United States Presence in Vietnam

During the fighting in Vietnam, there was never a telltale sign of who was going to come out victorious when all was said and done. Washington did its best to cover up the casualties and promote optimism about the war overseas. In the New York Times article, “Copters No Substitute For Men”, military editor Hanson Baldwin described his feelings about how the United States need a drastic change to its plans for attack. They were relying on South Vietnam too much, which Baldwin, and many other advisors from the United States, believed was a costly mistake.

Baldwin recognizes that the South Vietnamese assaults were effective in the beginning because it confused the Communist guerilla fighters. The military operations with helicopter-transported aid were successful until the opposition recovered and learned how to skillfully shoot those helicopters down. Without these helicopters, no men or supplies could be flown in to necessary areas in Vietnam. Many people said that the capabilities of the military helicopters were overestimated and they, “tended to forget that it is man, not machines, that win wars.” (Baldwin)

The guerillas continued to gain strength. The weak points in South Vietnam and United States’ fighting strategies were now fully exposed. The helicopter became no match for automatic weapons and machine guns on the ground, especially when landing or taking off at slow speeds. Heavy helicopter loss was a major setback to the United States. Many U.S. soldiers lost their lives from these types of attacks. Due to these huge obstacles, the use of helicopters had to be reviewed and reworked. The landing areas were changed to places farther away from enemy fire range, but they were also enough for troops to reach their attack pos...

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...tion was created right after the Tet Offensive. It focused on giving the South Vietnamese more power to help lower U.S. causalities and ease tensions back in the United States.

South Vietnam continued to feel abandoned and resentful towards the United States. U.S. officials were now at the point where they would do anything to get out of South Vietnam, even if it meant letting them fall to communism. Blame was shifted back and forth between the two countries. Looking back, experts believe that a lot can be taken from the numerous tragedies that occurred between the United States and South Vietnam. Many have come to the conclusion that the United States was doomed from the start. There were many things that could have been done differently. In the end, the United States destroyed the society it was ultimately trying to save and made several enemies along the way.