encouragement. The musicians were mainly pushed forward by the patriotic spirit and the desire for adventure and new experience. So many men and women with beautiful vocals made a trip to be counted as contributors to the success of this war (Clymer, 23).

Among the musicians who took part in this dangerous but adventurous journey were Cole Joye and Little Pattie. Also found among them was Desmond Lorrae whose fame and great work had spread far and beyond. The greatest time of her visit was during her frequent visitations to the hospitals. All the traveling expenses of the performers were mainly covered by the government or the commercial agencies which were partisan to the war (Kerry, 23).

The entertainers in most cases did not enjoy the experience since the war conditions were pathetic in most cases and unfavorable to the musicians who were not used to such situations. It is not easy to fully understand motivating factor of the performers, however, their presence and performances brought moments of normalcy in the field of war. It was assumed that well-entertained troops would fight the best (Nalty, 155).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the war in Vietnam was one of the most significant battles in the world's history. This is basically because of it was a fight between believers in democracy in communist. United States government got involved because they were keen in spreading their democratic policies to every part of the world. Interestingly, the nation withdrew after some time because of the impacts of the war at the backyard of America. Nonetheless, this was a battle worth fighting even though they lost to the communist.

Work Cited

C N Trueman "Vietnamization". historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 27 Mar 2015. Pg. 11

Candaele, Kerry. "The Sixties and Protest Music." The Sixties and Protest Music. Accessed May 13, 2015. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/sixties/essays/protest-music-1960s. Pg, 23.

Clymer, Kenton J. The Vietnam War: Its History, Literature and Music. El Paso, Texas: Texas Western Press, 1998. 21-25.

Earl L. Tilford, Setup: What the Air Force did in Vietnam and Why. Maxwell Air Force Base gent Orange. Pg. 22

Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam. 2011. Pg. 56

History.com Staff. 2011. Agent Orange. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/agent-orange. March 26, 2017 Publisher. Networks AL: Air University Press, 1991, p. 89.

Nalty, Bernard C. The Vietnam War: the history of America's conflict in Southeast Asia. Salamander Books, 1998, p. 155.

Sinks, Thomas H. "Challenges in investigating the association between Agent Orange and cancer: Site-specific cancer risk and accuracy of exposure assessment." Cancer 1 Dec. 2014: 3595+.Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.

Terrence Maitland, Stephen Weiss, et al., Raising the Stakes. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1982, p. 161.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (December 1997) Terms of Environment: Glossary, Abbreviations and Acronyms. [online] Washington, D.C. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/OCEPAterms/