How Vietnam War Affected Our Lives

195,000 million-430,000 million is the estimated amount of innocent civilians who died during the Vietnam War. Although war for soldiers is difficult and demanding, the lives of the Vietnamese civilians are forever /were changed due to the war. The war affected the everyday lives of civilians from either making them flee the country to safety or killing them. The things these civilians faced during this time were and still are unreal; something no one could even begin to imagine. The Vietnam War started in 1954. It was between North Vietnam and the Vietcong (South Vietnamese communists) versus South Vietnam and America. More than 3 million people were killed, including 58,000 Americans. The Vietnam War is one of the longest wars America has been a part of. It is also considered one of the worst America has been a part of. Even though Vietnam is one country today, back then it was divided up into two due to differences their government had. Anytime anyone learns about the Vietnam War, they never focus on how the Vietnamese felt; they do not look at their point of view because they are stuck on listening to America’s stories told by our nurses and soldiers. Even after the war, the media never really cared about Vietnam’s …show more content…
Unfortunately all people of all ages were affected including kids. A young girl writes “Maybe soldiers will no longer patrol our neighborhood, maybe I can jump rope after dark…” (Lai 4). This shows that she was young and innocent and how the war affected small little stuff she took for granted. Kim Phuc, the “girl with the scars”, became the iconic child after a picture was taken of her after her village was attacked with bombs. In an interview with People Magazine she explained, “I was on fire and I was surrounded by smoke and fire. I was terrified.” It is so sad to think about how many innocent people were killed during this tragic