What would have happened had the US not been in the Vietnam War?

Answer 1

Possibly: An adult would have to be 21 (not 18 years old), and men would still be drafted. The draft was in operation before the Viet War. Elvis Presley was drafted in 1958, and was an armor crewman aboard an M-48 Patton tank, the same type of tank used in the Vietnam War. Presley was honorably discharged from the US Army in 1960, he served in Europe with the 1/32 Armor (tank battalion). The US drafted men for military service even during peace time. Just not so heavily, as they did during the Viet War. President Nixon would NOT have been involved with the Watergate Scandal, which ultimately removed him from office. Watergate involved the "illegal break in of some anti-war groups" that the administration wanted information on. Mr. Nixon had just been re-elected, those next 3 or 4 years in office may have had a domino effect in altering HISTORY , "...the breaking down of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, Operation Desert Storm may never have happened, etc..."

Answer 2

Possibly, men would still be drafted (even during peace time-Elvis Presley was drafted into the US Army during peace time-1958 to 1960, serving as a tank crewman on a M-48 Patton tank, the same type of tank used in the Vietnam War; see film: "GI Blues", starring Elvis Presley). Adults would still have to be age 21. Even to vote.

Answer 3

If the Vietnam War never happened; possibly: Young people today would not be able vote until they were 21 years of age. A United States adult was defined as being of age 21 during the Vietnam War. (Many 18-, 19- and 20-year olds served in combat in Vietnam.) There would be NO all volunteer military. Men would still be conscripted into military service. The draft was still in operation during peacetime (actor/singer Elvis Presley was drafted in 1958, and served as an Armor Crewman aboard an M-48 Patton Tank; the same type of US tank used during the Vietnam War; he honorably discharged in 1960). Watergate would never have happened. President Nixon would have completed his term in office. This might have altered history: No President Ford? Jimmy Carter? Reagan? Bush? Iran hostages in the late 1970's? Collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989? Collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990? End of the "Cold War" in 1990? No Operation Desert Storm in 1991? No Operation Iraqi Freedom in the 21st Century?
Watergate would not have happened. President Nixon could have finished his term in office. This would have set off an historical domino effect: No President Ford, Jimmy Carter? Reagan? Bush? etc.

New Answer:

3 million Vietnamese lives and 58,000 American lives would have been saved...in addition to billions of dollars.

The outcome in Vietnam would have been the same anyway except that Vietnam would have been rebuilt sooner.

Answer 4

This question could be applied to any subject, or any war. One small change in "anything" from the past could alter the future. In the case of the Vietnam War: The Cold War might still exist. Watergate would NOT have happened. President's Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, etc. might never had been presidents. It is questionable if the assassinations of President Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, Martin L. King, Lee Harvey Oswald, would have ever occurred. Adults in the US would still have to be AGE 21 (instead of the current age of 18). The draft would probably still be in effect. Desert Storm would NEVER had happened (if the Soviet & Red Chinese still existed). Etc.

Answer 5

Th US became involved in Vietnam in order to contain communism. US leaders believed a domino effect would cause other Southeast Asian to turn into communist countries.

If the US never became involved, the horrible deaths on both sides of the war would have been avoided. It's clear that North Vietnam would take over South Vietnam. What is still unknown is whether other Southeast Asian countries would have become communist states.

Answer 6

No different than it is today. Might not have any guns on 21st century jet fighters though...might be all "smart missiles."

The Vietnam War was America's last war in which air to air (dog-fights) combat occurred, against a competent and aggressive enemy, as well as America's last flying aces of the 20th century. Those dog-fights were largely fought with guns (cannons). Nearly all of the NVAF MiGs did their killing with cannons.

Answer 7

The North would have defeated the South in a year or two. The NVA were an extremely determined foe. There has not been another army like them since they rolled over South Vietnam 35 years ago (other than the US Military in Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, etc.).

Answer 8

We'll never really know, because the US did become involved in the Vietnam War. However, if the US hadn't become involved, the initial belief, on the part of US government policy makers, was that the "domino theory" might come to fruition. By this, it was postulated that the former colonies (now countries) which made up French Indochina, in what is southeastern Asia, would be forcibly turned into communist entities (influenced by China, the Soviet Union or both). These countries would have included not only Vietnam, but also Laos, Cambodia, and potentially Thailand, Burma, and Malaysia, as well.

Despite the "domino theory" (that each southesatern Asian country would fall, one by one, like dominoes lined up) being prevalent in the 1960s, there is no way of knowing what would have truly taken place had the US never become involved. It is possible that both the Soviet Union and China may have regarded these southeastern Asian countries as too poor, too difficult to control, and too costly to govern (especially given the experience of the French colonial governments).

Answer 9

Over 58,000 US men & women would not have died for no good reason.