...Essay – Remembering a War We Want to Forget Many US. Soldiers who took part in the Vietnam War experienced that the conflict divided The United States of America. There were two groups, those who went to Vietnam and those who didn’t. It all depended on social class, many men who travelled to Vietnam to fight were the majority of working-class America. Their average age was less than twenty and most of them didn’t even graduate. These young men were not soldiers, but ordinary people. Because they were less privileged than the educated kids, they fought and died in Vietnam, opposite the well educated. For many stationed the war was without any purpose; “ There were no dramatic pushes to the Rhine, no larger missions, nothing to feel a part of” – William Broyles, Veteran from the Vietnam War. Broyles describe how the war seemed meaningless for the soldiers, how 365 days passed with a lot of suffering and lost, how you were leaving when your days were up, but the war went on. The frustrated feeling of powerlessness when new soldiers arrived and were forced to go through the same destructive experience. In this living hell the only thing the soldiers could count on was each other. The Vietnam combat veterans drew this lesson “You are alone, no one else shares your experience or cares about it – no one except your ‘buddies’. Only they matter”. These men’s identities were taking from them when they joined the army, they were putted in a uniform, ordered to remove their hair and...
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...The Vietnam War Elizabeth Guerra Chamberlain College of Nursing The Vietnam War had first started as a “police action” for the United States. In 1954, France had lost control of Korea and they signed an agreement with Vietnam called the Geneva Accord. The country was separated into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The terms of the agreement stated that each side would not have a leader until 1956 when an election would be held to determine if they wanted the country to be unified. The United States was afraid that because North Vietnam was a pre dominantly communist country, that the spread of communism would flow to South Vietnam. In 1955, Unites States helped Ngo Dinh Diem win the presidential election. Early into his term, Ngo Dinh Diem claimed that North Vietnam, which was called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, was attacking South Vietnam. In 1957, America began to give military aid to help South Vietnam stop the spread of communism. President Eisenhower started the ‘police action” and it continued through until after President Kennedy was assassinated. In August of 1964, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam attacked two American ships that were anchored in the gulf of Tonkin. The gulf of Tonkin was supposed to neutral waters. This gave President Johnson the ammunition he needed to use his Congressional resolution that gave him broad war powers. In 1964, the police actin ended and Johnson started to send troops to South Vietnam. Johnson wanted to fight this war with...
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...events has caused American satisfaction with the government to decline ever since the end of World War 2. Shortly after World War 2, the American people were in full support of the government. Franklin Roosevelt had pulled the country out of the biggest economic depression it had ever seen and has seen since, as well as winning World War 2. World War 2 was a clear cut war in terms of who was in the wrong and who was the in the right, the holocaust and the German aggression in Europe were obviously amoral acts that needed to be stopped. Winning WW2 was almost as instrumental as getting out of the depression for the government...
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...On The Vietnam War My grandfather is a Vietnam War veteran. That alone drove me toward choosing this topic for this research paper. A few months ago, my grandfather had let me read his manuscript that he wrote when he had gotten home from his twelve year service for the United States. This novel he wrote is increasing my interest in the Vietnam War each page I turn. People often ask me whenever we’re talking about the war, which side I’m positioned on. I say that we shouldn’t have “helped” in the war. Because in my opinion, we could have done better for the country if we would have kept our noses out if the excitement but as for people like my grandfather, he opposes that perspective. I do have a firm grip on both paradigms of the war but as you can tell, I want a world with no war possible but honestly, who doesn’t? I guess you can call me a dreamer. But I know I’m not the only one. I thank John Lennon and my Mother for that lesson. I love my mother and my grandfather just as much. But, like I said, because of that, I know and understand two, very different opinions or viewpoints of the Vietnam War. My Mom is somewhat a flower child from when she was just a teenager. That all began because she never really got along with my Grandfather all that well. My Grandfather (my mom’s step dad) was the stereotypical; stern but fair, strict yet loving, harsh yet respectful step-father. Due to that reason my Mom was a rebel to the degree of a flour child. She is always opposing war any which...
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...loneliness, and fear for the deployed soldier’s safety can cause anxiety, isolation, sadness and feelings of being overwhelmed. In my experience during my deployments, my family has felt isolation, loneliness, and stress of handling daily tasks without me. My son has taken his anger out on his mother because I wasn’t there to be with them. Studies have showed that Post-traumatic Stress Disorder not only hinders the soldier’s wellbeing, but also the spouse and children for soldiers with families as well as that of soldiers that are single because they take their frustration out on girlfriends, boyfriends, friends, and family. In Archives and Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, children, whose parents serve in the military have different reactions when one of their parents deploys. Stress varies with age and presence of preexisting psychological or behavioral problems and how one deals with the problem. Young children can show separation anxiety, tantrums, and changes in their eating habits. Older children can change in how they perform in their academics and develop some behavior issues or physical complaints. They can become angry and act out or withdraw from their normal everyday activities when the adult figure in their lives is gone on a deployment. Another way children cope with their parent being gone is hanging out with the wrong crowd which can lead to alcohol and drug use. In my experience, upon my return from deployment, my son would be angry with me for leaving him...
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...Annotated Bibliography Topic: War Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Sub Topics: Chronic PTSD in Vietnam Veterans PTSD in Iraq War Veterans SOURCE 1: What is PTSD? Retrieved on 13 Nov. 2011 http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/what-is-ptsd.asp UNDERSTANDING PTSD Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur after you have been through a traumatic event. A traumatic event is something horrible and scary that you see or that happens to you. During this type of event, you think that your life or others' lives are in danger. You may feel afraid or feel that you have no control over what is happening. Anyone who has gone through a life-threatening event can develop PTSD. These events can include: * Combat or military exposure * Child sexual or physical abuse * Terrorist attacks * Sexual or physical assault * Serious accidents, such as a car wreck. * Natural disasters, such as a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood, or earthquake. After the event, you may feel scared, confused, or angry. If these feelings don't go away or they get worse, you may have PTSD. These symptoms may disrupt your life, making it hard to continue with your daily activities. How does PTSD develop? All people with PTSD have lived through a traumatic event that caused them to fear for their lives, see horrible things, and feel helpless. Strong emotions caused by the event create changes in the brain that may result in PTSD...
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...Veterans in the United States of America face very real problems when they come back home to the lives they had before their service. Often times they will appear emotionally detached from their loved ones, they lack social behavior, and they may even act violently or out of character in some other way. This can be interpreted common actions of someone who has just been in a warzone for a prolonged period, but the strange way they act is often defined as a symptom of some sort or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder similar to what you would see in victims of rape or violent crimes. The PTSD experienced in these violent crime victims and veterans are not the same the way each of the symptoms line up side to side is enough proof that the experiences are clearly different fundamentally. The tension is that not all veterans are afraid of what they saw and reliving it over and over because they have no choice. The problem lies in them missing the war experience rather than trying forget it. Veteran’s face serious social obstacles acclimating back into the society of the U.S. and as a culture we have become increasingly infatuated with individualisms ideals which makes it harder for them to build rapport with their community. It is necessary to explore how we as a culture are responsible for what happens to our veterans not just when they’re overseas but also when they come home. We also must examine more abstract ways of examining troubled veterans because there is an egregious amounts...
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...This is a research paper on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in which it explains that the treatment of this mental condition goes beyond regular mental health treatment. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: The War at Home Regina N. Chance Kwoya Fagin, Professor ENG215 Research and Writing 7 August 2010 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Takes Special Medical Care The government is awesome at getting men ready for war, but they can’t quite get them back to civilian life and a humble heart. - JUNIOR ENLISTED MARINE, POST-IRAQ After we came back, many of us were only back in body. Our souls stayed over there. – ARMY COMBAT ENGINEER, POST-IRAQ Transition can mean the big picture of how a warrior has to try to adjust back into society, but the short term is very critical, from when a warrior leaves the battlefield to when they hit the streets at home. If there’s one thing I learned from my experiences, it was that there was no transition at all. –VIETNAM VETERAN Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has become the major medical issue with our soldiers returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. For many soldiers, it is a badge of honor to have served but for most, it is a start to an endless battle of finding the courage to continue to serve or be labeled an unfit soldier for the military and useless to their family. PTSD affects not only the soldier’s way of life but the core of who the soldier is. For this...
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...situations may lead to this horrible psychiatric Disorder. The interesting fact here is most survivors of these traumas return to their normal lives with the time but some will carry the flashbacks, memories which cause side reactions and even their lives will be miserable with the time these are the people who develop PTSD. Some traumatic events that can trigger PTSD 1) Traumatic experiences following military combat 2) violent personal assaults such as sexual assault, physical attacks 3) torture 4) terrorist attacks 5) severe road accidents 6) being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer 7) observing the serious injury or unnatural death of another person due to violent assault, accident, war, or disaster 8) unexpectedly witnessing a dead body or body parts 9) exposure to natural disasters such as earth quakes, Tsunamis After getting a general idea on PTSD, It is important to discuss in this topic Military and PTSD. when military soldiers encounter shocking incidents such as missions that exposed to horrible and life-threatening experiences. When you have been shot at, seen a colleague shot, or seen him death and also in the events of gang rapes, sexual assaults that occur in war time. These are the events that lead to the PTSD among...
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...Should Veterans receive better health benefits? Flash backs, sleeping problems, guilt, tension, constantly stressed, and frightening thoughts are just a few symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Most veterans are diagnosed with having PTSD. According to Mayo clinic staff, PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrifying event. PTSD will usually begin within 3 months of a traumatic event. PTSD symptoms are grouped into four different categories: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in emotional reactions. Simple things as hearing a car backfire can send a victims mind back to combat, and they would relive their experiences. “About 11-20 out of every...
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...America’s Homeless Veterans We see homeless people every day. We may choose to look at them or maybe we turn away and ignore their presence. We often label them as “Losers” or “Bums”. The one thing we can’t ignore is that we seem to see more and more of them each day and we now see women among their ranks. We rarely stop to think about the persons past, careers they may have had, families that love them, or don’t love them, and we never stop to consider that a lot of these people have served in our Armed Forces. The term, “Homeless Veteran” appalls most of us because we don’t want to think that the country they served, “The United States of America”, has turned its back on these individuals. Doesn’t that imply that “We” have turned our backs on them as well? If the Government is in charge of the care of our Veterans, and we as citizens vote for the people responsible for making decisions on our behalf, isn’t this a direct reflection of us as a society? We tend to vote in favor of the politician who cuts the funding of social programs in the name of saving tax dollars without considering the consequences. There are always consequences. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, estimates the number of Homeless Veterans at roughly 50,000 on any given night while other sources place that number at roughly 130,000. I have found that all statistics given by any U.S. Government source are always extremely low, perhaps to influence public perception. The...
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...Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is a mental illness that affects millions of Americans. PTSD is a disorder that develops when someone experiences a dangerous or scary even occurs. These events can be something like war, assault, or disaster. These leave metal scars in the person’s mind that can be triggered and can cause flashbacks, nightmares, and anxiety. One of the most common causes of PTSD is war. This is because when you are in the military you are exposed to horrible and life-threatening experiences. 15 out of every 100 Vietnam Veterans will experience PTSD and 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans will experience PTSD. This means that around 1,700,000 Vietnam veterans have experienced “clinically serious stress...
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...Orange in the Vietnam War as an international issue that concerned its injustices. In the Paris Peace Accords, Article 21 states, "'In pursuance of its traditional policy, the United States will contribute to healing the wounds of war and to postwar reconstruction of the Demographic Republic of Viet-Nam and throughout Indochina.'" The United States had an obligation to fulfill when it agreed to the terms of the treaty. When it fell short in honoring the commitment, the issue could not be laid to rest. Actions of the U.S. government in compensating its own military veterans rather than the Vietnamese support the straining of relations between the two nations. Foreign relations issues arise when discussing...
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...letter Ngo Dinh Diem, the leader of anti-communist South Vietnam. His purpose was “to assist the Government of Vietnam in developing and maintaining a strong, viable state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or aggression through military means” (Eisenhower). Many consider this letter to be one of the initial communications with Vietnam that led to our entrance into what became one of the most controversial wars in American history. However, most were not directly connected to the war until a draft notice arrived in the mail. This was the case for Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried, who received his draft notice in 1968. Having grown up in small-town Minnesota, O’Brien was able to have a normal, peaceful childhood. He prospered in school and was eventually Harvard-bound, until the Vietnam War threw him off-course. Tim opposed the war just like so many other Americans, and gave serious consideration to the idea of fleeing to Canada. However, he eventually decided to go to war, albeit reluctantly, and it was his first-hand...
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...on the struggle among veterans that suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) related to combat and other stressful situations that are endured during military enlistment. There are many articles available as well as research that has been conducted on the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among Veterans that are combat and non combat related. There are many articles that closely show similar variations of statistics of Veterans in the United States of America that suffer from Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which varies by service area. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can also be related to other occurrences such as combat situations, military sexual trauma, and traumatic brain injury...
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