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During the Vietnam War General Westmoreland and General Vo Nguyen Giap were very different, but despite their differences they ultimately have the same goal. General Vo Nguyen Giap was a very highly regarded General during this war, but he was not born into the military like some other Generals from the Vietnamese war. One General That was born into the military was General Westmoreland. He was the general for the U.S. and Unlike General Vo Nguyen Giap Westmoreland knew he was going to be a part of the military the second that he was able to understand what the military is and does. Although these two men are very unalike they do have a couple of similarities.
The Vietnam was fought because the U.S. wanted to stop communism from spreading around
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Westmoreland was born on March 26, 1914, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Westmoreland was a very highly regarded General in the military. He led American troops through a large part of the Vietnam War as a four star general. He was a very controversial leader in this war, he had a long, notable career in the U.S. Army. From the time he was a teenager Westmoreland knew that the military was a part of his life. He went to school at the Citadel for about a year until he entered West Point. He graduated in 1936 and he earned the Pershing Sword award after being the top student in his class. The Pershing Sword award is an award you get for being the most militarily proficient cadet. When Westmoreland joined the military he was already a first captain for his rank because he had graduated a military school with his Pershing Sword award. For a few months Westmoreland was serving as a deputy to the U.S. Commander General Paul Harkins. After he was finished serving for a while General Paul Harkins put General Westmoreland in charge of troops in South Vietnam. He was the head of the Military Assistance Command. This was around the time when he got promoted to a four star general. Once Westmoreland was put to this position he assured America that they would win the war. One way he planned to carry out this goal was by escalating the number of American troops in the country. When Westmoreland gained control in 1964, there were about 15,000 to 20,000 American "military advisors" in Vietnam. By 1968, there were approximately a half million American soldiers in Vietnam. Westmoreland calculated achievement in Vietnam by the number of foe troops killed by the enormous quantity of American troops. The general supposed that if the enemy was killed at a pace that would be more rapidly than they could be replaced, the so-called "war of attrition," victory would be forthcoming. Westmoreland's strategies lost support over his term in Vietnam. The boost in troops did not
The Vietnam War was a very mismanaged war but our involvement was very crucial. Some people believe that the side we were on was wrong, and the author of this completely agrees. Ho Chi Minh was really a quite conservative communist leader. He was fair and he was also was balanced. He treated his people very fairly. The beliefs of the author are that if Truman would have not set the precedent of opposing all communist leaders than the Vietnam War would have been a lot different.
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
protect and care about North Vietnam but he accepted his fate and realized that if he
U.S. political and military difficulties in Iraq have prompted comparisons to the American war in Vietnam. Unfolding events in Iraq have caused some observers to make analogies to the American experience in the Vietnam War. There are many reasons why most Americans believe that Iraq is becoming the new Vietnam, with U.S. troops getting shut down in a bloody war and occupation of a violent area. There are plenty of ways to compare and contrast the Vietnam and Iraq war. Many people have viewed Vietnam as a completely different war from the current one in Iraq. Despite these claims I have still noticed that there are many comparisons that have been made between the war in Iraq and the Vietnam War.
General George B. McClellan was born to a prestigious upper class family in Pennsylvania. He attended the Military Academy at West Point and graduated second in his class in 1846. He served during the war with Mexico and earned three brevets for gallantry and sound professional service. He resigned his commission but returned early during the Civil War and immediately given a high rank. He led a successful campaign in West Virginia. These events fueled General McClellan’s egotistical and elitist attitudes.
Intrepidly, William Westmoreland fought during World War II. He fought in North Africa and Sicily. He gradually moved up the ranks and became the chief of staff of the U.S. Army’s Ninth Division while in Germany. After
This book would be an excellent source for anyone wanting to understand this period of the entrance into the Vietnam War. It is a great look into the character of each of the participants. It also would benefit those who are studying and learning how to develop strategy and policy for future wars that the United States may involve itself.
The soft island breeze blows across the sound and the smell of the sea fills the air in Willow Springs. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in Lower Manhattan the smell of garbage and street vendors’ hotdogs hangs in the air. These two settings are key to Gloria Naylor’s 1988 novel Mama Day where the freedom and consistency of the Sea Islands is poised against the confinement of the ever-changing city, two settings that not only changes characters’ personalities but also their perceptions. On the surface the two places seem to share no similarities and represent different aspects. There are, however, some similarities, among which is the effect of the setting on the characters. Naylor demonstrates through the characters Cocoa Day and George Andrews that a person’s surroundings affect the way they behave and either allows or permits them to believe in certain aspects of life, especially in respect to believing in magic or logic.
The Vietnam War was a controversial conflict that plagued the United States for many years. The loss of life caused by the war was devastating. For those who came back alive, their lives were profoundly changed. The impact the war had on servicemen would affect them for the rest of their lives; each soldier may have only played one small part in the war, but the war played a huge part in their lives. They went in feeling one way, and came home feeling completely different. In the book Vietnam Perkasie, W.D. Ehrhart describes his change from a proud young American Marine to a man filled with immense confusion, anger, and guilt over the atrocities he witnessed and participated in during the war.
In retrospect, it’s clear that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese ability to combine both methods of warfare played a major role their victory. Their strategy provided them the tools they needed to win. In the end, they recognized that each type of warfare complimented the other to achieve their strategic goals.
William C. Westmoreland was born March 26, 1914 and was the son of a cotton manufacturer. His father was the son and grandson of men who had fought in many other wars such as the Revolutionary War and Civil War. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when he had gone to Citadel a private military school. However after a year of Citadel he had decided that Citadel wasn’t for him and had transferred to West Point another military school. He had proved to be an “ok” according to himself but when it came time for graduation he was presented with the Pershing Sword, a sword that is only given to the best students in the class. (Vietnam War: General William Westmoreland)
During the Vietnam War, the first platoon (approximately forty men) was lead by a young officer named William Calley. Young Calley was drafted into the US Army after high school, but it did not take long for him to adjust to being in the army, with a quick transition to the lifestyle of the military, he wanted to make it his career. In high school, Calley was a kind, likable and “regular” high school student, he seemed to be a normal teenager, having interest in things that other boys his age typically had. He was never observed acting in a cruel or brutal way. In Vietnam, Calley was under direct order of company commander, Captain Ernest Medina, whom he saw as a role model, he looked up to Medina. (Detzer 127).
The conflict in Vietnam for the United States started when President Dwight D. Eisenhower went along with the domino theory and sent in military advisors in South Vietnam to stop the communist movement from taking place in South Vietnam. The Vietnam conflict was between the communist’s and the United States. North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh, and Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Cong, a guerilla group to help spread communism. The United States were supporters of the South Vietnam because they wanted them to maintain their government rather than falling to the domino theory of communism. After Eisenhower’s term ended, John F. Kennedy became president and took control of the situation in Vietnam.
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.
“Before troops came, there were a lot of advisers over there, teaching the South Vietnamese. They were all volunteer American troops, teaching them how to fight a war against communism and teaching them combat. I went over as a MP and an adviser teaching certain things in the military police field”, Jim said. Military Police enforce the rules, regulations and laws regarding behavior and conduct on the base in which they are stationed. “When Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, there were more than 16,000 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam” (cite 2). Although Jim was a military police by night, he was more of an advisor during the day. Advisors taught the South Vietnamese the strategic way to win a war against communism, both mentally and