Vietnam Anti-War Movements

In opposition to the Vietnam War, there were several demonstrations that occurred world wide, the most famous demonstrations, of course, occurred in the United States. America united under the popular belief that it was essential for all of our troops to pull out of Vietnam and come home safely. The demonstrations that I have selected to present to you, in detail, are the Kent State Massacre, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam. I believe that most people recognize the event that occurred at Kent State University whether or not they know the reasoning behind it and the effects that it had, not only on the war, but on the way that American citizens viewed their government at that time period.President Richard Nixon was elected under the belief that he was going to end the war, but instead of a cease fire, guns raged on and bombs dropped endlessly, day and night.

Re-Evaluate Where Work Needs to be Done: The U.S. Government Allowing the U.S. to Deteriorate

U.S. citizens are being portrayed as heartless in the current war in Iraq. Scapegoating has always been the cause of problems throughout every war era, but it seems to be effecting the U.S. more than ever during this current war. The advances taken to promote the rights of Iraqi citizens are being portrayed as if they are only to shine the limelight on Americans.

During the Vietnam War era the citizens were the ones who fought to bring the troops home, which is also occurring now. It is not to diminish the poor treatment by foreign governments or the needs of the Vietnamese or Iraqi people, it is soley to protect the American citizens, the American men and women that willingly fight for the rights of others. Whether or not each person supports the war, most American citizens support the troops and their causes for fighting. Unfortunately, because of poor reflection by the media in America and in other nations, most countries, as well as American citizens, look down upon the reasoning behind the current war.

During the Vietnam War it was the American government against its own people because of the rising death toll and the unfulfilled promises that the government could not keep. Several times President Richard M. Nixon made reference to a withdrawal, but was never steadfast about it, giving many Americans a sense of false hope. He was also quoted stating, “No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now,” but it is a heated subject because in all wars there are factors that people will misinterpret because of the limited amount of facts released by the government (Nixon 1985). Now, there are more laws requiring the release of pertinent information, where as during Vietnam, the government kept an extremely large amount of information classified because there were fewer ways for the public to investigate and uncover confidential documents or information.

When other nations and sometimes the U.S.’s own citizens view the motives of the government uncanny and preposterous, it reflects back on the U.S. poorly. Whether the information is released immediately or after it does not pose a threat, the citizens of the U.S. deserve to know the happenings and goings on that reflect back on them. The citizens deserve to be heard whether or not the government would like to be open with them. The U.S. government spends millions of dollars overseas, perfecting other nations, but they are letting their own nation deteriorate. It is time for the U.S. to step back and allow the world to develop on its own without intervening.

Photo Compilation: Vietnam Anti-War Movements

The Impact of Technological Advancements in a Time of War

The photographs are horrid. They stop everyone in their tracks and require full attention. They are posted on newspapers and all over the Internet. Videos are displayed constantly on local and national news and if you are an American citizen, no matter where you are residing, the images hit home.

Several photographers from the era of the Vietnam War and one photographer from the current Iraq War congregated and served as panelists in a discussion called “Journalists Under Fire: Vietnam and Iraq” which Carol Pogash, a journalist, covered. Don McCullin, Catherine Leroy, and David Leeson, all notable and well renowned photojournalists, answered questions and talked about the disturbing sites and finally touched on the subject of their motivation and their drive. Very few U.S. citizens aspire to be war photographers or videographers but these men and women seemed passionate yet disturbed.

A uniting factor that disturbed all of these photographers, no matter which war they photographed, was their utter befuddlement with the U.S. citizens. The three photographers reflected on the fact that no war has been photographed like Vietnam, but even if Iraq was being photographed in the same way it would not rival the impact. Vietnam took precedence, no other aspect of media could trump over it. Nowadays, media coverage of the lifestyles of the rich and the famous takes the cake, Iraq, filled with U.S. men and boys whose death is imminent if no action is taken soon, is set on the back burner.

All three photojournalists agreed: the photographs they take and the images they see are disturbing and earthshaking, but nothing effects the U.S. population enough to motivate them to stand up for the rights of their fellow citizens, nothing alters the attitude toward the war. Anti-war protests are covered in the newspaper, on the news and, undoubtedly, on the Internet. Pertinent information is relayed to all citizens, but there is little reaction or disturbance among the American citizens. During the Vietnam War teens and adults were willing to give up their lives or their freedom to defend their fellow citizens. Today, without a direct connection very few people seem to actually care about the war because, although there is a lot of discussion about concluding the war, very few people stand up and take action because the nation has become too self-involved. Although the technology has improved, it has proven to be negative because there are too many ways to be passively aggressive about the war. Leroy defined the U.S.’s lack of action by stating, “We saw 24-hour-a-day Iraq war, but we didn’t really see much of anything,” (Reflecting on Shooting Through Decades of Battle, Pogash, 2005). How can anyone be devastated enough to take action if every image seen is impersonal, something that, without firsthand experience, is hard to relate to?

Vietnam Photos

Vietnam War through The Things They Carried by RugbyThrilla (January 5, 2007)

Veterans Opposing THEIR OWN War

The group congregated in 1967, with six Vietnam veterans marching together in a peace demonstration. The veterans provided insight saying that soldiers fought because they lacked another option; not all of them agreed with what they were fighting for. They provided an outlet and support for veterans and their families dealing with the after effects of war.VVAW describes itself as a national veterans’ organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans. September 4^th through the 7^th, 1970, the VVAW held “Operation RAW (Rapid American Withdrawal)”. They demonstrated by marching through Middle American towns simulating a search & destroy mission. They were dressed in full fatigue, taking prisoners, interrogating them, and seizing property. In December 1971, as another demonstration, fifteen VVAW activists barricaded and occupied the Statue of Liberty for two days. This was an attempt to grasp the attention of the public and draw more people to advocate the anti-war cause.

Peacefully & Forcefully Persuasive

On April 20th, 1969, Jerome Grossman called for a general strike if the Vietnam War had not ended by October. This strike developed into a national movement called The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam which occurred on October 15th, 1969. Kent State and the Vietnamese monks burning themselves alive, while interesting, are only famous because they have been discussed more than the other events and because of their level of brutality. While the Moratorium may not have resulted in the death of many, thus lacking in an investigation or trial, it was just as prominent in the effect it had on the war and required the same effort to be brought forth by those who wanted to be heard. The largest demonstration turnout was in Boston, where 100,000 demonstrators participated and the event merited a speech by anti-war Senator George McGovern. The Moratorium stretched beyond the nation. While Bill Clinton was studying as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he participated in a demonstration there. This demonstration also marked a significant aspect of anti-war movements. The organizers received note from North Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Pham Van Dong, saying, “…may your fall offensive succeed splendidly” (Time, 1969). The demonstrators organized “teach-ins” in congress to express their views and attempt to sway the opinion of some congressmen on U.S. involvement in the war. Anti-war governors also got involved, one of them also trying to get other governors involved with him. He wrote a letter to a demonstrator saying that he not only agreed with their viewpoint, but was going to send letters to governor friends of his, inviting them to join in demonstration. Despite all of the effort put into the anti-war demonstration, the Moratorium did not actually have as much of an impact as it would have been expected to. The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam did not immediately reflect the withdrawal of the troops, but it helped to develop a consciousness that reflected the desperation of 29% of Americans, and people world-wide, to end United States involvement.

College Students On the Homefront Fight for Their Peers and Their Beliefs

 

President Richard Nixon was elected under the belief that he was going to end the war in Vietnam but instead, close to a year after being elected, released information of the My Lai Massacre to the public after the war was ostensibly approaching the end. Since the war was encroaching on other countries many young people saw and feared the signs of another draft. This invasion eventually did lead to a draft lottery which angered Americans even more. It also led more prospective draftees to file to not have to take part in the war. The most discussed demonstration against Nixon and the Vietnam War occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio on May 1^st – May 4th, 1970. The students and other attendees were protesting the American invasion of Cambodia. President Richard Nixon, despite the use of brutality and force used to stop the protesters, launched the invasion on April 25, and publicized his intentions and actions in a television address five days after the demonstration. Trouble at Kent State began when a group of bikers left a bar and began throwing beer bottles at store fronts. The mayor called for support and asked that the National Guard be sent in to help maintain order. When the National Guard arrived, the ROTC building was on fire and they believed force was necessary. Tear gas was used, arrests were made, and some students felt the wrath of a bayonet. On the final day of demonstration, May 4^th, the National Guard used tear gas to control the crowd. It had little effect because of the wind and students threw some of the canisters back onto the guardsmen. Seventy-seven guardsmen advanced on the students, and after being coerced into a corner drew back. When students followed the guardsmen 29 of them shot 67 rounds into the crowd, even though none of the wounded or dead protestors were closer than 71 meters to the guards. Nine students were wounded and four were killed by the Ohio National Guard. The strike did not only occur at Kent State; 8 million students across the country participated in this demonstration.

Today & Yesteryear: A Comparison

As of December 11, 2007, it has been 32 years, eight months, and twelve days since the end of the Vietnam War was declared. Two years after the Iraqi War started, when American citizens were still naïve, hopeful, and unknowingly kept in the shadows by the government about the reasons for activity in Iraq, polls increasingly showed support for this occupation. As time passed, and talk about bringing the soldiers home increased without any evidence of it actually occurring, citizens began wising up and the support began to decrease.

            It is a recurring effort to publicize every aspect of war, beginning in Vietnam, the first televised war. Mistakes have been made, repeatedly, about the same things through all wars. Today, in the Iraqi War, a mistake that has reoccurred in the past, is haunting us again. We went into the war because of terrorism but as the media dug further into the situation and occupation without rest, it became apparent that George W. Bush picked up where his father left off; hunting for oil at all costs, even misleading and lying to the people he leads. The author could have found this information about these reoccurring issues by researching each war that has transpired, and she would have noticed the same mistake; untold truths behind the cover of a “necessary” war. I agree with Eland’s opinions about the similarities between the wars. He states, “Vietnam demonstrated that normal media coverage of mistakes in war could undermine the war effort. The Bush administration should have expected such predictable media coverage” (The Independent Institute, 2007). He appears to believe that Bush should have expected the war to be covered in depth by the media and that his underlying efforts would be exposed. I fully agree with the author because I view that the lies we are told by our government are immoral, whther they benefit us or not. This article covers the similarities and goes in depth about different aspects of the that have reoccurred this far into the Iraqi War.

Daniel Hallin (1986) is as unbiased as possible when stating facts about the Vietnam War. He answers the questions that have thus far been unanswered as if they are hypothetical situations and does not clearly define them as whether he believes they are right or wrong. This information could help me with my final project because he theorizes what could have happened depending on how involved the media was in Vietnam. He asks his audience, “Could American power have been used more effectively in Vietnam if officials had had more control over the media?” (Hallin, 1986, p. 211). He does not clearly state his belief on the issue saying only that it could have “perhaps” ended differently. I find the section to be extremely credible because of how unbiased it is. It does not take an opinion and is open ended enough that people who have different standpoints on the relationship between Vietnam and Iraqi occupation would still be interested. I hope that this article will help me by giving me tips on how to be unbiased in writing a paper that is strictly based on fact, but could perhaps have an edge of my own opinion by mistake.

The section of this article that I am interested in is about John McCain’s involvement in Vietnam. He relates Iraq to Vietnam in terms of the torture used on the POW’s in Vietnam. He was speaking of the convicted abusers and says, “he wouldn’t resort to torture, saying he and his Vietnam POW cellmates ‘underwent torture ourselves’ and ‘It’s not about the terrorists, it’s about us. It’s about what kind of country we are’”(Miller, 2007). McCain is in firm belief that we cannot harm the Iraqi’s because of his experience in Vietnam. This will hopefully contribute to my final project by showing a difference between the Iraqi and Vietnamese wars. I have no other articles or references that support a difference between the wars. Hopefully this will reveal to my audience that out of 8 reference sources there is only one that contrasts the war. I believe that this article is trustworthy because the author directly quotes John McCain and other people on their views and it was published in a well rounded and world renowned magazine. I do not believe that TIME would publish an article without first providing a truthful outlook.

The article by Norman Solomon (2007) suggests that many truths about the Iraq War have been hidden by our reigning government, similar to the Vietnam War. The author quotes Michael Gordon of the New York Times, “some congressional Democrats are saying withdrawal of U.S. troops should begin within four to six months,” and again quotes Michael Gordon from the same article, “this argument is being challenged by a number of military officers, experts, and former generals, including some who have been among the most vehement critics of the Bush administration’s Iraq policies’” (Solomon, 2007). These quotes show the contradicting views that readers across America are challenging themselves to interpret. It proves that the government has continued to try to gain public support for the war by constantly lying about withdrawal and other promises of ending the war. Officials have continued to disprove the government’s points and the government never apologizes or tries to back up what it has said. This causes fewer and fewer citizens to agree with the war. I believe that this is accurate and trustworthy because the author backs his points with citations from TIME magazine and other reliable sources. I agree with the author because of his disproval of Bush’s promises.

        This article is about the reoccurring coverage of Vietnam in the media. It talks about how Vietnam is used to make constant comparisons. Today, Vietnam is mostly compared to Iraq. There are many similarities between the two wars, constantly forcing this opinion to be repeated. Sue Robinson goes into depth stating, “A textual analysis of the election coverage in five newspapers reveals that even three decades after the war’s end, multiple and conflicting frames of Vietnam endure in the press. Politicians co-opted the conflict for political gain, and media tried to sort it all out through ‘objective’ rituals of sourcing” (Robinson, 2006). I agree with Robinson because she is projecting her opinion but with substantial evidence from over the years.

The Vietnam war began on the basis that if we stopped Vietnam from turning communist, other countries would follow in suit and eventually become democratic. From that war we should have learned that what we go in to accomplish may not be the real reason for occupation at all. I believe that the author is correct in their standings and I support what they are saying. Today, we should have known that the government may have had underlying reasons for invading Iraq. Though it may not have been apparent, before our citizens supported the war, we should have questioned the necessity of war. Nelan makes a point saying, Did the Vietnam War, tragedy though it was, provide the time and security from the communist threat for Asia to develop its present independence and booming free-market prosperity? The argument on that is still ongoing. If the question is ever resolved, it will be done by historians, not by today’s politicians and citizens. And the answer will come with a proviso: it will offer no guide to the future” (Nelan, 1995). The Vietnam War, though it should have caused us to rethink Iraqi occupation, certainly did not offer a “guide to the future”.

Oliver North provided a more emotional stance on the comparison of Vietnam to Iraq. He has had experience in war and wanted to offer his opinion hoping to stir up emotional response to the war in order to motivate people to stand up for their beliefs of withdrawing from Iraq. He supports his opinion with an insite into his own life, “For those of us who have held dying soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines in our arms, it is particularly painful. Yet, it is one of the oft-cited reasons for why we were ‘forced’ to get out of Vietnam — and why we are once again being urged by the media to ‘end the bloodshed’ in Iraq” (North, 2007). I agree with North because the government got us into a predicament by becoming involved with Iraq because they opened doors that they can not close by choice. Most American citizens want to get out of Iraq because too many people are being killed without substantial reasoning. He supports his opinion fully and I agree with him because this war has proven to be pointless thus far.

When a President has to make two speeches about the same topic in one week in an attempt to gain public support, there is something wrong with what he is doing. After polls showed a major decline in support for the Iraq War the media directed their constant gaze toward that. “This has not only prompted President Bush to make speeches explicitly asking for continuing public support for the war (two speeches on Iraq this week alone), but has, in addition, provoked commentators to begin invoking the Vietnam comparison” (Carroll & Newport, 2005). The authors take on the same opinion that I have, dedicating themselves to proving the negative aspects of the U.S.’s negative involvement in Iraq.

            Our involvement in Iraq has lasted long enough, and taking on that opinion for my final paper, I believe that all of my sources will contribute to my support. I am positive that the sources will help me to persuade any reader that I have substantial evidence about my opinion and that I am not conforming to many public opinions.

Conclusion of the War

The war ended with a bang. President Nixon continued to defend his intentions and never admitted that he had mislead and misguided our nation. The Paris Peace Accord was the treaty signed recognizing total American withdrawal. Congress finally cut funding for the war in 1975. Unfortunately, it was one year too late, being one year after the last of the troops were removed from Vietnam.

Refrences

Carroll, J., & Newport, F. (2005, August 24). Iraq Versus Vietnam: A Comparison of Public Opinion. Gallup Poll News Service, government & politics. Retrieved October 6, 2007, from Lexis/‌Nexis database.

Eland, I. (2007, March 27). 3. In Top Ten Mistakes the Bush Administration Is Repeating from Vietnam. Retrieved October 8, 2007, from The Independent Institute Web site: http://www.independent.org/‌newsroom/‌article.asp?id=1694

Gordon, M. R. (2006, November 15). Get Out of Iraq Now? Not So Fast, Experts
Say. The New York Times, u.s. news: military analysis.

Hallin, D. C. (1986). Conclusion. In The “Uncensored War”: The Media and Vietnam (pp. 211-215). California: Oxford

University Press. (Original work published 1989)

M-Day’s Message to Nixon. (1969, October 24). TIME.

Kent State Shootings. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings#Casualties

Miller, J. (2007, May 16). The Daily 2008. TIME.

My Lai Massacre. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2007, from
http://www.cassiopedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=My_Lai_Massacre

Nelan, B. W. (1995, April 24). Lessons from the Lost War. TIME, 145(17). Retrieved October 7, 2007, from http://www.time.com/‌time/‌magazine/‌article/‌0,9171,982841,00.html

North, O. (2007, May 3). First Look [Special section]. Human Events Online, first look. Retrieved October 6, 2007, from Lexis/‌Nexis database.

Robinson, S. (2006, October). VIETNAM AND IRAQ: Memory versus history during the 2004 presidential campaign. War and Media, 7(5), 729-744. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from Communication & Mass Media Complete database. (22172525)

Solomon, N. (2007, January/‌February). The New Media Offensive for the Iraq War. Humanist, 67(1), 35. Retrieved October 4, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database. (23485796)

The History Place presents The Vietnam War. (1999). Retrieved October 6, 2007, from http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1969.html

Vietnam Veterans Against the War. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Against_the_War#History

NG Troops at Kent State. Photograph by Kent State University. May 4, 1970.

Vietnam War Memorial Sculpture. Photograph by Danzig. December 31, 2006.