Vietnam War - The War We Should Have Won
The Vietnam War is one of the most disgraceful periods in American history. Not only did the greatest superpower in the world get bested by an almost third-world nation, but we lost badly. Perhaps this war could have been won, or even prevented in the first place. The United States could have and should have won this war, with a combination of better weapons usage, better tactics, and better support from their home country.
Even years before the war, Vietnam was a hotly disputed territory. Many countries had taken Vietnam over, and after World War II, Vietnam was in the hands of France. Obviously, the Vietnamese wanted their own country, and their long history of being a colony prompted ...
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adopted communist ideals and wanted to make all of Vietnam communist.
The Vietnam war started simply because Ho Chi Min and his communist supporters wanted South Vietnam to become communist after the South split off in 1954 to become its own democratic nation. The United States saw this as a threat to democracy, and using the Domino theory, successfully threw the U.S. into the one of the worst wars it has ever seen.
If only the United States had looked past its petty alliances and helped another country gain its independence like we had gained ours so many years ago, this war would have been completely avoided. Unfortunately for the families of over 64,000 soldiers, it wasn't.
Beginnings of a Nightmare
As early as 1954, the United States started sending financial and military aid to South Vietnam, hoping to stop the spread of communism. The flow of 'military advisors' from 700 to over 14,000 1 built up steadily through John Kennedy's presidency, and after he was assassinated, ...
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to pound away and demoralize the VC into submission. He used planes such as the B-52 bomber and the F-4 Phantom to try to win the war as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the United States' air power had many shortcomings.
The F-4 Phantom was the latest and greatest piece of technology out there during Vietnam. Manufactured by McDonnell-Douglas, this plane was capable of multiple roles, as a dogfighter, bomber, recon, and support aircraft. However, the F-4 had its share of problems. First, the engineers who designed it neglected to mount any type of gun on the F-4A through the F-4D, thinking that the Phantom's frightening compliment of missiles could take out any enemy threat. They ...
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Vietnam War - The War We Should Have Won. (2004, November 20). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Vietnam-War-War-We-Should-Have/17760
"Vietnam War - The War We Should Have Won." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 20 Nov. 2004. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Vietnam-War-War-We-Should-Have/17760>
"Vietnam War - The War We Should Have Won." Essayworld.com. November 20, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Vietnam-War-War-We-Should-Have/17760.
"Vietnam War - The War We Should Have Won." Essayworld.com. November 20, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Vietnam-War-War-We-Should-Have/17760.
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