Vietnam Essay -- essays research papers

The trials and tribulations the soldiers faced at home were far worse than any battle they fought while in Vietnam. No one seemed to fully understand what these men had went through. They came home looking for love and comfort; little did they know that they had not yet experienced the worst of the war. A numerous amount of people were for the war, but the reality was, many were against it. " During 1967 public support for the war dropped sharply. By October approval of Johnson’s handling of the war dropped to 28%. A number of major metropolitan newspapers shifted from supporting the war to opposing it" (Wexler 145 ). Once the public realized that the war wasn’t all glory, they regretted the country’s involvement. The government wasn’t exactly the most reliable source of information during the war. They couldn’t be counted on when they were needed most. The government’s handling of aid for veteran’s seemed to be carelessly handled. Veterans were treated poorly and promises were broken frequently. The majority of the American population had no clue that the government was hiding information about POWs. " From September 1973 to March 1974, a series of unrelated witnesses reported the movement of nine POWs between two Laotian prison camps" ( Sauter 189 ). Similar accounts of American prisoners’ sightings were hidden from the public. Ron Kovic was not a prisoner of war. Instead he was sent home after being wounded. His return home was originally fine; everything he thought it would be. Yet he did not receive the welcome he had hoped for. Many resented him. He received blank stares and vicious glares. even his own brother was against the war. His family was baffled by the pessimistic view towards life that he had picked up along the way. In Born on the Fourth of July, Ron Kovic often mentioned that the veterans’ hospitals were torture chambers. " It is easy to lose it all here. The whole place functions smoothly, but somewhere along the way I am losing, and the rest of the people whom I can’t see in the rooms around me are losing too. Even if I heal this leg, I will lose. No one ever leaves this place without losing" ( Kovic 129 ). He felt this way, because he had seen the reality of the war, and he was appalled by the treatment the men received. Even after they had fought fo... ...attitude toward the war was bitter and aggressive. He resented the government and all people who supported the war. What had Ron become? He used to be an All-American boy. Characterized by his intense love for his country; his patriotism exuded in everything he did. However, once he realized how naive he’d been about war in general, he learned to hate it. He’d lecture to families and children not to enlist for the war, because they might not come back how they had dreamed. They might come back like him, or not even come back at all. A few choice veterans overcame the adversity, but despite the few gains made by Vietnam vets, in many situations, public perspectives toward the veterans had taken up the enemy’s bullets left off. Instead, they had bullets of hatred and rancor shot at them. Their lives were never the same. Kovic, Ron. Born on the Fourth of July. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1976. Mason, Patience H. C. Recovering from the War. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Saunders, Jim, and Mark Sauter. The Men We Left Behind. Bethesda: Saunders and Sauter, 1993. Wexler, Sanford. An Eyewitness History: The Vietnam War. New York: Wexler, 1992 Vietnam Essay -- essays research papers The trials and tribulations the soldiers faced at home were far worse than any battle they fought while in Vietnam. No one seemed to fully understand what these men had went through. They came home looking for love and comfort; little did they know that they had not yet experienced the worst of the war. A numerous amount of people were for the war, but the reality was, many were against it. " During 1967 public support for the war dropped sharply. By October approval of Johnson’s handling of the war dropped to 28%. A number of major metropolitan newspapers shifted from supporting the war to opposing it" (Wexler 145 ). Once the public realized that the war wasn’t all glory, they regretted the country’s involvement. The government wasn’t exactly the most reliable source of information during the war. They couldn’t be counted on when they were needed most. The government’s handling of aid for veteran’s seemed to be carelessly handled. Veterans were treated poorly and promises were broken frequently. The majority of the American population had no clue that the government was hiding information about POWs. " From September 1973 to March 1974, a series of unrelated witnesses reported the movement of nine POWs between two Laotian prison camps" ( Sauter 189 ). Similar accounts of American prisoners’ sightings were hidden from the public. Ron Kovic was not a prisoner of war. Instead he was sent home after being wounded. His return home was originally fine; everything he thought it would be. Yet he did not receive the welcome he had hoped for. Many resented him. He received blank stares and vicious glares. even his own brother was against the war. His family was baffled by the pessimistic view towards life that he had picked up along the way. In Born on the Fourth of July, Ron Kovic often mentioned that the veterans’ hospitals were torture chambers. " It is easy to lose it all here. The whole place functions smoothly, but somewhere along the way I am losing, and the rest of the people whom I can’t see in the rooms around me are losing too. Even if I heal this leg, I will lose. No one ever leaves this place without losing" ( Kovic 129 ). He felt this way, because he had seen the reality of the war, and he was appalled by the treatment the men received. Even after they had fought fo... ...attitude toward the war was bitter and aggressive. He resented the government and all people who supported the war. What had Ron become? He used to be an All-American boy. Characterized by his intense love for his country; his patriotism exuded in everything he did. However, once he realized how naive he’d been about war in general, he learned to hate it. He’d lecture to families and children not to enlist for the war, because they might not come back how they had dreamed. They might come back like him, or not even come back at all. A few choice veterans overcame the adversity, but despite the few gains made by Vietnam vets, in many situations, public perspectives toward the veterans had taken up the enemy’s bullets left off. Instead, they had bullets of hatred and rancor shot at them. Their lives were never the same. Kovic, Ron. Born on the Fourth of July. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1976. Mason, Patience H. C. Recovering from the War. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Saunders, Jim, and Mark Sauter. The Men We Left Behind. Bethesda: Saunders and Sauter, 1993. Wexler, Sanford. An Eyewitness History: The Vietnam War. New York: Wexler, 1992