Duong Van Minh

French abuse and mismanagement set the stage for Ho Chi Minh to form the Communist Vietminh in Northern Vietnam, and on September 2 1945 he declared Vietnam’s independence (Charles, 1995). The French quickly attempted to reassert their control and the First Indochina War broke out in 1946. The French found themselves outmatched by the skilful and resolute Communist forces, and were defeated at Dien Bien Phu 8 years after the war started (Charles, 1995) After the French defeat, the 1954 Geneva…

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…

Other considerations In democratic state, the public opinion can influence the course of action of the authorities (Mack, 1975: 188). Therefore, Mack blamed that the nature of the polity of the metropolitan contribute to the defeat of the war (Mack, 1975: 189). Domestic constrain in a free society is more influential than other kinds of polity like totalitarian or dictatorship (Mack, 1975: 193). In democracy, the free media can affect the attitude of the population towards the war. The New York…

The Quiet American is a novel that explores social and political relationships between Europe and America in Indochina War through connections among the three main characters: Fowler, Pyle, and Phuong. Graham Greene, an author of the book, uses the attitudes and personalities of Pyle and Fowler to create tension to symbolize the greater tension in the political conflicts over Vietnam at the time. Through Pyle and Fowler’s different political views but a common desire for Phuong, The Quiet…

The Latehomecomer: a Hmong Family Memoir, by Kao Kalia Yang, offers a first-hand account of the trials and tribulations of a family of Hmong, an ethic group from Southeast Asia who are little known by the outside world. The Hmong fought alongside the United States during the Vietnam war, but were left to fend for themselves after the American withdrawal in 1975. In the aftermath, the Hmong saw the devastation of their traditional towns and villages by America’s enemies, among them the Pathet Lao…

International.” (Truong, 190) Due to such fact, revolutionary Ho Chi Minh was able to blend nationalism with communism, making it seems like the Communist Party is the only force that lead Vietnam to independence. The fact is, however, there were Southern, Western-influenced Vietnamese who also advocated for independence in parties such as the PRG, Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam. It was the year 1970 after the death of Ho Chi Minh that the Communist Party started viewing…

Great Britain. The Vietnam War was fought between North Vietnam/Viet Cong (communist - run by Ho Chi Minh) and American ran South Vietnam. As the war raged on in the early 1960’s, and the Viet Cong got closer and closer to the south, namely Saigon, America decided to intervene and send New Zealand and Australian troops to help out. The war ended with the Communist North winning the war and Ho Chi Minh taking over in April 1975 New Zealand was tied to the Vietnam war because of its connection to…

When walking through a cemetery, one often sees thousands of names engraved on the headstones. To a stranger, one name, quote, or date may mean nothing; however, to someone that knew them, it may be a link to the memories of a friend, family member, or loved one’s life. Like headstones, memorials connect us to the memories of a past person, or perhaps an event. From November 1st, 1955 to April 31st, 1975, war waged as the United States partnered with South Vietnam and fought against the…

The roots of the Vietnam War go back long before the American involvement which lasted from 1961 to 1975. The direct involvement of the American troops was only a part of a much larger military conflict, which had begun in 1946 with resistance by the Vietnamese people towards the French colonial rule over their territories. The Vietnam War, or the Second Indochina War was unique for the Americans on many levels. Firstly, unlike any other war, the Vietnam War was a failure from military, social…

The Guatemalan Civil war was a long and brutal conflict. Guatemala’s thirty-six-year civil war ended with the Guatemalan government signing peace accords. The Civil War began in 1954 when the CIA backed coup dismantled the democratic elected government. American intervention was due to their fears of the spread of communism in 1954. The Civil war in Guatemala was due to the Cold War. It was a proxy war where the rebels were labelled as Marxists, while the American backed coup were fighting for…