Conscientious Objectors in Vietnam
Claiming yourself to be a Conscientious Objectors back in those days, required a lot of courage and could affect you and the way others saw you in so many ways.
For those who do not know what a Conscientious Objector is, is someone who has claimed the right to refuse or reject military service due to morale, religious, or ways of thinking concerns. And it wasn't easy believe me, see the U.S was constantly in need of soldiers, but those who refused were most of the time sent to prison for not serving their country. In other countries, they would put CO's (Conscientious Objectors) into other civil services. For some reason , who people who rejected war were forbidden from various benefits. Teenagers were constantly found in a dilemma not only with themselves, but with their own families and society and it's pressure as well. The more time the war took the more they questioned it, they just couldn't believe why such an immoral war brought such tragedy and controversy to their homeland. For you to become a CO you must had first write an essay explaining or justifying your status condition. One of the most recognized CO or probably the most was Desmond Doss, although he didn't participated in the Vietnam War, and indeed he was an example to follow.
The students were taught fighting was something good. War was an adventure. When being soldiers, the students did not have to attend school and they want to fight for their fatherland.
Most scholars probably think that the Americans who fled to Canada during the Vietnam war had personal reasons, but according to the latest research, most of the resisters of the Vietnam war were politically motivated. There are different kinds of motives by various resistors who took place during the Vietnam War. First were the Dodgers. These were that kind of people who left America because they did not approve what the government was doing. They resisted through making public claims, trying not to register for the draft, and not taking the oath. The second types of resister were known as the draft resistors, and these were the people who were in the military and refuted their duties. The deserters were also another group of resistors
The Vietnam war is a war that no one wanted to really participate in. The United States had to hold drafts to have a large fighting force to send over since no one to volunteer. There are times where soldiers would ask to why are we fighting in this war, they would never be given a straight answer and would be mocked. According to O’Brian (1999), “Erik did
Remembering the Vietnam War Veterans The Vietnam War remains today to be one of the most memorable and long - lived wars in history. Mike Clark was one of those veterans who fought in the war and he is alive to share is share his memorable experiences in the war. In remembering the Vietnam War veterans, it is important to consider the experiences of guerilla warfare, the training the soldiers endured, and the lives of the veterans after the war.
The Vietnam War extended from 1962-1975, at that time the Australia governments defence policy consisted of sending troops over seas to fight against potential enemies this strategy called ‘forward defence’ was a major reason for the commitment of Australian troops to the war in Vietnam, from 1962 – 1972 approximately 60,000 Australian men and women served in Vietnam and there were around 500 Australian causalities lost during the Vietnam War. The outbreak of war in Vietnam was as of as a result of communist aggression. In 1951 we joined with New Zealand and the United States to sign the ANZUS treaty, where a attack on any one of those countries was seen as a threat to them all, further in September of 1954 the South East Asia treaty organisation
However, following the horrors of World War II, society’s view on war changed so that people questioned whether war was galant and should be glorified. This was particularly evident after the Vietnam war when there was widespread opposition to war. Source 3 depicts how Australian society’s view of war changed and people began to protest against conscription and Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war. Vietnam veterans, unlike their former ANZAC servicemen, returned to a country who did not acknowledge them.
In 1961 the worst war ever fought by America had just started. The Vietnamese of the north also known as the Viet Cong had invaded the south to take control of the entire country. America and other democratic countries felt the spread of communism to this country would be a stepping-stone for other communistic countries around the world, also known as the Domino Effect. America, as cocky as they were, invaded Vietnam to help the southern Vietnamese. Although America is one of the most powerful countries in the world, it extremely underestimated the dedication of their enemy. Backed by China and the USSR, the Viet Cong were a determined and very tough enemy. The Vietnam War as a whole was a terrible act by the US government. Vietnam was
To this day, many Vietnam veterans suffer and feel forgotten, unappreciated, and even discriminated against. Combat experiences or physical disabilities have ruined some of their lives. For more, returning to normal life had not been easy. "Imagine if you had just graduated out of high school and were sent to a guerrilla warfare far away from your home. During the war, you were exposed to a lot of stress, confusion, anxiety, pain, and hatred. Then you were sent back home with no readjustment to the lifestyle in the states, no deprogramming of what you learned from the military, and no "welcome home" parades. You are portrayed to the public as a crazed psychopathic killer with no morals or control over your aggression. You find that there 's nobody you can talk to or who can understand what you 've been through, not even your family. As you re-emerge into civilization, you struggle to establish a personal identity or a place in society because you lack the proper education and job skills. In addition, there are no supportive groups to help you find your way, which makes you feel even more isolated, unappreciated, and exploited for serving your country" (Thompson 279). This situation is like what many Vietnam veterans had felt upon returning home from war.
Acts of defiance, such as the refusal to divulge sensitive information to their interrogators or bow their heads during the prisoner’s parade through Hanoi, displayed their honor and patriotism to their country. Such examples as the parade the yells of “You are Americans! Keep your heads up.” and the beatings that they would receive because of their defiance would only show the evolution and commitment to their duty, honor, and begin to develop their patriotism showing their boldness towards the enemy, giving the prisoners bravery, hope, and the will to survive. This will to maintain their pride, loyalty, and duties not only provided and defined the POWs experience in North Vietnam, but it also influenced the United States government to take
The Vietnam war was known as the cold war between 1955-1975, however the arrival of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) during July and August 1962 was the beginning of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war. During the war era, political beliefs and traditional values were constantly being challenged in Australia due to the important events occurred, these include the Australia citizens fear of communism that became an issue in the Australian election in 1949, and the impact on the returning veterans challenged many of their traditional beliefs as well.
Sparked by the Versailles Peace Treaty, the second wave of terrorism began. The second wave, also known as the anti-colonial wave, is where terrorism campaigns were fought over political problems where it would look too weak to back out. The third wave, or “New Left,” began after the Vietnam War. The New Left was the beginning of hijackings with the mix of the first wave’s radical and nationalistic intentions. The second wave includes groups, such as the PLO and FLN, whereas the New Left includes the Weather Underground and the Red Brigades. Each group has their own objective, strategy, and support which made them stronger.
The Vietnam War was a bloody dispute that lasted 20 years, from 1955 to 1975. After winning its own independence from France in 1954, the country itself split into two parts, North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh, a communist leader who lead his country into its revolution against the French. The North had a communist style government styled off of the successful Communist revolution in Russia. The South on the other hand, was backed up by the United States and had an anti-communist government led by Ngo Dinh Diem. Diem was a very repressive leader though, and soon enough a guerilla force made up of communists now called the ‘Viet Cong’ started to attack and kill Southern Vietnamese government officials. The Viet Cong
This class has profoundly altered my perspectives on the Vietnam War and warfare in general. Throughout this course, the material has prompted me to consider my own beliefs and perspectives in relation to the challenges of warfare. Learning about the struggles and obstacles Caputo and Hayslip went through because of the war, has deepened my ethical awareness. Understanding the moral dilemmas and ethical considerations soldiers and villagers went through during the war has provided new insight into the consequences of violence. At the beginning of this class, I believed that the only consequences of violence were death and suffering.
Although the Vietnam War was caused by the United States in desire to stop communism, it had negative consequences on Americans including social, economic and even political consequences while the event helped in shaping modern world history.
Imagine walking around in a densely overgrown forest. The weather is so hot and humid that the clothing sticks to skin and it feels as though there is a thin film covering the entirety of the body. It rains often and the worst part is that everyone is are carrying around eighty-five pounds of equipment on their backs at all times. These conditions were extremely common for most of the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War in the 1960’s. The Vietnam war began because the United States government wanted to protect the South Vietnamese government from being overtaken by the communist government of the North Vietnamese. Most American citizens did not even understand why we were fighting the war and the war itself was not heavily supported. The