Soldiers’ Perspectives on the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War or the 2nd Indonesian War was a divisive, costly, and long conflict between North Vietnam’s communist government and South Vietnam with its main ally, the United States. The Vietnam War was highly intensified by the Cold War, fought primarily between Russia and America. More than 58, 000 Americans were killed during the Vietnam War. David Flores in “Memories of War: Sources of Vietnam Veteran Pro- and Antiwar Political Attitudes” and Jonathan Caverley in “The Myth of Military Myopia” present remarkable ideas about the Vietnam War. This paper analyzes and engages with the acknowledged articles by David Flores and Jonathan Caverley in the efforts of understanding soldiers’ perspectives regarding the Vietnam War.
“Memories of War: Sources of Vietnam Veteran Pro- and Antiwar Political Attitudes” by David Flores is one of the significant articles that analyze the perspectives of soldiers during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War remarkably differed from the earlier wars because of its moral controversy. The primary goal of the United States during the Vietnam War was preventing the growth of communism in Southeast Asia. According to Flores, “veterans who oppose the war describe themselves as prior war supporters who held an idealistic view of war, but maintain that the experience of guerilla warfare posed a moral dilemma that led to a reevaluation of political attitudes”[1]. In this regard, memories of warfare were recreated through different cultural systems while shaping established war narratives. On the other side, those supporting the war described the absence of powerful ideals during the engagement in war. For this reason, the political influence of facing warfare is broadly mediated by cultural disputes over contrasting war meanings.
In “The Myth of Military Myopia”, Jonathan Caverley presents remarkable ideas while analyzing the failure and defeat of the United States in the Vietnam War. The author claims the failure of the United States in Vietnam represents democratic militaries’ inability to adopt a practical approach in the efforts of defeating an insurgency. According to Caverley, “Rather than rooting out guerrilla elements from populated areas, establishing secure spaces for South Vietnamese civilians, and engaging in civil development, the United States sought to use repower to interdict supplies for the insurgency, engage in strategic bombing to make North Vietnam pay costs for its support, and pursue search-and-destroy missions”[2]. For this reason, the United States ineffectively employed the limited resource it had in the process of combating the rebellion. However, the United States suffered fewer deaths compared to the opponent.
The United States became involved in the Vietnam War because of fearing the spread of Russia’s communism. The domino theory was a belief that if a country fell to Russia’s communism, the neighboring country would also follow the same path. The United States was uneasy that communism was spreading to Vietnam and later other parts of Asia. Flores in his article claims that “the threat from communism against American democracy instilled a very conservative ideology among young men across the country”[3]. As a result, many young Americans adopted anti-communist rhetoric, grew a deep affection for the country, and became pro-militaries. For this reason, the United States focused on preventing the establishment of communist societies in the attempt to support democratic reforms in Asia.
A qualitative approach is employed in Flores’ research while assessing memories of war and how they influenced soldiers’ perspectives. Personal narratives of the Vietnam War are drawn from in-depth interviews with soldiers who faced considerable life stressors. According to Flores, “The 24 participants are Vietnam veterans whose service ranged from 1964 to 1972…From the total sample, 62% enlisted, 38% were drafted, and 71% experienced combat”[4]. Interviews involving open-ended questions were conducted in VFW halls, homes, restaurants, and coffee shops. For this reason, qualitative research helped remarkably in providing an extensive understanding regarding soldiers’ actions and perspectives.
Caverley utilized remarkable data in the efforts of having benchmarks and establishing baselines of his findings. According to Caverley, “About 80 percent of respondents were either unsure or skeptical that airpower alone could stop North Vietnamese infiltration of the South, yet a large majority (58 percent) favored continued bombing of the North in retaliation”[5]. In this regard, the United States joined the Vietnam War in the efforts of preventing communism’s spread while geopolitical strategies, foreign policy, national fears, and economic interests also played an influential role. On the other side, Americans opposed the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War on moral grounds, claiming the conflict was primarily against the independence of the Vietnamese. For this reason, the Vietnam War continues to remain one of the most debatable military operations in the history of America.
Many young men felt an obligation of serving their country, similarly to the previous generation of the 2nd World War. Flores evidences how Vietnam veterans recalled their uncles and fathers having participated in the 2nd World War. According to Alex, a Vietnam veteran, “Everybody wanted to be in the military, it was just one of those things that were cool, to just get off of the farm and go into the military”[6]. However, American soldiers faced harsh realities of death in combat, guerilla war, and hostility from locals. As casualties’ rate in the Vietnam War continued to accumulate, soldiers started to question justifications of fighting in Vietnam. For this reason, many Veterans in the Vietnam War started developing different perspectives in the efforts of surviving.
Flores demonstrates how the fighting experience in the Vietnam War created an extensive change of soldiers’ standpoint regarding the war. According to Flores, “For them, the war changed from being about patriotism, stopping communism, and spreading American democracy, to brute survival and killing the Vietnamese”. In this regard, the perspectives of soldiers towards the war were highly affected by their experiences in Vietnam. The witnessing of and participating in abusive violence resulted in great traumatic experiences for many Vietnam veterans. For this reason, many United States soldiers became discouraged with the Vietnam War, especially, because of its results and complexities.
American soldiers faced remarkable challenges and hardships, forcing them to reevaluate their involvement in the Vietnam War. Patrols into remote areas were through swamps, ditches, sharp vines, and thick jungles. The wildlife of Vietnam posed remarkable dangers, including fire ants, malarial mosquitoes, different types of poisonous snakes, and leeches. According to Caverley, “The same people who come and work in the bases at daytime, they just want to shoot and kill you at nighttime. So how can you distinguish between the two? The good or the bad? All of them look the same”[7]. In this regard, Vietnamese locals were sometimes showing hospitality and other times treacherous, especially, when American soldiers could not understand their native language. Therefore, the frustrating atmosphere and war nature caused an extensive decline in performance and dedication of American forces during the Vietnam War.
In conclusion, this paper has analyzed and engaged with the articles by David Flores and Jonathan Caverley to understand soldiers’ perspectives regarding the Vietnam War. The initial perspective of American soldiers towards the Vietnam war was about promoting democracy, stopping communism, and being patriotic. During the progress of the Vietnam War, soldiers’ perspectives and commitment started to change, focusing highly on surviving. Therefore, both articles by Flores and Caverley acknowledge how many United States’ soldiers became frustrated with the Vietnam War because of its outcomes and complexities.
