Unit III – The Modern World

PROXY FIGHTING

The Cold War United States and the Soviet

Union

Not much actual fighting

What is a proxy? Someone to do something

for you

If we can’t fight, we’ll find others to do it for us!

The Korean War The Domino Effect

THE AMERICAN HERO

Average Age of Enrollment 19 years old

Little experience in war

Enlist as groups of friends!

Adventure!

Based War on National Icons The Lone Ranger and John

Wayne

Was this reality though?

THE AMERICAN HERO IN REALITY

VIETNAM

Similar to Korea Divided into two parts

North Vietnam –Communist○ Led by Ho Chi Minh

South Vietnam – Capitalist○ Essentially, led by the U.S.

Two Groups Vietcong (VC) –

Communists in South Vietnam – “Victor Charlie”

Vietminh – Communists in North Vietnam

VIETCONG TACTICS

Guerilla Warfare Could not win in open battle

Guerillas did not wear uniforms or have an HQ

Could be anyone…

Break the morale of U.S. troops

Hard to Tell Friend from Foe “The people are the water, our

armies are the fish.”

Constant fear of ambush

Traps, mines, and tunnels

PARANOIA GROWS

Soldiers could trust no one, not even the

South Vietnamese they were fighting with.

PARANOIA AND FEAR

“An infantry almost never sleeps. Even if

you have time to sleep, you can’t because

you have all these memories in your

head…And when you’re in the jungle,

you’re afraid. As macho as you may be,

you feel it. You know that death is behind

you. You don’t know whose turn it is.”

Angel Quintana

U.S. TACTICS

Hearts and Minds Program Win over locals by building

roads, schools, hospitals

Flood them with money and supplies to improve quality of life

Search and Destroy Surprise Vietcong with sudden

attacks

Vietcong response – Find and Kill

Vietnamese viewed as subhuman

Why?

U.S. TACTICS

Chemical Warfare Napalm – burns skin on contact

Agent Orange – herbicides

○ Destroy leaves and growth to remove cover for guerilla fighters

○ Pollutes air, soil, and water

○ Extreme birth defects as well!

Rape Campaigns Demoralize civilians

Cause fear

Get information

SEARCH AND DESTROY

How are these soldiers feeling as the war continues on? Scared, frustrated, confused, angry

Never know who is friend or enemy

Military draft – some did not choose to go!

Is today going to be the day I die? Attack could happen any moment

Extreme paranoia – Is it justified?

How many more of my friends do I have to see die? Feelings of revenge

VIDEO – Forrest Gump and Vietnam

PROBLEMS WITH SEARCH AND

DESTROY

Raids based on inadequate and sometimes simply wrong information

Inexperienced troops led to many deaths (1 in 5 chance of being killed)

Innocent mistaken for Vietcong Generally, 6 people killed for everyone 1 actual Vietcong

Makes U.S. and South Vietnamese extremely unpopular

Destroyed U.S. morale Drugs and alcoholism

TO PONDER…Can killing innocent women, children,

or the elderly ever be justified?

THE MY LAI MASSACRE U.S. Intelligence

250 Vietcong being sheltered in local village

What do we discover there? Women, children, and old

men

What do we do? Kill of be killed mentality

Round up village members and kill them all

Women were raped

Many had the letter ‘C’ carved into their bodies

LT. WILLIAM CALLEY

College Dropout

Terrible Leader

Orders absolute

annihilation of the village

When one soldier refused

to kill the Vietnamese,

Calley took his gun and

shot them

THE MY LAI MASSACRE

“We huddled them up. We made themsquat down…I poured about four clips[about 68 shots] into the group…Themothers kept hugging their children…Well,we kept right on firing…I still dream aboutit. About the women and children in mysleep…Some nights, I can’t even sleep. Ijust lay there thinking about it.”

Private Paul Meadlo

THE MY LAI MASSACRE

What justifications

did the troops use

for this mass

killing?

Do those

justifications make

it right?

A photograph taken at My Lai on 16th March 1968.

MY LAI MASSACRE RESULTS

In 4 hours over 400 civilians were killed – mostly

women, children and old men.

No Vietcong members were found – only 3 weapons.

At the time the army treated this as a success –

said only 20 civilians were killed

Eventually…

Lt. William Calley put on trial for mass murder (109)

Sentenced to life, then 20 years in prison (only serves 3)

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Can killing innocent women, children,

or the elderly ever be justified?

RESOLUTION

Unwinnable War

How do we get out honourably?

How do we not look defeated?

U.S. trains South Vietnamese troops,

withdraws, and Communists control all of

Vietnam