Vietnam War

Home
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
The war at home - a son in Vietnam
Life for a soldier during and after the war
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This website about the Vietnam War is my research project in the International Problems class this fall. The main topic is about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which many soldiers developed during and after the war. However, it shall also be about people 's life and feelings in America during the war. The Vietnam War was not just terrible for the soldiers directly involved in the conflict, but for people back in the US with relatives in the war as well.

BACKGROUND:"Wrong. Terrible wrong - The US in Vietnam" As many as 30 % of all fighting soldiers developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during the war and the in the following years. The reasons why so many got this syndrome are many. One is that the Vietnam War was different. It wasn’t like World War II where you had a big and dangerous enemy like the Nazis. The only reason why this happened was because of a dominotheory; if South Vietnam become a communist state, the whole Asia soon will be in the hands of the communists. This wasn’t a very “motivating” reason, and many soldiers thought that they didn’t have anything to do down in ‘Nam. The extreme circumstances is another reason. The guerilla warfare, in the jungle, was mentally very hard, and since the Viet Cong was well known in their own jungle, they had a big advantage. The only thing the American soldiers had to do, was to fight and try to survive.Soldiers fought for three weeks, then they have three weeks off. A three weeks break give you time to think, think about what you have done out in the war, and since they didn’t get any psychologic help during the three weeks off, it made many to develop PTSD.You have to be mental strong to live under certain circumstances for a long period. Because of too less preparation, many got symptoms of PTSD during the war, and as the war went on, the situation in 'Nam got even worse.

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Above: Soldiers of the US Marine is helping a wounded soldier in Vietnam, 1966.

HHS - International Problems 2004