How Did The American Doctrine Affect The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War was the source of many conflicting political and social opinions, especially in the years leading up to its conclusion. The War was a result of North Vietnam and the Vietcong attempting to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. Veterans were drafted and forced to fight in what is know as “Americas Longest War”. Vietnam War Veterans were drafted and forced to suffer through harsh conditions brought on by the Vietcong, which included the daily realization that they or one of their fellow soldiers could be killed. After World War II there was a great amount of instability in many countries that were occupied by Japan. The threat of a global communism was recognized by President Truman, which later established the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine was a United States policy that stopped the Soviet expansion during the Cold War. Vietnam was split between North Vietnam, being controlled by the worker’s part, or the Vietnamese Communist Party, and South Vietnam, which was controlled by the French with the support from the former ruler of Vietnam. Eisenhower also sent support for the South since his administration was focusing on containing communism in Asia. Due to the rise of global communism, the United States began helping the South Vietnamese battle the Vietcong, a communist rebellion that was supported and funded by North Vietnam. The Vietcong were members of the military, high-ranking officials, and villagers. People from the Villages in black peasant costumes would fight for Vietcong at night and be back into village in the daylight. No one truly knew whom to trust because no one knew who was apart of the Vietcong. Vietcong was known for their extreme military tactics. Between underground tunnels, bow and arrows, porcupine balls, and 7.62 MM and M14 rifles, the Vietcong was always ready to attack. The Porcupine ball was a large log with 100’s of bamboo spikes poking out. The Vietcong would tie it up in a tree and wait for someone to trip on the vine and release the “bomb with spikes”. The porcupine ball was so powerful it would sweep a whole squad from a trail. The Vietcong also used mantraps. The mantraps would make you careful where you step because on wrong step and either a foot or a soldiers whole body would fall into a pit of spikes. There would be 100’s and 1000’s of traps along a trail. The Vietcong would cover the traps with leaves and anything else lying around on the ground to disguise them. Other Heavy machinery used by the Vietcong were 50 MM sky horse, 7.62 MM M14 rifles, 6.5 MM which were easy to handle and has a muzzle velocity of 2410 feet per second. The Vietcong’s war tactics included mock-ups of government villages so they could plan surprise attacks. After every battle and attack the Vietcong would clear the battlefield of all weapons after all attacks. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder that can occur after seeing or experiencing a traumatic event or violent event such as experiencing combat, being taken captive or tortured, and experiencing unpredictable and uncontrollable stressful exposure. There are many different forms of PTSD, which include acute stress reaction, which is a reaction to traumatic event that occurs within minutes to days and quickly is resolved. Acute stress disorder is when symptoms last more than two days but less than one month after the trauma. Acute PTSD is when symptoms last more than 1 month but less than 3 months after traumatic incident. Chronic PTSD is …show more content…
You did not have mental preparation before entering into patrol with a “high” chance contact, which means you would suffer mentally. Soldiers were drafted into war, forced against their will to fight, and expected to return back to everyday life with no support. Some soldiers had the job of searching for Viet Cong tunnels, and all they had was a flashlight and a pistol with rope tied around their foot. Every second of patrol there was a chance they could be fired at, or die. The exposure and stress of the gruesome war would be carried with Vietnam soldiers for the rest of their

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