Lessons from Nam
The Vietnam War was waged from November 1955 to April 1975. When Japan was defeated in WWII, the Japanese left Vietnam in the hands of Emperor Bao, but Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Minh to take Hanoi from the emperor, largely due to the communist inspiration of China and the Soviet Union. To retaliate, with the support of France, Emperor Bao declared Saigon as the capital of Vietnam and went after the North. In 1955, President Eisenhower pledge his support to South Vietnam, giving way to more American participation in the war. In 1961, fearing the domino effect of communism in the world, President Kennedy increased U.S. presence in Vietnam. In 1965, President Johnson made the decision to send U.S. troops into battle in Vietnam. In April 1975, Saigon fell and was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City, and U.S. troops left Vietnam in haste and confusion. An estimated 2 million Vietnamese were killed, 3 million were wounded, and over 12 million were without homes because of the war. There were far lesser U.S. deaths and casualties, but the Vietnam War left one of the most undesirable scars in U.S. history. The war in Vietnam turned Americans into angry protesters in streets and in school campuses. Many believed that the war was not a brunt for the U.S. to bear, yet U.S. leaders feared that the spread of communism in the Indo-Pacific region will upset the precarious balance of freedom and trade throughout the world. In reality, however, communism only spread to Cambodia and Laos, and the domino effect remained an incorrect theory. After the war, the United States imposed a complete trade embargo on Vietnam, withholding vital assistance to a crumbling, war-torn country. In response, the rest of the world followed the Superpower’s lead, turning a blind eye toward the dire state of Vietnam. Slowly, Vietnam righted itself in spite the many internal conflicts that it continued to face. In 1995, President Clinton lifted the trade embargo, and thus began a hopeful new chapter in Vietnam’s history. One of the leading nations in Southeast Asia today, Vietnam is an open book for reflection. Nam teaches us that wars are costly, and fixing the damages of war is a long and difficult process of trial and error. We also learn that propagandas must be treated with caution, and the media must not be taken as accurate, honest, and reliable source of information at all times. Finally, we learn that, when life and livelihood are at stake, nobody truly wins a war. Read the full article