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Ballad of the Green Beret

 Fighting soldiers from the sky Fearless men who jump and die Men who mean just what they say The brave men of the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chest These are men, America's best One hundred men will test today But only three win the Green Beret

Trained to live off nature's land Trained in combat, hand-to-hand Men who fight by night and day Courage peak from the Green Berets

Silver wings upon their chest These are men, America's best One hundred men will test today But only three win the Green Beret

Back at home a young wife waits Her Green Beret has met his fate He has died for those oppressed Leaving her his last request

Put silver wings on my son's chest Make him one of America's best He'll be a man they'll test one day Have him win the Green Beret.

TRUMAN DOCTRINE

-wars of national liberation???•U.S. fight for independence?-French IndochinaHo Chi Minh - Communist who wants Vietnam independent

-containment - stop communismdomino theory - if one Asian nation falls, they all will

-sent advisors??-Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections - corrupt government in S. Vietnam

-Viet-Cong begins fighting•Communist opposition group in South Vietnam

•Supplies through Ho Chi Minh Trail

According to the Geneva Accords following WW2, Vietnam was to be

divided along the 17th parallel, with the North Communist and the South Anti-Communist. Elections to unite all of

Vietnam under one ruler would be held in 1956. With the rise of Ho Chi Minh, supported by various peasants in the

North, Diem fears that in an all-country election, he would lose. Therefore, he

cancels the elections. The U.S. continues to back the S. Vietnamese

government, though, following its policy of containment.

Even with American military and political support, the Diem administration in S. Vietnam was losing support. Diem’s popularity

plummeted because of ongoing corruption and his failure to respond to calls for land reform. To combat the growing VC presence in the

countryside, the Diem administration initiated the strategic hamlet program, which meant moving all villagers to protected areas. Many villagers deeply resented being moved from their homes and villages

where they had lived for generations and where ancestors were buried.

Diem intensified his attack on Buddhism. Fed up with Buddhist demonstrations, the S. Vietnamese ruler imprisoned and killed hundreds of Buddhist clerics and destroyed their temples. To protest, several Buddhist monks and nuns publicly burned themselves to death. Horrified, American officials urged Diem to stop the persecutions, but he refused. It was clear

that for S. Vietnam to remain stable, Diem would have to go. On November 1, 1963, a U.S.-supported military coup toppled Diem’s regime. Against

Kennedy’s wishes, Diem was assassinated.

GULF OF TONKIN

-Diem’s gov’t unpopular-Diem is assassinated•U.S. supported killing-limited bombing already begun - secretly

-Gulf of Tonkin ResolutionU.S. ship attackedLBJ asks for action (war)

•Congress allowed the Pres. to have all power in Vietnam

-statement was prepared before the attack

•Waiting to get into Congress-Operation Rolling Thunder begins bombing Vietnam

•Troops sent to fight VC

The alleged attack on U.S. ships prompted Johnson to launch

bombing strikes in N. Vietnam. He asked Congress for powers to take “all necessary measures to repel any harmed attack against the

forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression.” Congress

approved Johnson’s request, and adopted the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.

While not a declaration of war, it granted Johnson broad military

powers in Vietnam.

Introduction to Vietnam

DIFFERENT WAR

-US War Leaders•Increase number of men in Vietnam-Sec. Robert McNamara-Gen. William Westmoreland

•Requested more troops; 500k sent by 1967

-Viet Cong used guerilla tactics - quick ambush in jungle; trenches/traps dug

-hard to differentiate friend from foe

•Never knew who the enemy was; VC amongst civilians

DIFFERENT WAR

-American search and destroy tactics

•Seek out enemy, find, call in reinforcements

•Find civilians with VC ties, kill livestock, burn villages

-napalm - gas bomb to burn jungle and expose tunnels

-Agent Orange - toxic chemical to kill leaves

•Both deadly to civilians

American soldier walks amongst and is careful to avoid Vietcong “punji”

traps

American soldier being helped

underground to “search and

destroy” a Vietcong tunnel

Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange

COSTS OF WAR

-low morale of soldiers•Drinking, drugs, murder-Great Society spending is reduced to pay for war effort

•War more important-first television war•War images brought into homes; public opinion changes

-credibility gap develops•People not sure if they believe what Johnson says or what they see on TV

-protests begin

OPPOSITION

-Hawks •Supported war; patriotic

-Doves•Spoke out against war; unpatriotic

-No end in sight to the war – more people began to oppose the war

WAR PROTESTS

-why are we fighting this war???

-working man’s war•80% of soldiers from lower economic levels drafted; many were black

-unfair practicesdraftdeferments – more time before you showed up to fight (college students)objectors

•Oppose war on moral grounds; drafted and assigned to noncombat positionsdodging – burning cards; fake doctor’s notes; moving away

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,Ooh, they’re red, white and blue.And when the band plays hail to the chief,Ooh, they point the cannon at you, lord,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no senators son, son.It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no,

Yeah!Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,Lord, dont they help themselves, oh.But when the taxman comes to the door,Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no millionaires son, no.It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,Ooh, they send you down to war, lord,And when you ask them, How much should we give? Ooh, they only answer More! more! more! yoh,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no military son, son.It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, one.

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate one, no no no,It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate son, no no no,

“Fortunate Son”~ Creedence Clearwater Revival

To help quell the protestors and make the draft more fair, the U.S. began a lottery draft on December 1, 1969. From this

lottery, numbers were drawn to represent birthdates. All those registered for the draft with that birthdate were to report when

called up.

“I’m bitter…It’s people like us who give up our sons for the country…The college types, the professors, they go to Washington and tell the government

what to do…But their sons, they don’t end up in the swamps over there, in Vietnam. No sir. They’re deferred, because they’re in school. Or the get sent

to safe places. What bothers me about the peace crowd is that you can tell from their attitude, the way they look and what the say, that they don’t really

love this country.”A Firefighter quoted in Working Class War

“We were taking the young black men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in Southwest Georgia or East

Harlem…We have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation

that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools.”Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.