...Prisoners of war in Vietnam were literally surviving hell in the years that they were there. Some prisoners were there for more than six years, and they came back with scars, physically and emotionally, that showed what they had been through. Although they were not treated well in Vietnam, they still managed to have hope in the prisons. Leo Thorsness and the other prisoners of war went through many difficult situations, but were still able to thrive while they were in Vietnam. During their final years in Vietnam, there was a failed rescue mission that made all the prisoners move into one camp, the Hanoi Hilton. All the prisoners got to meet each other since they were staying in one big cell. When the first Sunday came around, everyone decided...
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...Throughout the course of the Vietnam war, there were many Americans taken as Prisoners of War(POW). There were many camps for Americans in North Vietnam that ranged from high security camps to smaller camps that didn’t have a lot of security. There is not an exact count for how many American soldiers were taken as POW because they are counted in with soldiers that were MIA. There is also a confusing with the MIA soldiers, the POW, and confirmed dead soldiers whose bodies were never found. As of March 29th, The National League of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, most commonly known as, The National League of POW-MIA Families, found that there were 1621 Missing or unaccounted Americans, some of which could have been POW that...
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...the less we use our power the greater it will be.” (Jefferson) Power and the thought of defeat is a deterrent of war. War is appalling and uneasy. Kurt Vonnegut, novelist and veteran, was captured at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II and was a Prison of War (POW) during the famous bombing that lead to a firestorm that wiped out the city of Dresden, Germany. That dreadful experience of war would forever intrude on his mind for the rest of his life. In 1955 the Vietnam war began, the United States became involved and the American people were not supportive. This war would lasted until 1975 and it was detrimental in many ways. In 1968, the Viet Cong initiated a massive...
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...A prime example of this is the Prisoner of War dilemma of 1970. Several American soldiers were unaccounted for during the Vietnam War. The wives of these men demanded a hearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services. The main purpose of their testimony was to “call attention to the failure of the North Vietnamese to comply with the guidelines for prisoners of war laid out in the 1949 Geneva Accords” (Zaretsky 25). The accords signed by the North Vietnamese before this incident occurred required that the name of every soldier captured would be released, that they would receive adequate food and shelter, and that prisoners were allowed to exchange letters with family members. In regards to this agreement the North Vietnamese failed to reveal information about the conditions of the captured prisoners. This issue led to the rising public doubt in relation to America’s military force. Along with the prisoners of war, awareness that soldiers were being “tortured and placed in solitary confinement” (Zaretsky 26) made US citizens realize that their military power in Southeast Asia was close to non-existent. The total defeat of the Vietnam War produced a sense of panic and distrust in the United States’ military and government amongst...
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...During the time of the Vietnam War and Nixon administration the society was at a state of anger and unrest. John Lennon took a stand against the government and society by writing music and performing physical acts of protest. Immediately, he was faced with a deportation scandal, and many people were rallying for change on his behalf. His long-term impact is shown even to this day, through his song “Imagine” and other political songs that were screaming for someone to take a stand. As many already know, John Lennon was part of the ever-so popular group, the Beatles. During the time he spent with the group, his “voice” and his stance on the world was not shown much, as it was overpowered by Paul McCartney’s drippy and love-like lyrics. His...
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...For years the United States and the world have been at war. Whether it is within the countries own borders, with a neighboring country or countries across the planet; We as humans have been been battling everything from small conflicts and massive world wars. These wars haven’t been the most beautiful thing nor have they been the worst. Most wars and conflicts have had the end goal of better the country but some haven’t been. These also bring up a different type of conflict, one of which that dwells inside each and everyone of us. Is war the right choice or not? Vietnam Veterans Memorial One of the most notable and prominent remembrances of war is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C, which was designed and proposed by Maya Lin....
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...American Involvement in the Vietnam War Late 1940’s: America began sending aid to the French fighting in Vietnam and the rest of Indochina. France was fighting the Communist rebels led by Ho Chi Minh. 1954: Ho Chi Minh defeated the French. America became officially involved trying to stop Communists in Vietnam. Financial aid and military advisors were sent to help the South Vietnamese fight Northern Communists as they fighting in the South. The U.S. worked with Ngo Dinh Diem and other leaders to set up a separate government in the South. The U.S. worked with Ngo Dinh Diem, the South Vietnamese Premiere, to create separate governments in the South. President Dwight Eisenhower expressed concerns over Domino Theory. He believed that if Vietnam fell completely to Communism, then Communism would spread elsewhere, like how if the first domino falls, the rest follow. The Domino Theory is the central reason for America’s involvement in Vietnam. 1954-1964: U.S. involvement in Vietnam continued to increase. Eisenhower sends military advisors to South Vietnam to train South Vietnamese Army. 1964: August: North Vietnam attacked the USS Maddox in international waters. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that allowed President Johnson to increase America’s military involvement. It allowed him to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack...and to prevent further aggression." 1965: Pleiku Raid: Viet Cong attacked a Marine barracks killing eight and injuring over a...
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...surrounds Cold War films stems from the idea that the Russians had the ultimate doomsday device that would destroy the world in the press of a button. No film depicts this idea better than Dr. Strangelove. We only watched the clips from the film, but you could tell the idea that the Russians had such a device was a real fear. The film Manchurian Candidate is interesting to say the least it does a great job of depicting the paranoid style. A few particular scenes that could be used are the dream sequences that the men who were captured experienced. They would have vivid dreams of the brainwashing that Sergeant Raymond Shaw underwent and the two murders that Shaw would perform on two of his own comrades. Sleeper...
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...Successful Failure Micheal Stout 4 February, 2015 By and large, the inability to collect, report, process, disseminate, and act upon intelligence gathered by our military forces has been the cause of numerous failures in military operations. Operation Ivory Coast, a daring raid on the prisoner of war (POW) camp Son Tay during the Vietnamese war, was one such operation. Considered by many as a stunning tactical success, this mission was a failure from an intelligence standpoint, and the ultimate goal of the operation, to rescue the POW’s held at Son Tay, was unsuccessful. Operation Ivory Coast Background and Planning In the spring of 1970, intelligence gathered from the United States Air Force through analysis of aerial imagery confirmed the presence of fifty five American POW’s, a handful of which were in a condition requiring urgent rescue, located at a compound near Son Tay, 23 miles west of Hanoi. Planning was finalized in August of 1970 to conduct a raid to rescue the POW’s. It would be a joint effort between Air Force search and rescue teams and Army Special Forces. Col Arthur “Bull” Simons was given command of the ground forces. With just over a hundred service members for the ground force, a mock site was built at Eglin Air Force Base, and the joint force conducted roughly 170 training missions in preparation for the operation. Air Force pilots flew over one thousand hours at different locations in the southeastearn United States, practicing the dissimilar aircraft...
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...survived a Japanese Prisoner of War camp in Thailand (Burma Railway). He was the camp doctor and provided the prisoners with the best care he could. During his life he displayed kindness and compassion to everyone he came across, even the Japanese after the war. Weary Dunlop grew up on a farm in Major Plains Victoria. Edward Dunlop enjoyed playing sport during his younger years. He found schooling less interesting than sport. His lack of interest in school did not stop him from succeeding in life and work. Dunlop’s first job as an apprentice pharmacist in Benalla when he was 14 years old he later went on to win a scholarship to Ormond College and then went to Melbourne University to study medicine. Weary moved to Melbourne in 1927 but did not start study until 1930. Dunlop graduated from medicine in 1934 with first class honours he then went on to graduate with masters of surgery in 1937. Weary not only excelled at studying he was also a talented sports person....
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...program. While attending the academy, he joined the football team for three years, but in his final year he quit the team in order to focus on his studies. He graduated in 1965 earning a second lieutenant’s commission and commenced pilot training. Following that he was assigned to the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Wing, which is stationed at Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam. He flew as an aircraft commander and a combat systems officer in an F-4C Phantom, a 20 ton, two seat fighter bomber. Sijan’s 52nd...
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...In this essay I will be comparing Odysseus and John McCain. While Odysseus displays hubris and John McCain is humble, both are great leaders because they are loyal and determined to improve their countries. Odysseus is filled with hubris is hard headed. McCain is more humble less likely to gloat and less likely to crack under emotional pressure. They both have some common traits but also opposing ones. McCain is obviously not as strong as Odysseus but Odysseus is obviously is not as stable as McCain mentally. Odysseus is a loyal hard working person. He may be full of himself but he still is a leader and he is still a strong man that cares greatly for his country and his people. He is by far the strongest physically at least. Odysseus is brave...
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...through the variegated, extremely cynical lens of Eugene Debs Hartke, who expresses his outlook on humanity through a jumbled recounting of his life. Hartke skips back and forth between different epochs of his past—his childhood, his time serving in the Vietnam War, and his time spent at Tarkington College and afterward. His life is a giant puzzle, becoming more complete with each chapter. Hartke endlessly searches for the meaning of his life, obsessed with completing the puzzle. When he realizes he can never find the last piece, he decides to instead believe in fate, which has controlled his entire life....
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...December 1972, after nearly a decade of being in Vietnam, American forces decided to take a final push for victory. For 11 days and nights US Navy and Air Force bombers, led by the vulnerable B-52 flew around the clock missions, deploying over 15 thousand tons of bombs onto North Vietnam. The operation known as Linebacker II brought the communist war machine to its knees. The men and machines of Linebacker II didn’t just fly bombing missions, they ultimately flew America out of the Vietnam war. Many historians place the outcome of the Vietnam War and Linebacker II in the hands of the pilots, crews and the bombers that they flew. American bombers used in the Vietnam war For four years, the US Air Force and Navy hold and pummel the North Vietnamese...
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...The red convertible story looks as a tale of two close brothers, Henry and Lyman, in a journey all over the country in their new convertible as you initiate the story. However, all changes once war is introduced into the brothers lives. First, the exposition to the story comes as the introduction of Lyman and his brother Henry. Their summer trip across the country in their newly purchased red convertible. Meeting different places and people, we learn of each of the brothers personality and their relationship. The relationship among brothers strikes as a very inseparable pair. Once the summer is over and the brothers return home, Henry is drafted to the Vietnam War; this is where the rising action begins. For three years, Henry took part in...
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