The Vietnam War: the Experiences of Soldiers and Veterans

The Vietnam War was the United States attempting to help stop communism from spreading. The war left a negative effect on soldiers making them incapable of putting the ravages of the war out of their minds. This war was said to have lasted twenty years. The war comprised of Americans from all walks of life. Some were from wealthy, middleclass or blue-collar family. Some were college graduates, high school graduates or some did not graduate from any school at all. The brutality of this war stood as an awakening of the value of those who served lives. The war some left veterans in a weakened and mentally infirmed state. The United States wished to stop the spread of communism had negative psychological consequences on Americans.

War is never pretty. War destroys countries, governments and the very soldiers who fought in it. “In a 2015 federal study of Vietnam War Veterans found that nearly 300, 000 veterans suffer from daily health problems, whether physical or emotional, as a result of their experiences in the war'. Decades after the war is over and hundreds of interviews with soldiers, most of them can still remember the emotional plight encountered during the time they served in Vietnam. Watching your fellow soldier killed and the helplessness about it is emotionally scarring. Some don’t even recognize the emotional impact fighting in the war had on them until years later. The trauma of the war scarred some of them for life and they are never the same emotionally. Research conducted in 1977, investigating the enduring effects of military service and combat on a broad range of psychological symptoms and behavioral problems.

Since the Vietnam War and other subsequent wars many studies were conducted on the mental or psychological effects of wars on veterans. “Some of the studies show that years after combat, hundreds of thousands of veterans who served still struggle every day with mental health problems linked to their war experiences”.

What is Like to Be a Vietnam Veteran?

After listening to interviews of at least four Vietnam veterans, we learned that war is brutal, and veterans including Air Force pilots were paranoid about getting shot or their planes shot down. This paranoia was real and the stigma of it for some, did not end after leaving Vietnam, but for some carried on for the rest of their lives. We also learned that some of the veterans who served opposed or disagreed with the war, but still had to fight. During this time, the draft was real. Young men at the youthful age of eighteen was drafted and had to served. Others volunteered to go and fight. Imagine fighting a war on behalf of your country when you disagreed with why your country was fighting?

Listening to the interviews gave us a personal understanding of what each of them went through. This war was North fighting the South, while the South was trying to maintain their independence. One of the interviewees, while serving stated his observations in his interview. Theodore Acheson said, “he believes that Northern Vietnam collapsed due to poor leadership. Leadership without a vision”. Is it America’s responsibilities to police the world? Those who served, had to do so whether they are for or against the war. They all had to willingly fight on behalf of their country. Another Air Force pilot, Gary Jackson “believed whether America was right or wrong to enter into Vietnam War, it was still his country and he was going to do what he is ordered to do”.

Some of the veterans had multiple tours in Vietnam and upon return even after the end of the first tour had difficulty adjusting to normal life. Some Vietnam veterans were able to return to a normal life after their time in combat, however, there were a large portion of them that could not. The psychological burdens of the war are carried along in their minds for decades. It is like carrying the weight for themselves and others who served. Emotional grief, terror and the love played on their minds and emotions that drags on. Suspicions is that some of the soldiers may have returned home physically injured, but in some cases, the mental injuries outweigh the physical injuries they endured.

Conclusion

Soldiers came from diverse backgrounds. Some came in as draftees or as volunteers to served. They were from all walks of life. Some came in from wealthy to the poorest of families. Some were educated with college degrees, while others came in straight from high school. War is indeed a traumatic event, leaving some of those who served mentally empty and scarred for life. The war left some soldier emotionally spent and mentally incapable of putting the ravages of the war out of their minds. The war has been over for decades, but the mental struggles for some will continue to haunt. Research on the battle of the mind is always ongoing. Seeking to find ways to help heal not just the soldiers but others is always ongoing. Thousands of veterans suffer from the mental effects of the war. It did not matter from where you came. It did not matter whether your rich or poor, drafted or volunteered, this war changed most of their lives forever.

Work Cited

• Laufer, Robert S., et al. “War Stress and Trauma: The Vietnam Veteran Experience.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 25, no. 1, 1984, pp. 65–85. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2136705. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021.
• The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive: The Oral History Project (ttu.edu)
• Zwerdling, D. Vietnam War Study Raises Concerns About Veterans' Mental Health : NPR All Things Considered, July 24, 2015 Podcast