Something odd has been on my mind lately. The Vietnam War. That too divided the country. Honestly, that might be the source of why we are so divided today. We never really united after that. On one side we have those who supported the US fighting that war. On the other, you have those who felt we had no business being there. I am related to people on both sides.
I've been thinking about what side I would take. My father-in-law is a Vietnam Vet. I respect the sacrifices he made. As well as those of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. He served in the military police and was a sergeant when he left. I know he served in Germany but, I don't know about anywhere else.
But, I also know and love people who are on the other side. Who didn't serve in the military and didn't think we should have gotten involved. I don't know how they treated returning soldiers. But, I know that those returning from today's war get an appreciation most Vietnam soldiers didn't get.
It all happened long before I was born. Knowing what I do, what side would I take? It's not that simple. A lot of these decisions happen in the White House situation room. Behind a locked door with information provided at that time. A lot of that information too classified to ever be made public.
With the information given I take the middle opinion. I say we shouldn't have been in that war. But, I still have a lot of respect for those who served and their families. But, we don't know all of the information the presidents had at the time.
I did a little research for this post. A history refresher really. I knew before that Nixon had something to do with the war. I didn't know that it started in 1954 and went until 1975.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War
At the heart of the conflict was the desire of North Vietnam, which had defeated the French colonial administration of Vietnam in 1954, to unify the entire country under a single communist regime modeled after those of the Soviet Union and China. The South Vietnamese government, on the other hand, fought to preserve a Vietnam more closely aligned with the West. U.S. military advisers, present in small numbers throughout the 1950s, were introduced on a large scale beginning in 1961, and active combat units were introduced in 1965. By 1969 more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and China poured weapons, supplies, and advisers into the North, which in turn provided support, political direction, and regular combat troops for the campaign in the South. The costs and casualties of the growing war proved too much for the United States to bear, and U.S. combat units were withdrawn by 1973. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North.
So, we were helping out allies. When did we actually get involved in this war?
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/gulf-of-tonkin
In early August 1964, two U.S. destroyers stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam radioed that they had been fired upon by North Vietnamese forces. In response to these reported incidents, President Lyndon B. Johnson requested permission from the U.S. Congress to increase the U.S. military presence in Indochina. On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. This resolution became the legal basis for the Johnson and Nixon Administrations prosecution of the Vietnam War.
So, President Johnson was the one to officially send the US into this war. Why did Nixon get so much blame? I won't retype it all. A good link is below. But, is seems it boils down to a lot of deception. He gave the appearance of slowly ending the war. But, it was all for show. He was not the President to end the war.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/ending-vietnam
President Gerald Ford ended US involvement in the war when congress refused to approve additional funding. Saigon was captured seven days later. I had always thought the US involvement was shorter then that. But, 1964 - 1975 is a very long time. I no longer wonder why a draft needed to be called and there are so many Vietnam Veterans!
https://thevietnamwar.info/us-presidents-during-the-vietnam-war/
I can still respect those who served and their families. The ultimate orders came from the Presidents during this war. They were following instructions no matter what they personally thought. Should we have been there? This is where things get tricky. It makes sense to enter the war after our ships were attacked. But, why were we there in the first place? That goes back to JFK's presidency. Apparently, it was an anti-communist thing.
What did Johnson, Nixon and Ford know that will never be made public? What did they see? What advice were they given? From the information provided, it sounded like we tried to stay out of it until attacked. Isn't that similar to when Pearl Harbor was attacked and we entered WWII? If it was okay for WWII, why was this different? To answer the question "should we have been there in the first place?" we need the answer to the questions "what did Kennedy know that was never made public? What information did he have that made him decide to increase troops to begin with?"
The media reporting on Vietnam was different then previous wars. For the first time, Americans were seeing some of what those serving were seeing. People saw all the casualties and said "no more lives lost!" Similar images have become so mainstream these days. We want to end the war. But, we aren't angry at those serving for participating in the war.
How many decisions are made that are never made public? These days, we protest drone strikes. But, I doubt it's as simple a choice is it appears. Do we have confirmation the target is there? Who else is there? How accurate is our information? What was the source of information? Is the surrounding area clear? Is the information complete? Opinions? Only after all of those are answered can a president decide what to do.
We see an explosion on tv. We don't learn the answers to those questions. But, good Presidents don't give the green light for bombings just to see things blow up or to look strong publicly. Good Presidents are doing it to eliminate threats to national security and try to minimize the damage. Good Presidents don't take these decisions casually.
As we remain a divided country all these decades later I can't help but say "what information did these Presidents have that the public never learned about? What did the cameras not show?"
Whether they served or not, everyone deserves respect. That's the lesson from Vietnam. Don't resent the gratitude shown those who serve or have served. Don't treat those who didn't serve like they are not as good as those who have served. Everyone deserves respect. But, you have to show respect to get it and respect must be earned not entitled.
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