"Vietnam was the wrong war, at the wrong time, in the wrong place and for the wrong cause."
We aren't fighting about Vietnam anymore. We are reflecting on it, and feeling sad.
I am attending a college class reunion. The era of the late 1960s is on my mind. As a student, I had a draft "deferment." To maintain the deferment we needed to be making regular progress toward a degree. That mean no dropped classes and no "gap years."
I was desperate not to be drawn into the war. As I saw it, we were taking over the failed and immoral role of French colonialists, a bad cause. To make things worse, General Westmorland announced a bad, shameful tactic in that war. He tried to show measurable, quantifiable proof of our progress. He chose the body count. Every night on the news there would be a report saying some high number of supposed Vietcong were killed compared with about a tenth that number of American soldiers. We were winning! See? So my service would be to die but take ten other people with me. It seemed so wrong.
Medford essayist Larry Slessler was ten years ahead of me at Medford High School. He served in Vietnam. I asked him to share his experience.
Guest Post by Larry Slessler
Show the number 365 to any Vietnam Vet and they will immediately know that as the number of days required for their completed Vietnam tour.
My 365 covered the period from mid-March 1965 to mid-March. 1966. I left my wife and two kids for a war I knew was a waste almost instantly upon my arrival in-country. Vietnam was the wrong war, at the wrong time, in the wrong place and for the wrong cause.
I quickly discovered we had no strategic goals. We had “Domino Theory (Just that a theory), “Win the hearts and minds” (A slogan), “Search and Destroy” (A tactic). Nowhere could I find an overall strategy to win the war. As an aside; search and destroy is not effective in “Winning hearts and minds.” Killing someone’s family and/or friends is a poor tactic in the winning of hearts and minds
Our enemy had a cause that he/she would willingly risk death for. My cause, and everyone I knew in Vietnam, was to do my/our 365, go home and never come back. I was never willing to lose my life for that war. Notice I did not sat “Give my life…” Lives in war are not given, they are ripped from you in horrific violent ways. Leaders like to honor the men and woman that “Gave” lives. It makes it seem so “Nobel” and honorable to the civilian population the leaders need to support the war effort.
I got to know a Canadian national that had lived in Vietnam since the mid 1930’s. He had been there under French Colonial rule, the Japanese occupation in WWII, the return of the French and the French Indo-China War and finally the American War. He told me in 1965; “You Americans will lose your/this war just like the French did. However it will take longer because America has more money than the French.” He called that exactly right.
For many years I had hope that my country had learned a lesson from Vietnam. That lesson was never enter a war without clear strategic goals. Our short well executed war for Kuwait in the 1990’s, under President Bush the elder, was a great example of strategic planning and execution. However, the US followed up with a 20 year war in Afghanistan that reverted to the Vietnam model.
After watching a 20 year war that made the same mistakes as “My” war, I lost any belief that Vietnam had any meaning for me. As I said to kick this off; “Wrong wars, wrong time’s, wrong places and wrong causes.” Maybe I should take solace that the “Merchants of Death” war profiting businesses, made a “Killing.” Yes this is a play on words. And no there is no solace.
I've stated for many years that the USA is still looking for the glory of the end of WW2. The ticker tape parades, the soldiers and sailors running down the gang planks into the arms of loved ones. Unfortunately that's probably never going to happen again. But we're slow learner's.
I was already in the Army and when 12th Field Evacuation Hosp loaded up our field hospital on the train at Fort Leonard Wood for transshipment to Nam. The company was called into formation and told, "those of you with 365 days left in your enlistment, step forward". I lucked out and only had 364 days and was left behind to help man the brand new 366 bed hospital and worked (ambulance section) for 72 hour shifts with 24 off for six months until enough civilians could be hired to fill in. Thank you, Larry, for stating what many of us felt about that war