Understanding the Vietnam War

Category: Coming to America

One of the effects of the Vietnam War on American society was the mass migration of many Vietnamese people to the United States. How many people migrated and what has generally happened with them and to them in this country?

Where do most of the Vietnamese live? Is it possible to explain why they have chosen to live in these particular areas?

What percentage of the Vietnamese immigrants are Roman Catholics?

Besides Vietnamese migration, what other nationalities have left south east Asia for the United States?

France also has a large Vietnamese population. What are the similarities and differences between life in France versus life in the United States for the Vietnamese immigrants?

To what extent did the large spectrum of criminal activity that now goes under the general term of “Watergate,” have a direct relationship with the war in Vietnam?

Was the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon over “Watergate” a direct effect of the Vietnam War?

How were American soldiers and service personnel treated after they returned from Vietnam? This is a question filled with controversy. Perhaps breaking it down into different groups might help. For example: draftees, volunteers, career soldiers, those who actually saw combat, rear echelon support soldiers, etc.

How did the Veterans Administration treat returning veterans, especially wounded veterans? See Ron Kovic’s memoir, Born on the Fourth of July.

What issues are involved with the use of Agent Orange and related herbicides used in Vietnam? How did the chemical affect American servicemen? What were the effects on the Vietnamese during and after the war?

Post Traumatic Stress is a direct effect of the violence many soldiers lived through and experienced directly in Vietnam. What was done to prepare soldiers to deal with this problem? Was this a governmental responsibility or an individual veteran’s responsibility?

Suicides among returning veterans are often ignored by the official statistics compiled on the casualties of the war. How many soldiers committed suicide after returning from Vietnam? Is it possible or probable that these suicides were directly linked to their service in the combat zones of Vietnam?

Accidental deaths and acts of homicides are another grim statistic associated with veterans after their service in Vietnam. Are there any reliable statistics on these indicators of social pathology?

Many veterans returned home to an economy that had no jobs to offer them. Did this have an impact on crime? Are there any reliable statistics to show that there were a large number of Vietnam veterans involved in criminal activity?

A number of women served in Vietnam, primarily as nurses. What effect did their service have on their post-war lives and careers?

Many returning veterans took advantage of the “G.I. Bill of Rights.” What kinds of assistance was made available to veterans and how many of them took advantage of these benefits?

One anti-war group was made up of veterans who had served in Vietnam. Vietnam Veterans against the War was the name of this group. What was the basis of their critique of the war? How did their unique status affect their message and their ability to gather an audience? Why did most veterans not speak out against the war?

Some veterans became active supporters of the war policy after their term of service ended. What made them speak out in favor of the policies and politicians that supported the war? Why did most veterans not speak out in support of the war?

What kinds of memorials were set up in the United States after the Vietnam War had ended? What was the general theme of these memorials? How do they compare to the memorials set up after World War II?

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. is one of the most visited sites in the capital. What controversies surrounded its construction and dedication?

One memorial in Massachusetts honors those who fought for their country in three different struggles. The memorial lists those who fought in “World War II,” the “Korean Conflict,” and the “Vietnam Era.” How do you analyze the reasons for these three military engagements having such different names attached to them? What words would you use? Why?

The struggle over the historical meaning of the Vietnam War continues. Former “Hawks” and former “Doves” continue their debates to this day. Why does this war continue to agitate and disturb so many Americans? What questions, raised during the Vietnam War, remain unanswered? What are the questions that continue to provoke philosophical and political division within the American body politic?

What is the difference between “forgiving” and “forgetting? Should we just bury the past? Does it really matter what happened?

Is history, as Voltaire said, “merely that bag of tricks we play on the dead,” or does it still matter? To whom? Why?