Journal Excerpts Vietnam Webquest
Reading Journal Response
1. Memory of a Paratrooper
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/reflect/truong.html
It must have been a huge decision for the soldiers wither or not to go through with the march through the mountains. They knew what was coming for them but that was the only way for some of them to survive. Honestly for me I would have taken my chances at the base of the Lam Son 719 Campaign. I wonder if they were ordered to go through with the march or if they were given the choice to go or not? I would have been easier for the troops to be ordered instead of waiting to make a decision; either way they knew they had the chance of dying. People were betraying others and people were being shot down the entire way there just to get to safety, they would have cared less for the lives of others to get a little farther along the trail. The troops must have hated the superiors for that. The common soldiers knew they would have to give up spaces for the superiors and still there was only a limited amount of space in the chopper. I wonder if the superiors let the common soldiers go? How could one decide on the things that happened today? Did they just go with the will that there might be hope or because they were forced to go? This was probably the campaign that really affected the lives and memories of survivors of that day. This has got to be hard and honestly nobody should have to witness what those troops did that day.
2. American Policy in Vietnam
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/psources/ps_policy.html
The president is claiming that the only reason that the USA was in war was to defend the South Vietnamese from the North Vietnamese and China. He said that the USA made a promise and that breaking that agreement would make USA look weak and not trustful and dependable. This is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard of. The president knows well enough why he is doing it. He does not want to back down and show the world that America can’t handle a few casualties and the experience of war. The president wants to wait until the others back down, no matter how many casualties that the war brings on either sides. This war, no matter what the president says, is stupid and could have been avoided or at least brought to a close with less devastation. America just has to deal with the fact that America sucks all the way around and they rely on the past to scare others.
3. Battlefield Vietnam: a Brief History
http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html
The war started because of America, not directly, but they had a major role in it. The Americans put a leader in charge that caused many problems with the North Vietnamese, who thought they were going to take over South Vietnam. Then the USA had to strengthen their help on South Vietnam and the accusations just got worse as the South Vietnamese hated the leader because of the false accusations. Then the leader had to start the attacks and America being an ally had to help them. America gets their self into more trouble than needed. Honestly if America would have stayed out of the problem not a thing would have happened. It should have ended with the signing of the Geneva Accords. Though America indirectly caused this to happen, they persisted on continuing and losing the faith of their people and losing the lives of many, unnecessary used soldiers.
4. Murder in the of War- My Lai
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/03/98/mylai/64344.stm
This was unnecessarily planned. The American troops should have never fired a single shot upon the normal civilians, but instead they wiped out an entire village. The village was unarmed and they killed everyone. They raped women, shot children, and showed no mercy while doing so. This is a disgrace to America and Americans should be angry with the troops for doing so. The actions that took place should not have happened if the troops cared. I don’t see how any human could kill innocent people just because the desired target was not in the vicinity. Some more of the people should have had better morals than that. The part that really makes me mad and probably the most aggravating part of the attack was that only one American troop got injured. Not because of the village people fighting back, but because he shot himself in the foot. This really ruined the faith in the American military for many people and truly they deserve it.
5. The Legacy of Agent Orange
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/vietnam/vnation/legacy.html
Agent Orange is the most idiotic thing America has done. I understand the point of it, but I wasn’t necessary. The effects of Agent Orange are saddening, even though some people don’t think that Agent Orange caused the problems. The girl who was paralyzed at birth is probably the most heart wrenching story. I don’t understand how she has lived for so long and how the family was able to keep her alive with her not being able to do anything and then the boy being blind and trying to take care of him must have been trouble on the family. It is really heartwarming to know that some people care about the people affected and actually want to help. It just makes the government look bad if they don’t help and the civilians are helping more. The recent ten dollars that he affected get probably does help quite a bit, but it doesn’t seem like it could cover the many years that the parents have to deal with their children and knowing that they are not going to be able to do much because of the Americans. This is what makes the people that do help, seem like true heroes.
1. Memory of a Paratrooper
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/reflect/truong.html
It must have been a huge decision for the soldiers wither or not to go through with the march through the mountains. They knew what was coming for them but that was the only way for some of them to survive. Honestly for me I would have taken my chances at the base of the Lam Son 719 Campaign. I wonder if they were ordered to go through with the march or if they were given the choice to go or not? I would have been easier for the troops to be ordered instead of waiting to make a decision; either way they knew they had the chance of dying. People were betraying others and people were being shot down the entire way there just to get to safety, they would have cared less for the lives of others to get a little farther along the trail. The troops must have hated the superiors for that. The common soldiers knew they would have to give up spaces for the superiors and still there was only a limited amount of space in the chopper. I wonder if the superiors let the common soldiers go? How could one decide on the things that happened today? Did they just go with the will that there might be hope or because they were forced to go? This was probably the campaign that really affected the lives and memories of survivors of that day. This has got to be hard and honestly nobody should have to witness what those troops did that day.
2. American Policy in Vietnam
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/psources/ps_policy.html
The president is claiming that the only reason that the USA was in war was to defend the South Vietnamese from the North Vietnamese and China. He said that the USA made a promise and that breaking that agreement would make USA look weak and not trustful and dependable. This is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard of. The president knows well enough why he is doing it. He does not want to back down and show the world that America can’t handle a few casualties and the experience of war. The president wants to wait until the others back down, no matter how many casualties that the war brings on either sides. This war, no matter what the president says, is stupid and could have been avoided or at least brought to a close with less devastation. America just has to deal with the fact that America sucks all the way around and they rely on the past to scare others.
3. Battlefield Vietnam: a Brief History
http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html
The war started because of America, not directly, but they had a major role in it. The Americans put a leader in charge that caused many problems with the North Vietnamese, who thought they were going to take over South Vietnam. Then the USA had to strengthen their help on South Vietnam and the accusations just got worse as the South Vietnamese hated the leader because of the false accusations. Then the leader had to start the attacks and America being an ally had to help them. America gets their self into more trouble than needed. Honestly if America would have stayed out of the problem not a thing would have happened. It should have ended with the signing of the Geneva Accords. Though America indirectly caused this to happen, they persisted on continuing and losing the faith of their people and losing the lives of many, unnecessary used soldiers.
4. Murder in the of War- My Lai
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/03/98/mylai/64344.stm
This was unnecessarily planned. The American troops should have never fired a single shot upon the normal civilians, but instead they wiped out an entire village. The village was unarmed and they killed everyone. They raped women, shot children, and showed no mercy while doing so. This is a disgrace to America and Americans should be angry with the troops for doing so. The actions that took place should not have happened if the troops cared. I don’t see how any human could kill innocent people just because the desired target was not in the vicinity. Some more of the people should have had better morals than that. The part that really makes me mad and probably the most aggravating part of the attack was that only one American troop got injured. Not because of the village people fighting back, but because he shot himself in the foot. This really ruined the faith in the American military for many people and truly they deserve it.
5. The Legacy of Agent Orange
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/vietnam/vnation/legacy.html
Agent Orange is the most idiotic thing America has done. I understand the point of it, but I wasn’t necessary. The effects of Agent Orange are saddening, even though some people don’t think that Agent Orange caused the problems. The girl who was paralyzed at birth is probably the most heart wrenching story. I don’t understand how she has lived for so long and how the family was able to keep her alive with her not being able to do anything and then the boy being blind and trying to take care of him must have been trouble on the family. It is really heartwarming to know that some people care about the people affected and actually want to help. It just makes the government look bad if they don’t help and the civilians are helping more. The recent ten dollars that he affected get probably does help quite a bit, but it doesn’t seem like it could cover the many years that the parents have to deal with their children and knowing that they are not going to be able to do much because of the Americans. This is what makes the people that do help, seem like true heroes.