Beginning in September, the Khanh government was succeeded by a bewildering array of cliques and coalitions, some of which stayed in power less than a month. Combat: the Emotions of War. While the symptoms of trauma were suppressed in the short term, the effect was something like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg. Veterans encountered unprecedented levels of hostility from a public that had long objected to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. According to the New York Times, African Americans were drafted at a disproportionately higher rate than whites, representing more than 16% of all draftees and 23% of all combat troops, despite being only 11% of the civilian population in 1967. Even the front lines were punctuated with periods of inaction. American soldiers stationed in Vietnam were met with an unexpectedly horrific experience. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.. That is a provocative thesis. What Was Daily Life Like for Soldiers in the Vietnam War. "The land itself could kill you," remembered Tim O'Brien. Coming Home: Vietnam Veterans in American Society. Medical professionals could also declare someone "unfit for service" for medical conditions ranging from ulcers to anemia. Moreover, they had already dug out a complex network of underground tunnels, which provided them with a great strategic advantage over the Americans. They walked for days and weeks at a time, patrolling the land for Viet Cong guerrilla fighters or members of the North Vietnamese Army. By the end of the war, more than 58,000 brave service men and women had perished in Vietnam, and 304,000 were wounded during this longest American war… Whether in the thick of the jungle or deep in the rice paddies, the landscape was strange to the U.S. soldiers, but it was familiar to the Viet Cong, who expertly hid themselves in the land. The Viet Cong stocked with more than enough supplies to fortify and defend themselves. RG 338 Records of U.S. Army Commands But the homecoming was very different for most Vietnam veterans. The land was a dangerous enemy by itself, but its biggest threat was the dangers it concealed. And for the men who served in Vietnam … The prevalence of marijuana in Vietnam resulted in many soldiers turning to drug use to cope with the abhorrent acts they were forced to both witness and commit. Places like the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Thailand were popular among the younger crowd who wanted to have less family-friendly fun. Without numbing the pain, the emotional trauma could be incapacitating enough to make duty impossible. But after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, the racial violence that had been bubbling up in cities across America finally reached Vietnam. Others died of overdoses before they could even make it back. Far from returning as conquering heroes, they returned home to a stagnating economy, scarce GI benefits, little government support, and an unwelcoming populace. Unsurprisingly, this did not sit well with black soldiers, and discord only worsened as the war dragged on. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the Cold War. Many American soldiers were sick and wounded prior to any encounter at all with the well-hidden enemy or the booby … In addition to speed, officials also supplied soldiers with painkillers and steroids to increase their stamina, strength, and aggression on long-range missions. LRPs were freeze-dried, dehydrated field rations that came in waterproof bags and were much lighter than the bulky cans soldiers had previously carried. American troops didn't know if the villagers were aiding the Viet Cong, harboring enemies, or laying traps that could kill American troops. Soldiers also had their blood sucked by leeches who made their homes in the rice paddies. Soldiers knew there would be another surprise attack, they just didn't know when, and the not-knowing could drive them crazy. So the grunts kept walking. Reported cases of mental breakdowns among troops dropped to just 1% during the Vietnam War compared to 10% during World War II. Black soldiers complained they were unfairly assigned worse details and that they received more frequent punishments and fewer promotions than their white counterparts. Understanding Trustees' Duties and Responsibilities in Managing a Trust, Estate Planning 101: How to Probate a Will, The Differences Between “Defamation,” “Libel” and “Slander”. The Americans fought back with bombing campaigns that laid waste to villages, and sprayed napalm that burned the skin off fighters and civilians alike. Many African American veterans also had to contend with and break through the limits placed upon them by society. Between the rain and the sweat the grunts were never completely dry. In 1969, doctoral student David Stodolsky recognized the problem and sued the government. The seemingly endless war, fought by American GIs thousands of miles away, had lost whatever sheen it might have had in 1955, when Americans at the height of the Cold War, committed to the Western ideals of freedom and democracy, were determined to stop the spread of communism in Asia. United States military involvement in the Vietnam War officially began on August 5, 1964; however, the first U.S. casualty in Vietnam occurred on July 8, 1959. Dropped off in an unfamiliar jungle, they were instantly met with unbearable heat and humidity. Instead of being stationed on the front lines, they might be assigned a support detail on one of the rear bases. Troops Wading through Water and Nazi Gunfire (WWII, D-day) National Archives The Duality of War. What Life Was Like As A Soldier In The Vietnam War, paraded around the base at Cam Ranh Bay in KKK robes, deliberately avoided large-scale conflicts, could fly to any number of exotic locales, "the Army's last great tragedy in Vietnam. They walked without a bath, a hot meal, or a good night's sleep. The American forces were mostly idealistic young men who wished to serve their country. Hawaii was the most popular destination for soldiers who had families, since dependents were allowed to meet them in Honolulu and spend some time with them. Their goal was to locate and defeat the Viet Cong, but often it felt like there was no real goal except providing human bait to provoke the guerrilla fighters into revealing their positions. Although the official goal of the war was to prevent communism from spreading into South Vietnam, American soldiers felt they had reason to mistrust everyone, North and South Vietnamese alike. The question could be more easily answered and probably be fairly accurate if you determined the tooth to tail ratio and then took the percentage of tooth of the total number of personnel who served. Upper-class men could afford to stay enrolled in university or get a doctor's note from a hometown physician to obtain a get-out-jail-free card that poorer men couldn't access.