War Tactics In Vietnam

The Vietnam War, spanning three decades, has continued to impact American lives. Many Vietnam veterans have suffered cancers, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and even birth defects in their offspring as a result of their experience in Southeast Asia. In war, gruesome battle tactics played a key role. This was known as guerrilla warfare. This type of warfare was a tactic used by the Vietcong against the United States in order to receive information about the United States plotting schemes, disregard of their opponents, and simply to maintain a strong fighting ability. The Ho Chi Mi trails and the Cu Chi tunnels were two major systems that ran underground that were used by the Vietcong as a hideout and supplied their goods. These systems …show more content…
First, the Ho Chi Minh trails were an "elaborate system of mountain and jungle trails linking North Vietnam to its allies in South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos" ("Targeting Ho Chi Minh trail"). This trail was a place in which the Vietcong could hide for safety and supply goods. Also, the trail was used for moving the men where they needed to be at a given time. "It was kept in good conditions by 300,000 full-time workers and almost as many part-time farmers, many of whose bodies fill the 72 Vietnamese military cemeteries that testify to the trails devastating human toll" ("Targeting Ho Chi Minh Trail"). Eventually the American soldiers found exactly where the Ho Chi Minh trails led, proceeding to find all of the goods that the Vietnam soldiers had stored there. "The Ho Chi Minh trail had been disgorging 4,500 enemy troops per month and 300 tons of supplies per day" ("Targeting Ho Chi Minh Trail"). Next, in order to maintain their strategies, the Vietcong also created many other trails to confuse the American troops so they would have a difficult time finding the real one. This trail had an advantage due to its wildlife hiding its location. "The jungle could provide as much as three canopies of tree cover which disguised what was going on at ground level" (Trueman). Since the trail had so much coverage, it made …show more content…
First, PTSD left the veterans feeling like no one cared about what they had done for their country. "It begins with an event in which the individual is threatened with his or her own death or the destruction of a body part, to such humiliation that their personal identity may be lost" ("The Physiological effects of the Vietnam War"). Next, when the men were in battle, they drank and abused drugs. The drug that they used most often was marijuana. This drug became illegal later because the United States found it becoming a problem leading the men to now use heroin. Eventually they started to like heroin more because "it sped up the perception of time, where as marijuana slowed it down" ("The Physiological effects of the Vietnam War"). Also, a lot of the soldiers drank. It was easy for them to get it when they were on leave; however, when they came home it was difficult to get it due to it being rationed and some men were too young to buy it. Last, when the men returned to their hometowns after completing their tour of duty, PTSD caused outbursts that can not be controlled. For instance, if something gave the men the feeling of a bomb going off or loud shots they would have a panic attack because the flashback was so terrifying. "Society" did not help contribute to this either. Accepting the men did any good for their country was a difficult task for everyone to