The Killing Zone: The Vietnam Conflict

He feels Yanagi’s pain through the connection but he does not draw attention to it. To be in the heat of a powerplay game such as the one boiling over in Konoha right now is a moment of extreme delicacy and ruthlessness; attachments are withheld, persons numbed down. The rampant mentality is this: eliminate those who are likely to get in one’s way, even if they are friends, or valuable allies. Nobody who lived through the Warring States Era would be unfamiliar with this tenet: do what must be done. And if Tobirama was forced to choose among the Yamanaka twins, he would keep Yanagi alive, simply because she is now the more valuable of the two, even though Yanagi herself and most definitely, not Osamu, would admit it. For to dabble in politics is to know who has value, worth and utility, and who do not.

The book, ‘The Killing Zone’ by Frederick Downs, is an autobiography of his own experiences in the war of Vietnam 1967. He splits the book into multiple sections and is in the format of diary inserts describing his journey from start to finish of his time in Asia and his physical and mental incidents. The first chapter is titles ‘The Bridges’ and his journal entries start September 8, 1967 when he arrives to Vietnam. He describes looking down at the war zone and being surprised by how many lights were actually illuminated and that the aircraft to be shot down. Downs didn’t expect the war zone to look so inhabited and visible from the skies. He thought that he was physically prepared for what he was getting himself into, but mentally he

In the mental setting, “search[ing] the villages, . . . kicking over jars of rice, frisking children and old men, blowing tunnels, [and] sometimes setting fires” (O’Brien, 399) along with the constant reminder that it was kill or be killed wore down and weighed heavily upon the American soldiers. “They are asked to violate social norms, [to carry] out orders to fire upon the enemy [,] (MacLean, 564)” and commit other atrocities that corrupt their moral code. However, more daunting than the mental strife is the physical challenges the soldiers must overcome. O’Brien describes how on a daily basis the men could catch disease like “malaria and dysentery . . . [and] lice and ringworm (399)” and how the monsoons and the jungle threaten them. The physical setting is perhaps a secondary antagonist, respectively following the enemy soldiers and the war. The physical setting challenges the American soldiers and attacks in ways that differs from the enemy soldiers; the monotonous, never-ending jungle and terrain drains their energy, the monsoons threaten to drown them, and the threat of disease is almost as terrifying as a gunshot wound. The physical and mental challenges in Vietnam create insurmountable burdens for the soldiers to try to cope

The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States

The storm clouds were dark, gloomy and grim like a graveyard. They were near the surface of the earth. It was going to rain. They were lingering on. The soldiers’ uniforms were repeatedly buffeted by the howling gale. The sky was as black as a devil’s soul. A large boom echoed across the crimson battlefield as the lighting returned the thunder’s call. Endless calls for help could be heard. Then, the rain started pouring down, filling up the battle field, like a flood, as the constant sound of the rain pounding on the metal could be heard. Heavy boots pressed down on the wet mud, which would not be dry for the next week, due to the trenches. The trenches were six-foot-deep and reeked of dead bodies and human excrement.

The Vietnam war was an absolutely brutal time in American history. The war lasted for the majority of the 1960s and left many young men dead. The short story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and the film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam give us just a glance into the war by giving using the three themes of fear, pressures, and blame/guilt to embody the concept of war and how it absolutely changes a person. War not only destroys countries, but it destroys people.

In this interviewed we spoke to a Vietnam soldier named Kermit Ganger. He grew up in the U.S. as a child and when he was a young teen, he enlisted in the war as a marine. Mr. Gagner expresses in this interview that he saw many of his friends suffer and die that he did not expect to be shot but to die from the humidity. Many soldiers walked during the day in marshes and forests experience high humidity and heat. One of the questions answered says, “When we arrived in DaNang on my first day and walking off the plane. I remember thinking I don't have to worry about being shot, because heat and humidity will kill me. I lost 45 pounds in my tour. I remember arriving at my assigned base by helicopter the first day and seeing all these Marines who

“I had been there to buy a soda, and I had gone over to talk to another guy and missed the blast by about ten or fifteen seconds,” testified Terry Smith, a Wisconsin native, on a lukewarm spring afternoon in May. Smith maintained a relaxed attitude as he told a nail-biting story of his near-death experiences in Vietnam. This particular story began when Terry Smith bought a soda from a young Vietnamese girl. Seconds after he bought the soda, the girl blew herself up and killed five out of the six soldiers waiting in line. While serving, Smith learned through his many experiences how essential was to be aware of his surroundings and those he associated with while in Vietnam. He quickly realized the Vietnam War would be a constant struggle. Thus, he assimilated

The meadow near the Western Front was nothing compared to the vast fields of the prairie back home. There, in what seems like another lifetime, was a harvest full of life, colour, and promise. Here, there was only death and harshness. Trevor, our Commander, had once described the scenery of these fields in France before the chaos. He had said it was filled with little red flowers and high green grass. After three years of fatalities and rain, the scene shifted to represent the misery. There was no colour here. Our uniforms that had once been a deep green were now covered with dried mud. The scene before me was bleak. The sky was gray; as it had been since the first day we made camp in these trenches. The ground was muddy with small pools of

The Vietnam war had a huge impact on both Vietnam itself and the U.S. The war was fought for two main reasons freedom of the people of Vietnam. The other reason being to stop the spread of communism in the country. Also included in the paper are the words from Vietnam war vet Fred Nash. The Vietnam war was fought by 3 main groups of people the Vietcong, the North Vietnamese Army, and the US Military.

The Vietnam War was a violent and costly war that needed many men to fight for its cause. These men are now known as the Vietnam veterans. Numerous veterans who fought in the war were injured or lost a comrade during battle. These soldiers fought to protect the United States and its people while risking their own lives. A lot of these brave men were either killed or injured and did not gain the

The humid, teeming jungles of Vietnam during the war were the breeding ground of nightmares for U.S. soldiers who were forced to subject themselves to the barbaric conditions daily. A defining author of the Post-war Vietnam era, Tim O’Brien is one of the writers truly able to capture the war through words. O’Brien focuses on the daily life of the soldier more so than the overall conflict, and is able to delve into the true horrors of war and its effects on the men who fought it. O’Brien’s service in the Army gave him the inspiration to write, something he turned into a career. In his memoir, If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, O’Brien writes about his wartime experiences during his service in Vietnam. Like any other young

Approximately 2,700,000 American men and women served in Vietnam (va.gov). The war had a deep impact on the American veterans and our society. Prior to Vietnam, Americans have traditionally supported the military and have shown respect for soldiers (Moffett). Soldiers were viewed as heroes. Unfortunately, soldiers returned from the Vietnam War were treated with disrespect by the American public. In turn, disillusioned veterans returning from the war developed serious physical and psychological problems. American society subsequently lost faith in the government and their leaders for many years to follow.

The Vietnam War was certainly controversial. There were many protests that erupted across college campuses and throughout numerous town and cities. Many individuals viewed the war as unnecessary and unwinnable. The draft was also very widely criticized and seen as a negative point in the war. The draft was forcing young college students to go fight in dangerous territory. The most controversial aspect of the Vietnam War is certainly that it was deemed unwinnable by the US government, but they still chose to remain in Vietnam and fight. Why was the Vietnam War unwinnable though? Was it actually unwinnable or did the US government

Vietnam was a country divided into two by communism in the North and capitalism in the South. The Vietnam War, fought between the years 1959 and 1975, was, in essence, a struggle by nationalists in the north to unify the nation under a communist government. This was a long standing conflict between the two sides that had been occurring for years. It wasn’t until 1959 when the USA, stepped in, on the side of southern Vietnamese, to stop the spread of communism. It was a war that did not capture the hearts and minds of the American people as it was viewed as a war that the US army couldn’t win and so the government lost the peoples support for the war. This ultimately led to the withdrawal of the US army from Vietnam. Some people, like