War: What is it good for? Not everyone found it acceptable, though. That’s why I went to Vietnam. That doesn't include the life-shortening disorders and severe disabilities suffered by the children of those exposed. Nice lumping and steretyping. The reinforcements were informed they would face up to "40 old men and farmers." How come people who fought in WW2 aren't as messed up as Vietnam Vets? South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem and JFK were shot dead three weeks apart in 1963. They encountered kids, mothers, and largely elderly men. Tufts University explained that the Johnson Administration bombed Cambodia in 1965 because the country severed ties with the U.S. while allowing Communists to cross its borders. As North Vietnamese troops prepared to topple Saigon, rumors circulated that the incoming Communists would slaughter anyone connected to America. Declassified documents and a slew of interviews reviewed by Newsweek depicted a mission mired in mystery and mistakes. Right? I feel obligated to bitch to make it better. The US Government does not recognize “in-country” identifiers (Just like … So even if you were stationed in South Africa passing out basketballs at a gym, you qualify to call yourself a Vietnam Vet, because that term has no legal standing and is a colloquialism. What kills people is water. The campaign killed between 150,000 and 500,000 noncombatants. The Conversation related that between 1961 and 1971 America showered Vietnam with 45 million liters of the herbicide Agent Orange. So why did it become an issue after Vietnam? However, the military at least tacitly condoned the atrocities. Eleven hours later a ceasefire officially commenced in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords. Curt J. Like a deadbeat dad, the U.S. refused to pay attention to the children's pain. Moreover, the mission had been a humiliating failure, and officials worried the commandos were undercover Communists. Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 Last. Even if a lot of people saw the war as unjust why treat the people that fought the war like garbage? Peers picked on them for being poor and parentless. PBS explained he didn't even warn Cambodia's head of state, who was a U.S. ally at the time. It was dragged into battle by U.S. bombs. Sure there are some that suffer from the war, and many more that suffer because of the manner in which our government has neglected the care of these soldiers. Caring for and compensating veterans … War is organized barbarism on an enormous scale. I knew it was wrong, but it was an acceptable practice." Three Marines — Gary Hall, Joseph Hargrove, and Danny Marshall — went missing. They became vagabonds and beggars. I don't feel we are any more messed up than any other group of people. No wonder so many were messed up. New research looks at why so many veterans end up on the street. Despite pushback from the Pentagon, the commandos eventually won a court battle for back pay. Tingling, numbness, headaches, twitching and loss of sensation are also symptoms related to the neurological impact of Agent Orange exposure. I was eighteen and stupid when I finally got to Vietnam. Society also regarded the kids as garbage. Nixon's chief of staff described the carnage at Kent State as "the beginning of his downhill slide toward Watergate.". Eventually a Congressman did Tricky Dick a solid by threatening to block defense funding if the Army didn't block the case. Frequently hired out of high school, the commandos were promised $2,000 annually plus $100 monthly to their families. One hundred Marine reinforcements were sent to the Cambodian island of Koh Tang after the ship and its crew had already been recovered. By the early 1960s, South Vietnam’s conventionally trained … One prisoner remembered being force-fed soapy water and receiving electric shocks. According to one estimate, the number of veterans without stable accommodation was … I had a black friend who was the easiest going person I have ever met. It was literally overkill, just like the war itself. Now it dragged America back into combat. Russia sends tsunami your way. John1953. ... it that way, no I don't think it would be messed up. I was born in 81 so … Cambodia placed a crimson exclamation point on the war in 1975. As a former member recounted, "We weren't even keeping count. So basically, they laid down their lives for a cause just to push communism back, over 50,000 of them died for that caused, some of them were forced to basically commit war crimes, they saw some really messed up shit. 1,326 520. In August 1965, America had its "first major battle" in Vietnam, and domestic discontent over racial discrimination exploded during the Watts Riots. In 1945 a French-backed Vietnamese emperor gained power, and Communist honcho Ho Chi Minh mounted an uprising that gave rise to North Vietnam via the First Indochina War. If you’re going to Hell, you might as well go in style. Are they honored because they were forced to fight and then honoring them is sort of like a way of paying them, or are they honored because of their fight against "evil communists"? Ex-intelligence analyst Sedgwick Tourison explained that the military wanted to save money. So It saddens me that a Vet has to defend himself just to get answers. In March the demoralized men marched on the village of My Lai with orders to eradicate Communists and Communist sympathizers. Tiger Force member Gerald Bruner threatened to shoot his fellow soldiers if they kept killing civilians. The military maintained that the men "disobeyed orders" by failing to reach rescue choppers on time and had likely died. But Em Son, the former special forces commander for the Khmer Rouge, later stated that Hargrove had been captured, questioned, and shot. Many GIs in Vietnam made love and rape and war, creating embattled children. its like the things they went through over there scarred them for life, and there incapable of being around people..why is this? The media made it that as if the entire U.S. military perpetrated the atrocities in Vietnam. McCain became incapable of lifting his arms above his shoulders. … They protested for days and set an ROTC building ablaze. Per History, World War II bred bedlam in Vietnam when Japan wrested the country from French colonizers. I was in the homecoming parade with the 1STMARDIV on base. What kills people is not COVID. Initially hailed as heroes, the Tiger Force soon saw killing as "the way to live," according to one Tiger. As PBS described, the Nixon Administration started covertly carpet-bombing Cambodia and kept Congress out of the loop for months. Veteran I'm over 18 and understand that this is not a crisis management program. Also, treatment was not available like it is now. Eventually, being hard-headed and 20, I decided to piss on the fire and call in the dogs. In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson seemingly agreed, telling his national security adviser that the Vietnam War wasn't "worth fighting for." The exception might be John(I want to be president ) Kerry and Al(I invented everything) Gore. Newer units provided by the United States contained a single inmate. The country's ousted ex-leader threw his support behind the Khmer Rouge. And then when they got back home, they were treated like the scum of … Reflecting on what he witnessed in Vietnam, platoon medic Larry Cottingham remarked, "There was a period when just about everyone had a necklace of ears." Volunteering to give him or her a ride to and from their appointments. More questions for military and veterans who fought in a war? Per the Chicago Tribune, in 1990 the VA revealed that the military realized Agent Orange was dangerous but used it anyway. In 1964, Uncle Sam unleashed the dogs of war after North Vietnam allegedly attacked American vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin. Why is ebenefits so messed up? Twenty-seven members admitted that collecting ears as trophies "was routine." The commandos were actually under duress. The My Lai Massacre and subsequent deception fomented anti-war fervor in America and demoralized already war-weary troops, who increasingly coped through drug use. I confirm that I am a U.S. Every commando that entered North Vietnam got captured or killed. Meadlo wasn't alone. One of the reasons there are so many vets now is that vets have created their own market. And as the Vietnam War's countless cruelties came to light, many came to see it as a tragic travesty. This meant poisoning everyone in the vicinity, but Uncle Sam assured everyone that Agent Orange wouldn't hurt anyone. Song further alleged that his men beat Hall and Marshall to death. Uncle Sam was dead wrong. The dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982 began the process, but many identify the Gulf War of 1990-91—with its national flag-waving, yellow … In the process, he broke both arms and a leg. You make assertions that simply are not true. Maybe your just too dumb to know what your talking about. In 1974 he received parole. A temporary peace ensued but was shattered on May 4. . Two days after launching the invasion, Nixon announced it on television, conveniently leaving out the lethal aerial assaults that accompanied it. In 1967 the jaded GIs executed untold numbers of defenseless villagers. That year he publicly promised to reduce America's involvement in the Vietnam War while he secretly reduced Cambodia to rubble. Nixon beefed up the bombardment over a four-year period during which fighter jets dropped 540,000 tons of bombs. This is America. It gets more depressing. 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