At home anti-war sentements were strong, for the first time in our nations history it was no longer socially acceptable to become a soldier.  Anti-war propaganda (like the poster above) became a part of the new culture.  As a part of these new ideas men burned their draft cardstot excape the horrors o

National Idetity:

The Vietnam Era

Many men still fought bravely for America.  These men did not always agree with the politics of war and these seniments could be best seen when the soldiers arrived home this can be seen in the lower picture.  This picture is of the 1972 anti-war march in Time square.

The Swift and Fundamental Change of National Identity in the Vietnam Era.

By Austie Gregory

              The Vietnam War era greatly influenced America’s self image, resulting in a fundamental shift in national identity.  From 1964-1975, over 58,000 men and women lost their lives fighting in Vietnam.  At home, American civilians were fighting their own battles, resisting the war using widespread draft resistance, peace marches, and protest speeches.  America changed from a culture in which serving your country was a position of honor to one that widely criticized military service and the political system.  The public shifted from a group of political followers to a group of political activists opposing government policies.  The circumstances of the Vietnam Era successfully altered the way American citizens viewed themselves, resulting in a radical cultural revolution.

PRE-VIETNAM NATIONAL IDENTITIES

              Throughout history, Americans have viewed military service with a high esteem.  Civilians tend to show great respect to those who have been a part of the service.  American, soldiers often tie their service with a sense of personal pride. In pre-Vietnam America, the most prominent veterans were those who served in World War II.  As champions of the “Good” war, they often saw military service as not just a national duty, but also as a duty for humankind.  America’s success in World War II created a swelling of national pride.  The strong emotions of nationalism therefore became closely tied with the national identity of Americans.  America had became the protector of freedom, standing for democracy and righteousness.  

              The end of World War II led directly into the beginning of the Cold War, which brought on an ever-growing fear of communism.  This deep fear of communism encroached on America’s newfound sense of global security.  As communism became more threatening, an already close nation grew ever closer.  The government was able to use the threat of the Domino Theory to insure unwavering public support on decisions regarding national security.   In 1947, the Truman Doctrine declared that communist containment was to be the foundation of American foreign policy, and a trusting citizenry followed its leaders on into an age of anti-communism.    Thus, American forces took on the job of seeking out communism and insuring the safety of democracy.  It is with this sort of nationalism that American troops marched proudly into a threatened South Vietnam.

THE SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT COMMUNISM

In the beginning, Vietnam was envisioned as an air war. American pilots assisted South Vietnam by bombing North Vietnamese targets.  The nature of the air war allowed for the troops to be stationed outside of the country, because of this American ground troops were almost non-existent in Vietnam before 1965.  Those who were located in Vietnam were there strictly as advisors to the South Vietnamese.  Not often did soldiers question the validity of the Vietnam conflict during this time.

Before the arrival of American ground troops, America had remained disconnected from the Vietnam battle.  However, when the government decided to use ground troops in Vietnam any illusions quickly disappeared.  Suddenly, America was in a full-fledged war, plunging Americans into direct contact with the enemy.  Still, most soldiers believed that the American government was capable of making these decisions and followed orders silently.   American soldiers took it upon themselves to help the South Vietnamese fight against the communist aggressions of North Vietnam. The American government informed its public that they had a duty to help their fellow democratic country in fighting off the attacks from the communist North.  For most men, helping to protect South Vietnam against forced communist rule seemed to be the right thing to do. 

              Though America had accepted the challenge, neither the troops nor the nation was prepared to wage the type of warfare that Vietnam procured.  In Washington, the government failed to lay out a clear and concise battle plan outlining the necessary means to win the war.  Without this battle plan it became increasingly difficult for those in Washington D.C. to maintain control of the war.  Often times it seemed the government and the soldiers were working from completely different agendas.  It was not long before the lack of clarity resulted in mounting death tolls.  As the number of soldiers killed in action climbed higher, American soldiers began to wonder why their government expected them to die for the protection of South Vietnam.  With the increase of American troops in Vietnam came the increase of American responsibility for the war.  American troops began to feel as if they were fighting in place of the South Vietnamese, rather than along side them, causing re-evaluation amongst the troops.  A war that had begun as Vietnam’s civil war had developed suddenly into a war between North Vietnam and America.  The soldiers began to believe that they were risking their lives to fight a war that the South Vietnamese were unwilling to work for.  As this notion spread the soldiers view of the war drastically changed.

              The newfound desire to understand what they were fighting for caused the American troops to focus more clearly on what was going on in Vietnam.  It quickly became evident to many soldiers that regardless of the number of lives lost, they were fighting a battle that they would not win.  The Vietcong’s use of guerrilla warfare tactics took huge tolls on both American lives and troop morale.  Defending themselves against hit and run tactics seemed an almost impossible chore, and many men soon found themselves with a deep hatred for all Vietnamese.  The training received by American recruits was not adequate enough to insure their survival in the Vietnamese jungles. The North Vietnamese did not fight like the Americans, and soon the soldiers felt as if they could not tell who was friend and who was foe. This added to the soldier’s confusion and frustration toward the Vietnamese, occasionally leading to incidents of ghastly war atrocities.  Though these incidents were uncommon, they were widely published.  The amounts of attention given to incidents like My Lai helped to develop the image of the immoral Vietnam soldier.  Though widely believed, this image is untrue.  Incidents like My Lai were not only condemned by those at home, but by many soldiers as well. 

              Stories of fellow soldiers committing such atrocities often soured the men’s opinion of the war.  Due to the horrors of the war it did not take long before soldiers of all ranks began looking for ways to express their feelings against the conflict.  However, the American military system does much more to silence this type of descent then it does to encourage it.  After spending several years in Vietnam Colonel David Hackworth began to point out the problems in Vietnam to his superior officers.  After studying the issues, Colonel Hackworth informed Chief of Staff William Westmoreland that the war had been “botched” and America had already lost.  However, Hackworth’s studies and suggestions were having no effect on the course of the conflict.  Determined to do something, Hackworth was left with only two options.  He could simply resign, or he could go against all his raining and speak to the press.  In 1971, Hackworth gave a nationally broadcast interview to ABC in which he condemned the war.  Hackworth’s interview cost him his career, but achieved his goal of reaching the public.

              The structure of the military system is designed to reduce the amount of verbal disagreements.  Those who spoke against the war, or against the military, could be imprisoned.  For the men in lower ranks resignation was not an option.  There lack of options left man soldiers frustrated, many turned to their letters home in order to vent these frustrations.  Disagreement with the war became more prevalent in the later years, and animosity began to form within the troops towards the war and towards the American government for continuing the fight.  This animosity was carried home with the men as they finished their tours of duty.  Once home many former military men joined peace movements, forming groups such as the Vietnam Veterans Against War, and helping to play a key role in the anti-war effort.

FROM NATIONALISM TO NATIONAL RESISTANCE

              Though the Vietnam War did not draw much public attention in the beginning, the reinstatement of the draft threw the nations youth population into an uproar.  There was a harsh backlash at the introduction of ground troops into Vietnam, just as there was with each massive deployment thereafter.  Believing in the power of public opinion, young adults across the nation took it upon themselves to stand up against the war.  Often times these young college students’ risked condemnations from their families in order to speak against the war.  The parents of the baby boomer generation could not understand the lack of nationalism their children were demonstrating.  In their eyes speaking against the war as being anti-American, despite this the youth stood firm in their beliefs. They saw it as their duty as Americans to protest their government’s lack of respect for human life.  They did not believe their nation should be involved in another country’s civil war; it was not the place of America to interfere, regardless of the fear of communism.  The youth felt that unlike the war of their parent’s generation, Vietnam held no great moral cause.  In there eyes, the Vietnam War was not helping humanity, it was killing it.  America’s students refused to take part in such inhumane actions, or to support anyone who did.

              To demonstrate their opinion students rallied together in protest marches, sit-ins, and peace speeches.  The broadcasting of these movements helped to quickly capture the attention of the nation.  Though the student movements were usually peaceful, the reactions of national guards and ROTC did not necessarily reflect the same sentiments.  In one particular incident, now called the Kent State Massacre, a peaceful demonstration on the campus of Kent State University turned bloody when the demonstrators failed to obey an order to disperse.  The student demonstrators chose to continue their rally, and after teargas failed to disband the rally, the Ohio National Guard began firing into the crowd.  After the volley of shots was finished, four students were dead and nine more injured.  The shootings at Kent State dramatically propelled the anti-war movements throughout American citizenry, especially within the college campuses.  As a result, students banned together in the only nationwide student strike to ever take place.  Northwestern University staff, remember that strike as “highly charged” but mostly peaceful.  Two days after the Kent State shooting students of Northwestern released a list of demands.  These demands included the removal of the ROTC program from the school, as well as the ending of the Vietnam War.  The nationwide participation of students in the strike helped force government officials to see the unpopularity of the Vietnam Conflict, as well as the disgraceful way in which students viewed the government for the actions against the Kent State student protesters.

For young men the decision to support the war or not was much more difficult.  Upon turning 18 these young adults found themselves faced with a life altering decision.  They could register with the draft and face the possibility of “winning” the lottery or they could refuse to register risking almost certain imprisonment.  Student peers encouraged young men to stand firm against the draft and its supporting institutions.  Students viewed military service through a very negative light; those who chose to serve became “baby killers.”  Standing against the system and avoiding the service was a moral choice.  Because of the limited choices, many young men opted to attempt registering under the status of Conscientious Objector.  Unfortunately, for many, this status was very hard to receive, especially in the beginning of the war.  Now defined as a person who objects war on the basis of religious, moral, and ethical grounds, conscientious objections were than limited mostly to those who objected the war on religious grounds.  To object the ethics and morals of the war was not enough to excuse you from Vietnam.  Not only must the person object on religious grounds, the church or religion in which that person was associated must also oppose the war.    For those who were not fortunate enough to receive the C/O status, their choices were limited.  Upon the rejection of a C/O application young men were given an induction date.  Failure to appear to the induction date resulted in a warrant for their arrest.  Regardless of the grim choices faced by the young men, most refused to give into government bulling, standing tall as peace activists.  For this they received both legal punishment and condiment by older generations. 

NATIONAL IDENTITY REBORN

              The atmosphere in American changed completely by the end of the Vietnam Conflict.  The fear of communism no longer united the great nation; rather it seemed to divide it.  When studying the difference in social groups of the time it is easy to see the rifts that developed between them.  It seems that Americans isolated themselves from each other, holding on to Vietnam antagonisms for years after the war had ended.  Soldiers of Vietnam were isolated from peers as well as by the older veterans.  The lack of support and public interest often hurt and insulted returning soldiers.  The emotional scars carried by these men did not heal easily in nation without understanding.  No one wanted to hear about the soldiers’ personal battles in Vietnam.  The confusion that the soldiers felt towards their own government, and more importantly to war itself, isolated them from older generations of veterans. Peace activists also found themselves isolated and misunderstood, for many family relations never returned to any semblance of normality.  As people try to understand what went wrong in Vietnam the need to place blame has prevented the nation for healing the rifts.  Vietnam forever changed the way that American citizens look at themselves, as well as how they look at each other.