Transcript Document 7156152

Andy O’Brien, Charles Leech, John Shaw, Chris Lawrence, Brian Hornbeck,
Darren Meade, Jeff Pritchard
As a journalist, my main concern with
the Vietnam War is the underlying
issues and major events during the
fighting. I have been on perilous
missions into the heart of Vietnam to
find out just how it affects the people
involved, and the people back in the
United States. Naturally, the overall
viewpoint of the citizens back home
depends on what I tell them, so I have
to try to maintain an objective
perspective, which isn’t always easy.
In a sense, Tim O’Brien, writer of The
Things They Carried, was a journalist
of the war – he documented what the
experience was like for himself and his
friends, spread the information to his
readers. Journalists such as him are,
so to speak, keys to the war for the
citizens – without them, what would
the people know?
Websites regarding Vietnam journalism:
Lies, Deceit, and Hypocrisy
http://home.no.net/kkahrs/vietnam.htm
Look Back – Vietnam 1969-71
http://www.tlxnet.net/~boswell/index3.html
Vietnam – Stories Since the War
http://www.pbs.org/pov/stories/
-From the information on these website, what would you say are
the different forms of journalism that inform us about the war?
What were the most important things to a journalist covering the
Vietnam war? Were all of these journalists whole-hearted and
honest, or were there problems? What did some of them do to
combat these problems?
As a musician during this time I wrote
songs about the people and events that
affected my life and the lives of the
American people. I wrote songs about the
Vietnam war. Many other musicians such
as: Bob Dylan, CCR, Jimi Hendrix, Pete
Seeger, Jefferson Airplane, and Neil Young
also wrote songs about the war. There
were many types of war songs during this
era. Some were of protest against the war,
some were about patriotism and our
continued involvement in the war, and other
were about combat.
The Vietnam War shaped the music of the
time. When people look back on the 60’s
and 70’s one of the most prominent
aspects is the music. The music changed
peoples lives and brought them closer
together, united in a common cause.
The book The Things They Carried is like
the lyrics to the music. The events and
stories in the text are like the songs that a
musician would write about. Some songs
were lively and supporting of the war and
other talked about the atrocities that took
place.
Jimi Hendrix
Bob Dylan
Jefferson Airplane
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Songs of Americans in the Vietnam War
http://www.buffalostate.edu/~fishlm/folksongs/americansongs.htm
Vietnam War Retrospective: Music
http://www.cofc.edu/~nelp/vietnam_music.html
Music from the Vietnam War
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/samvietnammi.html
The sites above have lots of good information about music of
the war. The last one has activities to test you and make you
think about the music during the time.
As a colleges student in the late sixties
I am looking forward to my future as a
family man and a working member of
society. My knowledge of the war is
limited to what I read in the news or
hear on the radio, I am intelligent and
concerned with finishing my education
without being drafted. Would you be
willing to risk your future and hard work
to fight a war you know little about?
Some students were not willing to
fight a war they did not believe in.
These people became known as
“Draft Dodgers”. In The Things They
Carried, Tim O’Brien relates a story
of a younger Tim contemplating a
move to Canada to avoid the draft, In
real life moving to Canada to avoid
fighting became a serious choice,
and many took this option in
opposition to fighting in the war.
Sites relating to the Vietnam draft.
The Vietnam war draft survey and lottery
Draft Dodging
What advantages do college students have compared with other
Americans when faced with avoiding a draft? What system prevented
someone from using deferments to avoid the draft?
Do you believe our country has the right to force someone to fight and
die for a cause they do not believe in? Should our country be able to
end our plans for the future legally with a draft?
Although our nation is not currently on active draft a major conflict
could result in a draft, would you support it?
The life of a soldier such as I
is a very hard one; Especially
at the time of the Vietnam
War. Many of my colleagues
have been emotionally
scared by this terrible war.
Many times I have seen
women and children killed
and many times I have seen
children who have killed my
fellow soldiers. It is so hard
to tell the difference between
civilian and Vietcong.
I am constantly trying to
reassure my family that
everything is okay here
but in reality it is hell.
The worst part is never
being able to question
your orders but I’m in
the army so that is
expected of me. I am
nothing but a helpless
pawn in this political
war.
Links to information about Vietnam
http://www.woodlot.com/vietnam/start.html
http://www.pbs.org/pov/stories/vietnam/story.html
http://www.vietnamexperience.com/
During the Veitnam War years Politicians were spilt on
the issue of war. The first president during the
engagement was John F. Kennedy. At first Kennedy
was supportive of the war. Then his views changed.
The South Vietnam president Ngo Dinh Diem grew
increasingly; reclusive. Kennedy concluded that
america could no longer afford tp prop up Diem’s
doomed administration. Kennedy grew more and
more opposed to a land war in Asia. These views
were changed when Kennedy fell to an assassin’s
bullet and Lyndon Johnson became president.
Lyndon Johnson took a cautious position on Vietnam.
“We don’t want to… get tied down in a land war in
Asia. This changed when he asked Congress to
grant him extraordinary powers to take “all necessary
measures” in repelling attacks against the US Military
force. This was known as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
In March of 1965 Operation Rolling Thunder
comenced with 3,500 marines landing at Da Nang.
This only escalated the land war and the United
States sank deeper into the Vietnam conflict.
The last President during the Vietnam Conflict was Richard Nixon.
In June of 1969 Nixon announced a troop reduction of 25,000
men, by the end of 1970 the US military strength was down to
334,600 from 540,00 men. Yet every move pulled America
deeper into the war. Then he dropped a bombshell on the
American Public, he was sending troops into Cambodia. This
enraged the public. Shorten the war by escalating it? The
Senate repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The invasion of
Cambodia was met with strong resistance and at Kent State 4
students were killed in a protest. The president grew more and
more supportive of the war when he said “ I will not be the first
president of the United States to lose a war.”
So overall Kennedy opposed the war and
wanted to pull out of Southeast Asia. Lyndon
B. Johnson didn’t have these views and
escalated the war after he lied to the
American People about the Gulf Of Tonkin.
Nixon also lied to the people about the war in
Cambodia and how he wanted to end the war
when actually he supported the war and
escalated the war like Johnson.
President John F. Kennedy
President Lyndon B. Johnson
President Richard NIxon
Information regarding Politicians
<http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/>.
This site has very much information on Lyndon B. Johnson’s views
as well as background information.
<http://www.nixonfoundation.org/>.
This site was very useful because it gave a lot of information on
Nixon and is a very good site for information on him.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jk35.html>.
This was a good site because it is the official White House web
page and all sorts of information on the President as well as his
family.
During the 1960s and 1970s, many Americans, most notably the
younger generation, began a strong opposition to the war
America was fighting in Vietnam. Many of these Americans were
members of the “counter-culture”, a strongly liberal group of
Americans who rebelled against the traditions and dominant
values of their parent generation. They showed their opposing
views in many ways, wearing longer hair, avoiding steady work,
and even experimenting with illegal drugs. Some of these
Americans went further in this mentality and joined the pacifist
movement. This wing of the counter-culture advocated peace,
love, and harmony, and often protested against war and
violence, no matter the cause.
One of the largest anti-war protests ever took place on
November 9, 1969, when over a quarter of a million
Americans marched on Washington, D.C. in protest
of the Vietnam war. The demonstration was
compared to the civil rights marches of the earlier
1960s, although there was no unifying speaker such
as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with his “I have a
dream” speech. The protesters were overwhelmingly
peaceful, although a small number did resort to
rioting and violently protesting near the Justice
Department.
Another event with great historical significance to the
pacifist movement was the war protest held at Kent
State University on Mar 4, 1970. A large group of
protesters were protesting America’s involvement in
the Vietnam War when National Guardsmen were
called in to keep order. The guardsmen were
inexperienced, and fired on the protesters. Four
college students were killed.
The Kent State Massacre
These events are only two of the many protests and
events significant to the pacifist movement and war
protests in general. There were several protests all
throughout the Vietnam wars, as pacifists and other
groups openly voiced their disagreement to the
fighting in Vietnam. It is interesting to note that there
was no comparable movement during previous wars,
such as World War II. Vietnam was an unpopular war,
and it helped to give rise to the pacifist movement for
this reason. Had the war been felt as justified by the
American people, there may not have been such a
widespread pacifist movement against it.
Websites Related to Pacifism
http://www.cgc.maricopa.edu/williams/block/students/DarrinP/vietnam.html
-- Information on the Kent State Protest
http://servercc.oakton.edu/~wittman/warlinks.htm
-- Lots of information on the Vietnam War
http://ohoh.essortment.com/vietnamwarprot_rlcz.htm
-- Information on many Vietnam War protests
As a feminist during the sixties
my main concern is to earn
equal rights for women. The
Vietnam War is a perfect time
to escalate our battle. All the
attention of the nation was set
on the War. The media liked to
write about big protests, so we
thought it was a great time to
escalate it.
The war for equal rights for women has gone on since the
abolishment of slavery. Equal rights are still be fought for today.
The most important part of the fight was during the Vietnam
War. They felt that it was a good time to escalate the battle.
This battle during the was a major turning point in the battle for
equality.
Y&M Magazine - American Women and the Vietnam War
http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/html/news/dec99/womenviet_print. htm
This website is from Y&M Magazine and has a lot about Women and there
involvement in the war.
maryellen’spage
http://www.eagle3.american.edu/~zj4749a/maryellen'spage.html
This website has a lot on the Women’s Liberation Movement.
Y&M Magazine - American Women and the Vietnam War. 28 June 2001
<http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/html/news/dec99/womenviet_print.htm
>.
maryellen'spage. 28 May 2001
<http://www.eagle3.american.edu/~zj4749a/maryellen'spage.html>.
O'Neil, Tom. The Selective Service During the Vietnam War. 27 May
2001 <http://njvvmf.org/History/SelectiveService/SelectiveService.
htm>.
Lupton, Shaw B. Draft Dodging. 27 May
2001 <http://www.ci.shrewsbury.ma.us/Sps/Schools/High/TownCri
er/tc_web/Editorials/ROW/draftdodging.htm>.
Andresen, Lee. Battle Notes: Music of the Vietnam War. 24 May 2001
<http://www.battlenotes.com/>.
Neil Young Pictures. 21 May 2001
<http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/heartofgold/neilyoungpictures.htm>.
Wit, Wiebo De. The Dutch Creedence Clearwater Revival / Fogerty Tribute Pages.
21 May 2001 <http://ccr-tribute.sverige.net/>.
Yahoo! Music. 22 May 2001
<http://musicfinder.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800021697&cf=10>.
Zahnen, Jeff. Fly Jefferson Airplane... 22 May 2001
<http://grove.ufl.edu/~number6/Jefferson.Airplane/airplane.html>.
Harvey, Edmund H., ed. Our Gloriuos Century. Pleasantville, New York: The
Readers Digest Association, 1994.
John F. Kennedy Library. 25 May 2000
<http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/pictures.htm>.
Lyndon B. Johnson. 25 May 2001 <http://www.ilheadstart.org/historical.html>.
“Modern Pacifism." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. CD-ROM.
Redmond, 2001.