Marianne Paulsen

6 jr

Vietnam War Facts:

Vietnam protesters often falsely claimed that the draft unfairly targeted minorities. In fact, over 80% of draftees were white, and 10-15% were African American, which was reflective of the relative population levels at the time.

The splitting of Vietnam along the 17th parallel by the 1954 Geneva Conference was intended as a temporary measure, with elections planned in 1955 to reunify the country. The United States feared that Ho Chi Minh would win the national election, and thus helped the authoritarian Ngô Đình Diệm to take power in the South.

A 2015 federal study of Vietnam War veterans found that nearly 300,000 veterans suffer from daily health problems, whether physical or emotional, as a result of their experiences in the war.

The Vietnam War was instrumental in raising consciousness about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which was only recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a legitimate malady in 1980.

6 jr

Vietnam War Facts:

One of North Vietnam's most important assets during the war was the "Ho Chi Minh Trail," a network of roads leading from North Vietnam into central South Vietnam, along which they transported soldiers, arms, and supplies to the Viet Cong in the South.

American and South Vietnamese forces relied heavily on air power during the war. The B-52 heavy bomber, F4 Phantom, and Bell UH-1 guaranteed American superiority in the air.

The majority of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong armaments were manufactured by China and the Soviet Union.

A controversial tool used during the Vietnam War was "Agent Orange," a defoliant designed to strip away forest cover used by enemy guerrilla troops. After the war, the chemical mixture was found to cause tumors, birth defects, and other maladies, which both returning U.S. soldiers and many Vietnamese suffered from.

6 jr

Vietnam War Facts:

The Vietnam War left deeps marks on the American psyche, especially the soldiers, leading to the creation of a number of books and films exploring the war's social and emotional ramifications. Notable books include The Things They Carried and We Were Soldiers Once...And Young. Films include First Blood, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, and Apocalypse Now.

The Pentagon Papers were a series of documents containing classified information on the progress and status of the war in Vietnam. They were released to The New York Times by Daniel Ellsberg, an employee at the Department of Defense, when he became convinced that the war was unwinnable.

The release of the Pentagon Papers to the public caused massive outrage, particularly over the news that the Kennedy administration had helped coordinate the military coup of 1963 and the assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, as well as the reports that U.S. bombing of the North had done little to negatively impact North Korea's resolve.

The HoChi Minh Trail ran from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam.

6 jr

Vietnam War Facts:

Though the United States and South Vietnamese forces pushed back the Tet Offensive, the swiftness and ferocity of the attack led to a turn in popular opinion of the war in the United States. American citizens felt they had been misinformed of the true progress of the war, and that victory was not, in fact, within easy reach.

The guerrilla warfare that characterized the Vietnam War often resulted in civilian massacres, as it was difficult to distinguish friendly South Vietnamese from the Communist Viet Cong spread throughout the South.

Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea also sent troops to aid South Vietnam in their struggle against the North.

A 1980 Veterans Administration survey revealed that 82% of U.S. combatants in Vietnam felt that the war had been lost because the U.S. government had hamstrung their efforts, not allowing them to win.

6 jr

Vietnam War Facts:

Many U.S. leaders labored under the delusion that Vietnam was a small country and could be easily controlled. In fact, Vietnam is nearly the size of Germany and has a huge population.

Television broadcasts of battles and general conditions in Vietnam played a large role in souring U.S. public opinion on the conflict.

The number of Americans who died in the Vietnam War is 58,220. The number of MIA/POW at the war's end was 2,646, and as of January 2018, 1,601 soldiers remain unaccounted for.

The Tet Offensive, which began January 30, 1968, was the largest offensive of the Vietnam War. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces began a coordinated series of attacks against key South Vietnamese targets on the Vietnamese new year.