What lessons where learned from the Vietnam war?

Answer 1

They run the full gamut of that of men (and women) in armed conflict. There are whole books on this subject - and just on the soldiers of one of the sides in the conflict. It is impossible to even begin to answer for the Vietnamese or for the American soldiers.

Answer 2

1. (1) "Freedom is not for free"

2. (3) American military belived in "duty, honor and country".

3. (3) The civilian leadership overruled military decision.

4. (3) The leaders can be fallible.

5. (3) Over 58,000 men and women died.

6. (3) Over 2,000,000 Americans served in Vietnam.

7. (3) Americans who were sent to fight were loyal Americans committed to preserving freedom.

8. (2) Johnson spent billions to buy peace, but peace was not for sale.

9. (4) The media and the public couldn't gain access to the war's secrets - and in revealing them.

10. (6) Today's students have the "Bad war" of Vietnam as their model.

11. (7) Vietnam War was a planned, directed, financed and trained by the leadership in Hanoi.

12. (7) Vietnam was the last greatest communist war of the time.

13. (8) The US could have won that war any time it wanted to.

14. (10) Vietnam was a war fought for noble purposes - to defend and ally from a communist takeover.

15. (10) Presidents Nixon, Kennedy and Johnson tried to fight the war on the "political cheap."

16. (12) You will hear songs about US, the songs of "I don't want to go."

17. (14) A lot of people lost parents and sublings and almost everything because of the war.

18. (16) The people you never expect to get shot do get shot.

19. (10) Presidents were cheap during the war.

20. (17) Vietnam war violate Geneva Treat.

21. (17) More then 1,000,000 south vietnammese fled the country.

22. (17) War was not only a national issue. It's a community issue.

23. (18) There are places you can leave that will never truly leave you.

24. (22) High school students fought the Vietnam war.

25. (22) Drafted means:"Go to war or go to jail."

26. (22) Today, most leaders, citizens and historians think that the Vietnam war was a mistake from day one.

27. (23) Americans who accepted to fight for their country made a good choice.

28. (29) "Everybody was wounded in Vietnam…everybody."

29. (30) "Vietnam nothing else - images can deceive."

30. (35) Vietnam Tore a generation of Americans apart and, for many, the scars run deep and the emotions still run hot even now.

31. (34) The fighting, killing and dying in Vietnam War was done by teenagers in the youngest Army the USA has ever sent to war.

32. (36) When the teenagers came back home from Vietnam we turned our backs on them.

33. (37) Major health care, education, jobs and civil rights programs were established for all Americans.

34. (37) Our political leaders should not deceive the American people trough misrepresentation or lying about our objectives in the war.

35. (39) We sent the best fighting force our nation had at the time.

36. (39) The US Military did not lose the War.

37. (39) Television media created exaggerated pictures of the events.

38. (40) We cannot send young Americans to the war unless they know why they fight and have American support.

39. (44) The soldiers who fought the in the war remember the constant threat of ambushes and booby trops.

40. (46) The war was unwinnable.

41. (56) Vietnamese leader, Ho Chi Minh was a communist, was simply a stooge of communist Russia and China.

42. (58) Our luck of commitment led, eventually to increased devastation.

43. (62) We just had to ask the question " Why?"

44. (63) Those who did not go to Vietnam could never understand those who did.

45. (66) The Vietnam war caused a division in this country like no other war.

46. (70) The Wall represents a lot of the Americans who lived their mission.

47. (72) Vietnam had become a lens through which we clarify our culture and test our values.

48. (77) Ninety-nine percent of American soldiers, sailors and marines behaved in a legal and moral fashion in Vietnam.

49. (78) The war officially ended January 27, 1973.

50. (79) if you have to fight a war and spill blood, fight it to win or don't fight at all.

51. (84) We have the potential to destroy the entire human race with war, quite easily.

52. (84) Closed hearts and minds are dangerous weapons.

53. (85) In 21st century people can and must demand new, non-violent solutions to conflict.

54. (87) Some Vietnam veterans are proud of serving in what they consider a noble cause.

55. (89) Politicians must never be allowed to conduct a war.

56. (91) The people who live there are not going to welcome Americans with open arms and flowers and pretty daughters.

57. (93) You can't force democracy upon a sovereign nation: it has to come from the people.

58. (93) Investing money to support a weak Dictatorship is wasteful as the regime will inevitably collapse.

59. (95) We cannot impose our ways and our values on other people, particularly not by the use of military force.

60. (96) In Vietnam, the only real way to win was by winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people.

61. (98) There is no easy way to make a nation of people like and/or agree with you.

62. (99) We seem to be (you might argue) making the same mistake again in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

63. (102) We have to be incredibly careful before becoming involved in military action in Another Country.

64. (103) The Vietnam war waged on for so long, because nobody really knew what the end goal was.

65. (103) Even if you don't support war, you must support the warrior.

66. (105) Many of our heroes struggled with mental illness, depression, and even homelessness.

67. (106) The U.S. war in Vietnam was the longest and second most costly in U.S. history.

68. (107) In Vietnam today over two million dead are mourned. Four million were wounded and ten million displaced from their homes.

69. (108) Over half do not have "a clear idea" what the war was about; a third can't even remember which side we supported.

70. (109) The Vietnam War is important not only because of its prominent place in U.S. history, but because Vietnam is a clear case of the emerging pattern of modern warfare.

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Answer 3

As far as "military science" is concerned: the men that fought the war, just did their time and got out (honorably discharged). Nothing was learned, except the experiences of life and death; and the experiences of riding in helicopters, shooting machinguns, being around exploding artillery shells and high explosive bombs dropped from jet fighter bombers; these experiences are NOT what most civilians experience. For the men that stayed in the service; career men (called "lifers" back then): they learned how to deal with men under a hostile environment; how to fight wars with the NEW "Airmobile Divisions" (Helicopter Warfare), and how to fight with modern close strike "super-sonic" jet aircraft (no war previous to Vietnam taught that experience to any US military forces).

Answer 4

Operation Desert Storm (January and February 1991) was the lesson learned. Less than 200 US fatal casualties and total victory in a little over 30 days! Quick and dirty. The Storm commanders were Viet War vets (they served with the Americal Division in Vietnam).

Answer 5

Search for the enemy, and tried to destroy him, where ever he was found.

Answer 6

Keep the guns on the jets (for aerial dog-fighting).

Answer 7

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