Feature: Vietnam War

The Vietnam War

by Sarah Leslie Gagan

The Unnecessary War

“History creates its own geological layers, entombing the carnage of warfare under a bustling town. The scenery of battle—the man with a bandaged head being dragged under the arms by two others, the exploding shells forming craters, the staccato crackle of automatic fire drowning out shouts of command, the attacks and counterattacks barely visible through smoke-saturated air, and the knowledge that human life is incidental to both victory and defeat—is all submerged, along with the decayed bodies of the fallen. Now, the civilian population attends to its daily needs, so that it never occurs to the children playing hopscotch, or to the mothers haggling over the price of an orange, or to the peasants carrying improbable loads at both ends of a bamboo pole balanced on their shoulders, that with every step they are treading on the fallen who have fertilized the soil.” — Ted Morgan

French Indochina

The French conquest of Indochina, which would one day become Vietnam, began in 1858. They boasted about bringing their civilization to Vietnam. The Vietnamese saw the French as the enemy, and the people struggled for independence.

At the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson went to Paris in 1919 to help rebuild the world, advocating for the independence of colonized nations. A man named Ho Chi Minh attempted to present a petition to the president, asking that Vietnam become an independent state. The president’s secretary promised to show it to Wilson, but there is no evidence he did. Ho Chi Minh had been marked for arrest in 1911 after taking part in a demonstration against the current emperor and fled Vietnam, remaining in exile for 30 years. Soon, Minh became a communist after discovering the anti-colonial writings of Lenin.

World War II began in 1940, and Germany conquered most of Western Europe, including France, paving the way for the Japanese to occupy Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam to help fight the Japanese invaders, founding a revolutionary movement named The Vietnam Independent League, also known as the Viet Minh.

The new fighting force grew quickly, relying primarily on guerrilla warfare tactics and hit-and-run strategies. When two atomic

bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese surrender seemed imminent. Ho Chi Minh called upon all the people of Vietnam to rise up and take control of their country before the French could reestablish their rule. On September 2nd, 1945, the same day the Japanese surrendered thereby ending World War II, hundreds of thousands of people went to Hanoi to witness Ho Chi Minh proclaim Vietnam an independent nation.

The Threat of Communism

President Franklin Roosevelt, who had campaigned for a world of independent self-governing states, was now dead and his successor, Harry Truman, was facing an entirely different world. The Soviet Union occupied Eastern Europe and looked to spread further into Turkey, Greece, and Iran, beginning the Cold War. The French warned if their colonies were to become independent under American assistance, France would have no choice but to fall under Soviet influence. The French sent thousands of men back into Vietnam with the help of American aid.

In 1950, communist North Korea invaded South Korea. American politicians feared that if one nation fell to communism, others would soon follow. The U.S. sent thousands of troops to push the invaders back into North Korea. Their success showed Western powers that communism could be contained in Asia. By 1953, the French had been fighting for seven years in Vietnam, with the help of American aid. They had suffered more than 100,000 casualties. The Viet Minh, supplied by the Chinese and the Soviets, were a force to be reckoned with. The French proposed to begin talks to end the fighting. Before talks began, both sides tried to reinforce their military position. The French set up a fortified base in the Dien Bien Phu valley and saw no need to worry about the jungle-covered hills that overlooked their 11,000 men. Heavy artillery fire began when 50,000 Vietnamese soldiers surrounded the valley. The French were trapped. Following 55 days of brutal attack, they surrendered. After 100 years of colonial rule, the French were leaving Vietnam. The Viet Minh now believed they could fight a Great Western power and win. An Armistice was signed, splitting Vietnam

Vietnam War

Strength 860,000 - 1,420,000 Casualties 667,130 - 392,364 Total losses 4,249,494 (both sides)

into two parts separated by a demilitarized zone. civilians had 300 days to relocate to their choice of North or South Vietnam. 900,000 refugees fled South seeking a life free from communism.

The South was now known as The Republic of Vietnam, with Ngo Dinh Diem as president, and Saigon as the capital city. South Vietnam was protected by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). In the North, the capital was Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh appointed as leader. The communist North Vietnamese leaders were willing to break the peace to head South along what would be called the Ho Chi Minh trail, to fight for a united Vietnam.

John F. Kennedy had been elected and Cold War tensions were at new heights. U.S. politicians and leaders believed aggressive dictatorships must be stopped before they constituted a serious danger to the peace of the world. Critics complained about Kennedy’s leniency when he failed to stop the construction of the Berlin Wall. Communism was spreading in neighboring Laos and Cambodia as the civil war escalated in Vietnam, and Kennedy's advisers insisted he send ground troops into Vietnam to help the South push back the North Vietnam army, known as the Viet Cong. Kennedy refused to send in troops, instead sending an elite group of soldiers, the Green Berets, as military advisers to train and organize South Vietnam's military.

Kennedy also doubled military funding, sending helicopters and armored personnel carriers, and authorized the use of Napalm and Agent Orange defoliant, to destroy ground cover to the Viet Cong and to kill the crops that fed them.

The American military presence in South Vietnam worried Ho Chi Minh who believed invasion of the North was inevitable. He sought and received military aid and arms from the Chinese.

The government in South Vietnam had become so oppressive to its civilians that in an expression of protest against Diem and his regime, a 73-year-old monk set himself on fire as a silent crowd watched him burn to death. Soon other monks would become martyrs, but instead of allowing greater freedoms for his people, president Diem imposed martial law and arrested anyone that protested the South. A place promised to become a democracy had become a dictatorship. Diem’s reign could not continue. Vietnam's military generals, who had been told a coup would not be stopped by the United States, assassinated Diem and his brother. People took to the streets in celebration.

Weeks later, President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963 and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was in charge. The Viet Cong continued to carry out attacks throughout the countryside as a new power struggle began in the South. Between January 1964 and June 1965 there would be eight different governments. Coup after coup left the government in ruins.

The Lie that Sparked a War

In August 1964, the USS Maddox destroyer was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. On August 2, it was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. And then, two days later, on August 4, the Johnson administration claimed that it had been attacked again. After the second attack, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution almost unanimously allowing the federal government to “take all necessary measures” to protect U.S. forces in Vietnam. It was as close to a declaration of war that the Johnson administration would ever get, but it was based on a lie.

After decades government secrecy, the truth finally came out in 2005 when nearly 200 documents were declassified and released by the National Security Agency. They showed that there was no second attack on August 4th. U.S. officials had distorted the truth about the Gulf of Tonkin incident for their own gains, and perhaps for Johnson’s own political prospects. This lie jumpstarted the war that would unnecessarily claim 58,220 American lives and more than 3 million Vietnamese lives.

In response to the second fictitious attack, Johnson was told by his advisors it shouldn't be left unanswered. American pilots were sent to attack North Vietnamese torpedo boat installations and oil facilities. For the first time, American pilots dropped bombs on Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Johnson the legal justification to deploy U S forces in Vietnam.

In retaliation, North Vietnam guerrillas shelled an American air base near Saigon, killing five Americans and destroying five B57 bombers. Advisors again suggested to Johnson he place troops on the ground and carry out an air attack on targets in the North, but he refused.

Operation Rolling Thunder

When the Viet Cong struck an American helicopter base at Pleiku, eight U.S. advisors were killed and hundreds more were wounded. Later they blew up a hotel killing 23 Americans. Hoping to bomb them into surrender, Johnson responded on March 2nd, 1965 by systematically bombing targets codenamed Operation Rolling Thunder.

The president had changed his policy from retaliatory bombing to an all-out attack, something that was kept from the public. The American people couldn't know he had widened the war. Viet Cong’s attacks continued but America couldn't leave, they were too heavily invested, and a withdrawal would make them look weak. In March 1965, Johnson ordered ground troops in Vietnam. It was no longer a fight against communism, Pentagon declassified papers would later reveal it was to avoid humiliation.

The Jungle

As 1966 began, 2,344 Americans had died in Vietnam. There were 200,000 men stationed there with more on the way. The Viet Cong now controlled 3/4 of South Vietnam's countryside, moving their supplies and weapons through Laos and Cambodia along 12,000 miles of twisted jungle roadways known as the Ho Chi Minh trail. The Americans reasoned if the trail could be sufficiently damaged, their

enemy wouldn't be able to sustain itself. Three million tons of explosives would fall in the Laos portion of the trail alone.

As the months and years went on, with the death toll of American troops climbing, the American people were told not to worry. They were assured that the enemy was being defeated. General Westmoreland claimed he could win the war in three years and sent an urgent cable to Washington asking for 200,000 additional troops. Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense, told Johnson the war was unwinnable, but Johnson gave General Westmoreland his men. Hundreds of thousands of American troops were being prepared to be deployed to a war those in Washington knew was a lost cause.

It wasn't just the Vietnamese the Americans were fighting, it was also the terrain. Soldiers had to make their way through elephant grass, thornbushes, bamboo 60 feet tall, and jungle so thick it would take an hour just to move 100 feet. Long black leeches caused wounds that quickly became infected, and sunlight rarely hit the jungle floor. Booby traps, landmines, and grenades laced the terrain, often causing the loss of limbs or life. U.S. soldiers also had to deal with M16 rifles that jammed in gunfights, often costing their lives. Although the enemy rarely won a battle, American victory seldom seemed to matter. Enemy soldiers were quickly replaced, and U.S. soldiers were spread so thin that any land they captured was quickly taken back by the enemy once the troops left.

By the end of 1967, nearly 20,000 Americans would be dead. Those back home were told victory was in sight, that there was light at the end of the tunnel. Yet the anti-war protests intensified.

The Tet Offensive

At the beginning of 1968, half a million U.S. troops were in Vietnam. American leaders promised victory was close, but they were overconfident. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong were planning a huge general offensive, with scores of coordinated attacks on South Vietnamese towns and cities, hoping that if Saigon was defeated, it would leave the Americans no choice but to withdraw.

The date chosen for the attack was January 31st, 1968, the first day of the Vietnamese lunar new year celebration known as Tet. “Advance and we will achieve total victory,” Ho Chi Minh told his soldiers. On January 30th, a 36-hour truce for Tet was in effect and thousands of unsuspecting ARVN troops had gone home for

the holiday. The next day, 84,000 Viet Cong guerrillas and North Vietnamese soldiers attacked 36 of South Vietnam's 44 provincial capitals, dozens of American and ARVN military bases, and the six largest cities in the country.

As the fighting raged on, the plan the Viet Cong and NVA had put in place was failing. South Vietnamese soldiers and U.S. troops were inflicting significant casualties. For the first time, U.S. soldiers could see what they were fighting. The Viet Cong were in the streets rather than in the jungle, and in the buildings rather than hidden in the trees. The Viet Cong were now playing America's game — the game America was best at.

After months of fighting, the Viet Cong were pushed back North. Johnson claimed the offensive was a devastating defeat for the communists. Of the 84,000 enemy troops that took part in the Tet offensive, 58,000 were killed, wounded, or captured. It was an overwhelming victory for America and the ARVN and a major turning point in the war.

Broken Trust and Treason

The Vietnam War was the first television war, with-on site coverage from the front lines brought into the American living rooms. The public had been told prior to the Tet Offensive that the war was nearly over, that the North Vietnamese were so ground down victory was imminent. When the offensive was launched, it contradicted what the American people had been told. Trust in the government was broken. Protesters took to the streets. On March 31st, 1968, Johnson spoke to the nation on television, announcing the U.S. was to stop bombing North Vietnam in the hopes of getting them to the negotiating table. He also announced he would not run for reelection, that he would begin to focus his efforts on achieving peace.

Martin Luther King was then assassinated, sending protesters to the streets once again. The nation hadn't been this divided since the civil war. And as Robert Kennedy began his run for president, campaigning to bring the war to an end, he too, just like his brother, was assassinated. The nation was torn apart.

Richard Nixon was elected president on a program of ending the war and bringing a broken nation together. When he took office in January 1969, 37,000 U.S. troops had died. How he came to be elected to the highest office in the land was kept a secret. As the election drew near, Johnson was making significant progress in Vietnam peace talks, and had agreed to stop all bombing of Vietnam. Hanoi for the first time had agreed to talk to Saigon and the U.S. had agreed to include the Viet Cong in the peace talks. For what seemed like the first time, peace was in sight.

However, on November 2nd, just three days before the U.S. election, President Thieu of South Vietnam unexpectedly withdrew from the peace talks. A representative of the Nixon campaign had secretly contacted the Saigon government urging Thieu to stay away from the talks, promising that once Nixon was elected president, he would drive a harder bargain with Hanoi than his competition. Due to a CIA bargain with Thieu’s office, and an FBI wiretap in the South Vietnamese embassy

in Washington, Johnson found out what happened. He discovered that Nixon and his team were committing treason by contacting a foreign power in the middle of a war. Nixon had been willing to continue the bloodshed to get elected. Johnson, unwilling to share how he got the information, said nothing.

Nixon’s secret was safe as the peace talks reached a stalemate and the war continued. American men were sent to their deaths in pointless battles. They were to fight for land such as Hamburger Hill, just to later give it up to the enemy. Enemy body count, which was often exaggerated, was all that mattered. As the protests back home continued, Nixon had to change his policy. The American people were angry. Thousands of men were dying for nothing.

A policy called Vietnamization was to take place. ARVN troops would gradually take on more and more responsibility and American troops would start coming home. The Americans began training the ARVN, sending more than a million M16 rifles, 40,000 grenade launchers, and thousands of vehicles. Both American and South Vietnamese officials knew if America couldn't win with half a million of its own troops, South Vietnam by itself stood no chance.

Publicly, Nixon claimed the campaign was a great success. On September 2nd, 1969, the 24th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh's declaration of Vietnam's independence, Ho Chi Minh passed away. Although American military victories increased and casualty numbers fell, anti-war sentiment grew when the public found out that American soldiers had slaughtered more than 500 innocent men, women, and children in the small village of My Lai. Protests and anti-war sentiment reached new heights. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country took to the streets. Four students were killed at Kent State University and another two at Jackson State University.

With negotiations at a stalemate, Nixon began a bombing campaign around Hanoi, remembered as the Christmas bombing, where 1,600 civilians were killed. On December 26th, Hanoi agreed to return to negotiations. It would take them just six days to reach a final agreement. America had bombed them into accepting a deal. Prisoners of war were to be released and American troops were to withdraw from Vietnam.

The Fall of Saigon

On March 29th, 1973, the last American troops would leave South Vietnam. Only 200 Marines would remain, helping guard the American embassy and other buildings in Saigon, along with diplomats and CIA agents. The South and the North would fight on, and the population was once again caught in a brutal civil war.

Nixon had pledged to South Vietnam that if Saigon was ever in trouble, the U.S. Air Force would provide assistance. In August 1974, Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal and Congress was in no mood to help. They cut South Vietnam's funds and assistance in half. Up to 20,000 ARVN troops were leaving the military each month. The Americans had provided guns but not enough bullets. They provided planes but no pilots or training. They provided trucks but no spare parts. Things in the South were quickly falling apart. The North pushed on ARVN forces at every turn. After 30 years of civil war, Saigon was going to fall. Everything the Americans had fought and died to prevent was going to happen. Soldiers and civilians began to flee South to avoid the North Vietnamese army. President Thieu resigned.

On April 29th, the invasion of Saigon began, and evacuation was urgent. Helicopters picked up groups of people, many from the helipad on the U.S. Embassy roof, and took them to aircraft carriers and ships. The last of the U.S. ambassadors and military were airlifted just as the Viet Cong invaded the city. Several hundred South Vietnamese U.S. allies and contractors were left behind. When the ships were full, helicopters were pushed into the ocean.

The South surrendered to stop further bloodshed. Many were sent to communist re-education camps for upwards of 10 years. Graveyards were bulldozed or padlocked as every effort was made to wipe away the memory of the South Vietnamese regime. The Vietnamese, after 30 years of war, 2 million deaths, millions of refugees, and destroyed villages, were finally united under one communist nation. With Soviet help, Vietnam would be turned into a new socialist system. Agriculture was state-controlled, capitalism was abolished, industry was nationalized, and leaders were appointed to run the country along strict communist lines. The result was economic catastrophe. The standard of living fell and people starved. Nearly 1.5 million people would eventually flee as refugees.

Soldiers arriving home to America didn’t receive a hero’s welcome. Instead, they were spat upon, yelled and cursed at, or simply ignored. Their service didn’t seem to mean anything to the American public, who had become jaded by the government’s empty promises.

While in Vietnam, troops engaged in more than combat, they performed many acts of kindness and humanitarianism. They helped the local people medically by providing medicines and vaccinations, they adopted orphanages, dug wells, built windmills, schools, and homes. They were selfless in not only their defense of the Vietnamese, but in bettering their quality of life.

Vietnam was a political war, not a soldier’s war. It was one that America’s pride couldn’t allow itself to lose. Those who fought and died on both sides risked their lives for their country and showed a bravery and sacrifice that should never be forgotten. The Bartlesville community had many who served in Vietnam, and some did not return.

Local Heroes

Jim Dau, born in Chicago Illinois, joined the Marine aviation program in January of 1967. After completing his flight training, he was sent to Vietnam in November of 1968. He was a newlywed and leaving his bride was difficult. He served as a helicopter pilot, working long and dangerous hours to deliver troops and supplies into the jungle. While at Da Nang, he enjoyed working with the South Korean Marines. He remembered them as very good fighters, recalling that if a person shot at the South Koreans, he was not going to shoot very long and was never going to shoot again. Jim retired from the Marines as a full Colonel. He is proud of his service, saying, “One thing the Marine Corps instills in you is the willingness to put yourself aside and be able to do whatever it takes for a Marine. It is biblical that the Marine Corps teaches you to be willing to give up anything for a friend. It is not for yourself, but what can you do for the other person.”

Rocky Crawford received his Army draft notice on January 2, 1969. After completing basic training, Rocky was one of few selected to attend finance school at Fort Benjamin Harrison at Indianapolis. His wife was able to stay with him in an off-campus apartment. Rocky enjoyed learning about military finances. Just 15 days after completing finance school, Rocky got his orders for Vietnam, arriving there on the 17th of July, 1969. He was assigned to the First Cavalry Division, Airmobile, and sent to Ben Hoa. On the first morning of his assignment, there was a rocket attack that drove everyone into the trenches for safety. Rocky’s assignment at Ben Hoa was 73C, Finance in the processing unit. He processed pay for the soldiers, designating how they wanted their money, if they wanted all their money or to send some home. He also dealt with frequent changing of currency. Rocky served 412 days in Vietnam. He states, “My wife and I had a lot of prayers and I still have some pain about the 58,000 men and women that did not come home alive. I have always

asked why I got to come home, and those people did not. It comes back more often now, why did I make it? There has to be a reason.”

Willard Parish received his draft notice in November 1963 and had to report the 28th day of November in 1963. He left for Vietnam, from Charleston South Carolina, via a troop ship in August of 1965. His first experience of Vietnam was clearing out what was called the Green Line. Any time there was a termite hill or ant hill, anything that would give cover, Willard and the others had to chop it down. Willard was awarded a Silver Star in November 1965. The inscription reads as follows, “Reasons for gallantry in action, Specialist Four Parish distinguished himself on 15 November 1965 during a search and destroy operation in the Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. Specialist Parish was operating an M-60 machine gun on the defensive perimeter of his company when a numerically superior Viet Cong force launched an attack. As the insurgent forces attacked, Specialist Four Parish delivered lethal fire on to the advancing waves of the Viet Cong. When the hostile troops were within 20 meters of his position, his machine gun ran out of ammunition, with complete disregard for his personal safety, Specialist Four Parish picked up two 45 caliber pistols and stood up in his position and inflicted numerous casualties upon the approaching insurgents. Through his courage and determination and devotion to duty, he saved lives of many comrades who were in the vicinity of his position and contributed immeasurably to the defeat of the advancing Viet Cong. Specialist Four Parish’s unimpeachable valor and extraordinary heroism against a superior hostile force were within keeping with the highest tradition of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit and the United States Army.” Willard is one of the many true heroes of Vietnam.

~ Resources: The Vietnam War, A film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, 2017. ~