The Vietnam War

1
The Vietnam War

• By Shane Wilson-South, Shea Briar, James Rogers,
  Seneca Pieris, James Okemura

2
Vietnam

• The Vietnam war was fought in Vietnam from 1959
  to 1975. It involved the north Vietnamese and the
  national liberation front that was in conflict
  with the united states and the south Vietnamese
  army. From 1946 till 1954, the Vietnamese had
  struggled for their independence from France
  during the first indo-china war. At the end of
  this war, the country was temporarily divided
  into north and south Vietnam. North Vietnam came
  under the Vietnamese communists who had opposed
  France and who aimed for a united Vietnam under
  communist rule. The south was controlled by the
  Vietnamese who had collaborated with the French.
  The united states became involved in Vietnam
  because they were afraid if Vietnam fell under
  communist rule that communism would spread along
  southeast Asia.

3
U.S Casualties

• Branch of Service Battle Deaths Other Deaths
  Non-fatal wounds
• Army- 30,922
  7,373 96,802
• Navy- 1,631 931
  4,178
• Marines- 13,084 1,753
  51,392
• Air Force- 1,741 842
  931
• total- 47,378 10,749
  153,303

4
Pictures of the Vietnam War

• A Viet Cong base camp being destroyed. In the
  foreground is Private First Class Raymond Rumpa,
  St Paul, Minnesota, C Company, 3rd Battalion,
  47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, with 45
  pound 90mm recoilless rifle.

5
Pictures of Vietnam (cont.)

• President Lyndon B. Johnson in Vietnam
  Decorating a soldier in a hospital. 12/23/1967

6
Vet Interview

• My name is Shane Wilson-south and my father
  Micheal Kevin South was in the Vietnam war as a
  young man. I took an interview of him, so that
  we could understand a little more about the war.
• Q how old were you when you were enlisted, where
  were you, what happened?
• A I was just 22, and I got drafted. I tried to
  run from the draft, but officers caught me
  heading towards the Canadian border, and arrested
  me. I had the choice of enlistment or prison
  time, so I chose to enlist in the navy.

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Q what was your view on the war?

• A I thought that it was wrong for the U.S to go
  into that war. I believe that it was a mistake,
  and many young men died.
• Q did anyone you knew die?
• A no. Many went crazy, but I didnt know any
  who died.
• Q what was your position and rank on the ship?
• A I was the lowest rank possible, I cleaned the
  barrels on those gigantic cannons.

8

• Q When and how did you get out of the war?
• A Well, we were about to deploy from san diego
  California, to the Philipines, and from there to
  the Vietnam coast were our ship would begin
  bombing the coast of nam. I refused to bomb the
  coast and kill innocent children and people that
  had nothing to do with this political war. I
  refused, and was discharged, and got off the boat
  in San Diego. Vietnam was a horrible war. Truly.
• Q what was your daily routiene like?
• A Lots of sweeping. Lots of manual labor,
  moving crates and stuff. Standing on post a lot
  too. Guarding nothing for an enemy that doesnt
  exist. We did that a lot. Thats pretty much it
• Q What did you miss most?
• A I missed my mother, who acctually died while
  I was in service, I missed my home, I missed the
  culture of the time. Everything. I missed
  everything.