The Vietnam War, 1965-1968
U.S. Expectations for the War in Vietnam The U.S. military assumed that because of America's technological superiority and wealth, the war would end quickly. One journalist touring an American aircraft carrier wrote, "They just ought to show this ship to the Viet Cong--that would make them give up." Marine Lieutenant Philip Caputo recalled: "when we marched into the rice paddies [in 65] we carried, along with our packs and rifles, the implicit conviction that the Viet Cong would be quickly beaten." Johnson himself called Vietnam "a raggedy-ass fourth-rate country." It seemed hard to believe a nation of people living in rural areas and in grass huts could defeat the world's most technologically advanced society.
Johnson Sends Ground & Air Forces Our purpose in Vietnam is to prevent the success of aggression. It is not conquest, it is not empire, it is not foreign bases, it is not domination. It is, simply put, just to prevent the forceful conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam. No clear military goal in Vietnam was the goal to gain territory? Defeat the Viet Cong? Eliminate resistance in the South?
U.S. Troop Deployments in Vietnam
Military Preparations & Training As the U.S. increased its involvement in Vietnam, the need for American troops grew. How do you raise an army during a time of war? Use the DRAFT! 30% of those who fought in Vietnam were draftees who were drafted for 2 years of service. Enlisted men signed on for 3-4 year terms. Draftees were given 10 weeks of basic training. Enlisted men were given several additional months of training.
Govt implemented a Selective Service Act that allowed the govt to draft men btw the ages of 18-26 (in place since 1951) Not much resistance to draft in early 1960s those who did were mostly conscientious objectors (people who opposed fighting the war on moral or religious grounds). About 1.8 million men were drafted between 1964-1973 However, in July 1965, LBJ doubled the number of men who could be drafted into the military. By the end of the year, he d doubled it again > led to rise in a draft resistance movement. As more and more men were drafted, Americans began to question the morality and fairness of the draft. College students could receive draft deferments so a majority of draftees wound up being young men from minority communities who were too poor to afford college. College students who received low grades were able to be drafted from 1966 on. From 1967 onward, draft resistance spread > many tried to claim physical disability, conscientious objector status, or left the country to avoid the draft (by the end of the war, roughly 100 thousand draft resisters had left the country for Canada.)
Changes to the Draft Reacting to complaints about the system, Congress made some changes to the selective service system in order to address supposed inequity December 1, 1969 marked the date of the first draft lottery held since 1942 (first lottery-by-birth.) This drawing determined the order of induction for men born between January 1, 1944 and December 31, 1950. A large glass container held 366 blue plastic balls containing every possible birth date and affecting men between 18 and 26 years old. The first capsule was drawn by Congressman Alexander Pirnie (R-NY) of the House Armed Services Committee! Drew both birthdays and 26 letters of the alphabet to determine the order in which people would be drafted for that given birth date.
The Draft Lottery
Selective Service Classifications This is your Notice of Classification, advising you of the determination of your selective service local board that you have been classified in accordance with Selective Service Regulations. The various classifications are described on the reverse side of this communication. You are required to have a Notice of Classification in your personal possession. When a subsequent Notice of Classification is received you should destroy the one previously received, retaining only the latest. For information and advice go to any Local Board. SPECIAL NOTICE: A registrant who was deferred on or before his 26th birthday should ascertain from his local board if his liability has been extended to his 28th or 35th birthday. CLASS I Class I-A: Registrant available for military service. Class I-A-O: Conscientious objector registrant available for noncombatant military service only. Class I-C: Member of the Armed Forces of the US, the Environmental Science Services Administration, or the Public Health Service. Class I-D: Qualified member of reserve component, or student taking military training, including ROTC and accepted aviation cadet applicant. Class I-S: Student deferred by law until graduation from high school or attainment of age of 20, or until end of his academic year at a college or university. Class I-W: Conscientious objector performing civilian work contributing to the maintenance of national health, safety, or interest, or who has completed such work. Class I-Y: Registrant qualified for military service only in time of war or national emergency.
CLASS II Class II-A: Occupational deferment (other than agricultural and student). Class II-C: Agricultural deferment. Class II-S: Student deferment. CLASS III Class III-A: Extreme hardship deferment, or registrant with a child. CLASS IV Class IV-A: Registrant with sufficient prior active service or who is a sole surviving son. Class IV-B: Official deferred by law. Class IV-C: Alien not currently liable for military service. Class IV-D: Minister of religion or divinity student. Class IV-F: Registrant not qualified for any military service. CLASS V Class V-A: Registrant over the age of liability for military service.
Basic Training Draftees were sent for 10 weeks of basic training. Enlisted men were given several additional months of training. Basic training included: the fundamentals of being a soldier, including combat techniques & the proper way to address a superior rigorous physical training to prepare their bodies for the eventual physical strain of combat. a strict daily schedule of duties & high expectations for which most civilians are not immediately ready (also taught self-discipline)
Vietnam Troop Levels 1960 900 1961 3,200 1962 11,300 1963 16,300 1964 23,300 1965 184,300 1966 385,300 1967 485,600 1968 536,100 1969 475,200 1970 334,600 1971 156,800 1972 24,200
The War on the Ground
First Living Room War Vietnam was the first televised war in history - scenes of the war reached American homes a matter of hours. Television news coverage increased the impact and led to an outpouring of backlash from the American public
Strategy: attempted to fight a "limited war," one that would put few demands on civilians in the U.S. This was accomplished by waging a ground and air war at the same time. Was it effective? By 1967, all major military targets had been destroyed. However, with 500,000 troops stationed in Vietnam and a cost of 2 billion dollars a month, there was no evidence the North Vietnamese were weakening. The bombings, the destruction of fields and crops, only increased support for the Viet Cong.
The Air War, 1965-1968 To keep U.S. casualties down, the U.S. initiated massive bombing o Bombing of North Vietnam referred to as Operation Rolling Thunder (begun in March, 1965) o Bombing campaigns targeted: o The capital city of Hanoi in North Vietnam (bombed it for 3 straight years!) o VC supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. o More bombs were dropped on Vietnam in one year (1967) than in all of World War II. o Civilian casualties were estimated at 1000 a week in heavy bombing--a figure kept secret from the American public.
Chemical Warfare The U.S. introduced the use of defoliants, most famously napalm, a form of jellied gasoline and Agent Orange a chemical designed to cause leaves to fall off of trees. They hoped to find the Viet Cong s hiding places, reducing the dense jungle foliage, while also denying the VC the crops for sustenance. Cost: millions of acres of jungle defoliated (½ of Vietnam s rain forests,) painful chemical burns for thousands of innocent civilians, contamination of food chain, and deformities.
Vietnamese children flee from their homes in Trang Bang June 8th, 1972. A South Vietnamese air force plane has accidentally dropped a napalm bomb on the village 26 miles outside of Saigon. This is without a doubt one of the most remembered images of the war. Twenty-five years later, the young girl running naked from her village, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, was named a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.
Impact of the Air War Major roads were destroyed, but supplies moved instead through the jungles, carried by human caravans at night, or through networks of tunnels. Because so much of the war was fought from the air on distant targets, many American soldiers never saw the enemy as human. Asked if bombings killed civilians, one sergeant laughed and replied "What does it matter? They're all Vietnamese."
Viet Cong Air Defense Tunnels To counter the huge technological advantage held by U.S. forces, the Viet Cong developed an extensive network of underground tunnel complexes. From these tunnels, the enemy could ambush American forces and then safely vanish underfoot. The tunnels eventually contained armories, hospitals, mess halls, manufacturing centers, and storage facilities. Some complexes ranged up to 40 miles long; the Cu Chi tunnel complex contained 130 miles of passageways.
Tunnel detection was difficult; airshafts were camouflaged and entryways disguised by filled wells dropping 50 feet. Extensive boobytrapping made it nearly impossible for American troops to remove the enemy from their safe-havens that allowed them to withstand intense aerial bombardment even by crater-making B-52 bombs.
Who Is the Enemy? Vietcong: Farmers by day; guerillas at night. Very patient people willing to accept many casualties. The U.S. grossly underestimated their resolve and their resourcefulness. The guerilla wins if he does not lose, the conventional army loses if it does not win. -- Mao Zedong
Who Is the Enemy? The war was tough on American GIs: Ordinary people living in South Vietnam were often supporters of Viet Cong. So the war was fought not against a clearly defined enemy, but against a shifting enemy that was literally everywhere. American bombings, and the tactics used on the ground often made ordinary Vietnamese people in the countryside hostile to Americans--acts of sabotage were common, as were hidden bombs, sniper attacks, and booby traps. It became difficult for Americans to tell North and South Vietnamese people apart, and after a while they stopped caring.
Who Is the Enemy? The Army wanted proof of enemy casualties, high "kill ratios, to present to Washington. Philip Caputo recalled: "If it's dead and its Vietnamese, it's Viet Cong, was the rule of thumb" in compiling casualty statistics.
American Morale Begins to Dip Greater percentage of poor people and minorities in the military (due to the system of draft deferments.) Officers in combat 6 mo.; in rear 6 mo. Enlisted men in combat for 12 mo. LONG TIME TO BE IN THE FIELD Psychological toll of a drawn out guerrilla war was profound, significantly impacted their emotional/ psychological health. Low troop morale
The Rules of War According to the rules of war, are soldiers permitted to? Withhold food and water from POWs. Beat, mutilate, or torture POWs. Kill POWs because of military necessity. Burn the homes of civilians in the combat zone. Beat, mutilate, or torture civilian non-combatants. Sexually assault civilians. Destroy the property of civilians. Make civilians into hostages. Conduct summary executions of civilians suspected of sympathizing with the enemy. Kill civilians on the grounds of self-preservation. Order a subordinate to murder, mutilate, or torture a POW or civilian non-combatant. Disobey an illegal order from their immediate superior.
Are We Becoming the Enemy? Charlie Company, 1 st Battalion, 20 th Infantry My Lai Massacre, March 1968 200-500 unarmed villagers Lt. William Calley, Platoon Leader
My Lai Massacre (March 1968)