The American military, led by General William Westmoreland, assumed that if enough enemy forces were killed, North Vietnam would surrender. At the same time, North Vietnam reasoned that United States citizens would not be able to tolerate watching American soldiers return home in body bags for very long.
The Vietnam War was different for America in another crucial way. During prior wars, communications technology had been much less sophisticated. Reports from the battlefront would show up days later in the newspaper, or in newsreels at movie theaters. But since then, a little invention called television had taken the country by storm. For the first time, Americans could watch a war right from their own living rooms. And they did not like what they saw. It started to be said that America was winning all of their battles in Vietnam, but losing the war where it counted — at home. Antiwar protests became much more common, and Americans on both sides of the issue were increasingly hostile toward one another.
The year 1968 was the turning point. There were about half a million American soldiers in Vietnam, and the war seemed to be getting worse with each passing day. In January of that year, 6,000 Marines at a lonely, little base called Khe Sanh were surrounded by as many as 40,000 North Vietnamese troops. (The actual numbers are unknown.) From President Johnson all the way down to the ordinary citizen, America was riveted by what was being called the worst siege since the terrible French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
Then, in late January, during the Tet holiday truce, NVA and VC troops simultaneously attacked cities, villages, and American military bases all over the country. These attacks were so savage and unexpected that the American Embassy was occupied by the enemy for a period of hours. Despite the fact that American soldiers were able to repulse every single one of these attacks (the battle for the city of Hue lasted almost a month), the United States was stunned by this turn of events. The antiwar movement intensified. Increasingly, veterans returning home from Vietnam were treated with great disrespect, and sometimes even cruelty, by Americans who were against the war. Veterans were shocked to find themselves accused of being “baby killers” or “warmongers.” Anyone in uniform was treated as an enemy by the antiwar movement.
In late March, President Johnson went on television to announce a bombing halt in North Vietnam, to call for peace, and to say that he would not be running for re-election. That fall, Richard Nixon won the Presidency, campaigning on a platform of “peace with honor.” Fierce fighting continued for several more years, but gradually, American troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. This strategy is called “Vietnamization.”
By 1973, South Vietnam and its army had essentially been left to fend for itself. In April 1975, Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam, fell, and the war was finally over.
But the memories in America did not fade, and there were still many bitter feelings among veterans and civilians alike. Stereotypes of crazed, violent Vietnam veterans were all too common on television and in the movies. Many veterans had learned never to discuss their service during the war, and to pretend that none of it had ever happened.
During the 1980s, the Vietnam War began to be reevaluated.
In 1982, the Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC. As the years passed, Vietnam veterans were seen in a much more positive light, although many people still condemned the war itself. Even today, though, Americans struggle to understand the Vietnam experience and its implications for the future.
One of the most well-known statements about the Vietnam War came from an American officer who said “we had to destroy the village, in order to save it.” The world is undeniably a complicated place, with conflicts arising in many countries, for many different reasons. With any luck, in the future, the United States will be able to figure out a way simply to help save all of the villages, including our own, without destroying them.
ARTICLE I: I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
ARTICLE II: I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
ARTICLE III: If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
ARTICLE IV: If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them in every way.
ARTICLE V: When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country or its allies or harmful to their cause.
ARTICLE VI: I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine.
Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze from dawn to setting sun.
We have fought in every clime and place, where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far off northern lands and in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job, the United States Marines.
Here’s health to you and to our Corps which we are proud to serve.
In many a strife we’ve fought for life and never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy ever look on heaven’s scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines.
The American government’s conscription system during the Vietnam War included draft cards that notified young men that they were being called to service.
U.S. Marines, dropped off by a helicopter, arrive in the hills of Khe Sanh in October 1968.
American servicemen eat their C rations.
Sgt. Joseph Michael Jones of Chattahoochee, Florida, reads his mail while stationed on Hill 881 South in Khe Sanh. The Florida state flag flies behind him.
U.S. Marines wait in a bunker atop a hill at Khe Sanh and watch for enemy activity.
American soldiers lug machine guns up a hill near the Khe Sanh base.
A platoon of U.S. cavalry soldiers patrol the jungles near the Khe Sanh Marine combat base.
On Hill 881, two Marines escort a wounded comrade to a helicopter evacuation pad.
A helicopter delivers a howitzer gun to the U.S. 3rd Marine Division, occupying a hill near the Laos–South Vietnamese border.
A soldier directs a helicopter dropping a sling filled with cases of ice cream on an American hilltop outpost in South Vietnam.
After her village is seized by the Viet Cong, a young Montagnard mother clutches her son as she waits to be evacuated to a nearby hospital.
With his baby strapped to his back, a Montagnard tribesman participates in the joint American–South Vietnamese effort to push back the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong.
An American soldier plays on a swingset with a young Vietnamese boy in a playground at the American base in Cu Chi, South Vietnam. It was built by American servicemen as part of a community improvement project.
With his guitar and his M16 rifle strapped to his back, a Marine awaits his flight out of Khe Sanh.
Almost twenty years after the end of the Vietnam War, a Vietna
mese man tends his field in the Khe Sanh Valley. With the fall of Communism in 1991, many Western nations reestablished diplomatic and economic relations with Vietnam. The last country to do so was the United States, in 1995. Vietnam is still a rural and very poor country, though it is rich in culture and natural beauty.
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to use the following:
Cover art by Steve Stone.
Draft card, AP Images.
Helicopter exit, ibid.
C rations, Corbis.
Soldier reading mail, Bettmann/Corbis.
Waiting in the bunker, ibid.
Carrying machine guns, AP Images.
Jungle patrol, ibid.
Carrying a wounded Marine, Bettmann/Corbis.
Helicopter dropping guns, ibid.
Ice cream drop, AP Images.
Montagnard mother, Bettmann/Corbis.
Montagnard tribesman, ibid.
Soldier and child on swings, ibid.
Marine with guitar and gun, ibid.
Vietnamese farmer, Steve Raymer/Corbis.
While the events described and some of the characters in this book may be based on actual historical events and real people, Patrick Seamus Flaherty is a fictional character, created by the author, and his journal and its epilogue are works of fiction.
Copyright © 2002 by Ellen Emerson White
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-50536-9
This edition first printing, January 2012
The display type was set in Wells Grotesque Medium.
Cover design by Steve Scott
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
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