Green Berets Vietnam

The Vietnam War started earlier than the United Sates and Communist contribution in the 1960's and 70's. The accounts of Vietnam date back to the early 20th Century, this is how many Vietnamese viewed Vietnam in the 20th Century. However, for Americans Vietnam is a cold period in the 1960's, and 70's in which the nation was more occupied with the threat of the Communist giant than with the well-being of its people. The American account of the war is not only in the form of body bags of the thousands of soldiers returning home. Also, mothers crying faces and a nation divided at home. One million Vietnamese citizens were slaughtered, and the country began to grow as soon as many questioned the government’s activities.
In the 1920's

and 30's Vietnam remained a settlement of the French Empire at the very end of colonialism. That was the European colonialism that had begun with Christopher Columbus in 1492, however, by the 20th Century, it had realized what was to be the last of the freed colonies. Although most Europeans nations (with the exception of England) had abandoned their dreams of being a colonial empire, France could not resist heading to what was its richest colony-Vietnam. In the 1930's and 40's Vietnamese nationalist desired what many other French colonies had achieved. Freedom and self-rule. Many nationalist such as Ho-Chi-Minh and others started to dispute the French law and began to fight back in opposition to what they viewed as French Tyranny. The French observed what was to be their final opportunity for colonization in Vietnam and rejected to let go of their grip. Numerous Vietnamese nationalists and demonstrators were massacred, and their families were either killed or tortured. Such was the fate of Vietnamese revolutionary Vo Nguyen Grap whose entire family as well as the French military slaughtered his wife's family. Ho Chi Minh would later on turn out to be the leader and the guy whom the folks would go to for National Freedom. However, perhaps this was the case only because he was able to escape and not meet the fate of thousands of others.

After many years of fighting, Ho Chi Minh's dream had become a reality when in 1945, due to the German occupation of France, Vietnam was declared independence. Ho Chi Minh felt that his whole cause had become a reality. However, in fact, six months later, the French forces, with the help of American troops, were able to move back into Vietnam and occupy the territory. The same American troops, which had promised to back Ho Chi Minh in the struggle against France. Now Vietnam had yet another enemy along with Japan, and China.
Vietnam soon began seeing itself fighting against yet another enemy for its Independence, and even after the French pulled out in the 1950's, U.S began to move in forces and started clobbering the Vietnamese. To the surprise of American troops, the Vietnamese fought back with any and all tactics they knew. What they lacked in weaponry and arsenal, they made up in ingenuity and know-how. They had fought for national freedom for this long, and they were not about to abandon their dream now. As more and more American kids came home in body bags, people began questioning the war. As more and more people saw the horror on TV, more and more demonstrations began popping up all over the country. The Pentagon knew that it needed support and words such as the "Soviet threat" and "helping people in need began. Movies, such as The Green Berets were produced to show that the soldiers are as caring and intelligent, and in Vietnam, to help those in need.

Green Berets starred the tall and masculine John Wayne, who at the time was already a national hero.

Suggesting, if stars such as John Wayne could support the war that so could everyone else. We see in the Green Berets that the media is portrayed as ignorant and as "trouble makers". That is mainly because the press was the ones who were bringing home the pictures of the war. Numerous media outlets criticized the war and as far as the Pentagon was concerned, they were public enemy number one. By the end of the movie, the press would be "enlightened" by the military men who fully knew that their role in Vietnam benefited all. The only Vietnamese character that was portrayed in the movie was a young boy who had lost his family. Suggesting that the American troops were there to protect people like the little boy against those who kill people and rob innocent boys of their livelihood. In a way, the boy was a metaphor for the Southern Vietnamese people as a whole who needed the American protection. Other reasons cited in the movie for the intervention of American troops included the Communist "threat" which was seen in the military rifles and ammunition found in the hands of the Northern Vietnamese soldiers. The American soldiers often dehumanize the Northern Vietnamese soldiers in an attempt to harden the American view of the Northern Vietnamese. That was done to justify the killing of hundreds of thousands of Northern Vietnamese by way of bombings and massive

executions. Green Berets demonstrated this by the American soldiers calling the Northern Vietnamese "Charley". This term was used so that the Northern Vietnamese individuality would be masked by the fact that they were one large group bent on killing American soldiers.

One of the main reasons that most Americans can not forget the Vietnamese war because the Vietnam War, often seen as the only war that Americans have ever lost. Also the reason that the Vietnam War is still remembered whereas the Korean War, Panama, Cuba, and even the Gulf war are no longer discussed. The mere fact, however, is that the Vietnamese won the same war that we won a little over 200 years ago. A war known as the American Revolution against a dominant country that's out manned, out gunned, and out fleeted our troops. In the end, we won a country that refused to let us be free and wanted to colonize us solely for the purpose of using our natural resources, and adding more prestige to their flag. How quickly the tables did turn and how fast did the government forget that this nation was based on fighting for freedom and democracy and self-rule.

According to the Vietnam War and American Memory, the Vietnam War represents just one of the many atrocities that the American government has committed throughout history. Many of these atrocities may include the killing of thousands of American Indians and stripping them of all their possessions and land. The land we sleep on and make decisions about the world is the same land that was stolen from the Indians. Also same land that was cultivated by African slaves just over one hundred and fifty years ago.

In conclusion, it can be easily proven that most Americans today would agree that the Vietnam War was a mistake. It was not only a mistake because we lost the war, but most Americans today do not believe in the cause that the war was supporting. Those who experienced first-hand what the war was like by losing a loved one or losing a limb would most likely agree that the cause was not worth their misery. In the 1970's and 80's, a series of books and movies similar to Apocalypse Now and Born on the 4th of July, were produced. The series of the books were used to refute movies like Green Berets and show the dark side of the war, the side that the veterans saw, many of these new movies are more realistic representatives, they still show the war from one perspective. Whether the film is attempting to conform to public opinion (such as Green Berets) or trying to prove the reality of the violence (Apocalypse Now), we can see clearly that the Americans are never the "bad guys". It is always the brave American soldiers who are either "fighting the Communist evil" or trying to save his ass, in an attempt to annihilate the "Charlie". Such films do not portray the reality of the American colonial greed that ravaged a country, killed many, and then placed an economic sanction against the starving people. American soldiers are never portrayed as the "bad guys", but in reality (most often, without them knowing) they were. We have learned today that those "Hippies" that protested the war and that were not given much credit, were in actuality the ones with more sensitivity.
During World War 2 Dwight D.

Eisenhower was the commander in chief of joined militaries in Western Europe. Eisenhower led the immense invasion of Nazi crowded Europe that initiated on D-Day June 6th, 1944. Following the war, Eisenhower was influenced by the Republican Party to run for president. When Eisenhower was asked to run for president, he currently was the in charge of the NATO militaries in Europe. Around 1953, Eisenhower succeeded by a substantial sum of votes against his Democratic adversary Adlai Stevenson, where he would end up serving two terms as president of the United States of America. Eisenhower’s presidency disputed in opposition to socialist influence by providing less fortunate countries with military advisors and authorizing secret actions by the CIA. Although America was already involved in Vietnam, Eisenhower expanded our involvement that eventually led the United States to superseding in Iran, Guatemala, The Congo, and Cuba. While serving his first term Eisenhower selected General James Doolittle to the leader of a secret study of the CIA’s ability to counteract Russian activities. Once the report was completed, the conclusion was that the Soviets remained on a callous mission with the purpose of world domination. The Soviets were extremely enthusiastic for world ascendancy they would do whatever it takes to accomplish it even if that meant oppressing its people. For the Americans to triumph, they would need to adjust and obtain new strategies

that would weaken, upset and defeat adversaries providing the upper hand even more so than before. The usage of the covert missions by the CIA has had a robust appeal to the government then and now. For example, in today’s existent the CIA executes missions using stealth drones to scout as well as take out high-value objectives without any human danger at our expense. Secret engagements offer a chance to acquire foreign rule without taking the risk of war or the sacredness of the United States way of life. Even with the cost of covert missions being extremely high that is a risk that I believe is worth taking. By executing the secret missions without the American people knowing it allows the government to deal with hitches without frightening the everyday average civilian. When Eisenhower came into office, he inherited the war in French Indochina. Politicians and representatives were frightened that the communist guerrillas in Vietnam would win the country. That would be catastrophic because if Vietnam fell Southeast Asia and then, famished Japan would be the next to fall; this is where the term “fall like dominos” came into place. That is the prediction of Eisenhower, and he referred to this condition as a communist lake. Already the United States had expended over one billion dollars Vietnam supplies seventy percent of the cost of the France war against Vietnam. I read that French rule in Vietnam was shunned and doubtful even to happen. If the French approved power to the emperor, then the war would continue as a colonial struggle. Eisenhower and Dulles did not want that to happen they yearned for the power to be awarded to the noncommunist Vietnamese people so that the tides of the war would be changed to a battle against communism, defending freedom and keeping Vietnam independent. Turning the tides so that Vietnam now would be fighting strictly against communism instead of a colonial struggle amongst its people would be more popular among Americans and the people of Vietnam.