The Vietnam War In American Childhood

For American children raised exclusively in wartime—that is, a Cold War containing monolithic communism turned hot in the jungles of Southeast Asia—and the first to grow up with televised combat, Vietnam was predominately a mediated experience. Walter Cronkite was the voice of the conflict, and grim, nightly statistics the most recognizable feature. But as involvement grew, Vietnam affected numerous changes in child life, comparable to the childhood impact of previous conflicts—chiefly the Civil War and World War II—whose intensity and duration also dominated American culture. In this protracted struggle that took on the look of permanence from a child’s perspective, adult lives were increasingly militarized, leaving few preadolescents totally insulated. Over the years 1965 to 1973, the vast majority of American children integrated at least some elements of the war into their own routines. Parents, in turn, shaped their children’s perspectives on Vietnam, while the more politicized mothers and fathers exposed them to the bitter polarization the war engendered. The fighting only became truly real insomuch as service in Vietnam called away older community members or was driven home literally when families shared hardships surrounding separation from cousins, brothers, and fathers. In seeing the Vietnam War through the eyes of preadolescent Americans, Joel P. Rhodes suggests broader developmental implications from being socialized to the political and ethical ambiguity of Vietnam. Youth during World War II retained with clarity into adulthood many of the proscriptive patriotic messages about U.S. rightness, why we fight, heroism, or sacrifice. In contrast, Vietnam tended to breed childhood ambivalence, but not necessarily of the hawk and dove kind. This unique perspective on Vietnam continues to complicate adult notions of militarism and warfare, while generally lowering expectations of American leadership and the presidency.

A sort of nebulous sad thing happening forever and ever : childhood socialization to the Vietnam War -- Why couldn't I fight in a nice, simpler war? : comic books and Mad magazine -- Who bombed Santa's workshop? : militarizing play with commercial war toys -- One of the most agonizing years of my life : knowing someone in Vietnam -- Mom tried to make it for us like he wasn't even gone : father separation and reunion -- God bless dad wherever you are : POW/MIA -- How come the flags around town aren't flying at half-mast? : Gold Star children -- Yes, I am My Lai, but My Lai is better than Viet Cong! : Vietnamese adoptees and Amerasians.

Surviving Twice is the story of five Vietnamese Amerasians born during the Vietnam War to American soldiers and Vietnamese mothers. Unfortunately, they were not among the few thousand Amerasian children who came to the United States before the war's end and grew up as Americans, speaking English and attending American schools. Instead, this group of Amerasians faced much more formidable obstacles, both in Vietnam and in their new home. Surviving Twice raises significant questions about how mixed-race children born of wars and occupations are treated and the ways in which the shifting laws, policies, social attitudes, and bureaucratic red tape of two nations affect them their entire lives.

More than a million South Vietnamese children were orphaned by the Vietnam War. This affecting, true account tells the story of Long, who, like more than 40,000 other orphans, is a mixed-race child with little future in Vietnam and his dramatic escape to America.

The author's experience with the Medical Civic Action Program, and the corruption and evil aspects of the war. Operation Phoenix, drugs, My Lai, and a new theory on the assassination of John F Kennedy - Transcripts of Vet's Rap Sessions, heart-breaking and heart-warming poetry, PTSD, and the decline of morality in American society since that war.

An unforgettable true story of an orphan caught in the midst of war Over a million South Vietnamese children were orphaned by the Vietnam War. This affecting true account tells the story of Long, who, like more than 40,000 other orphans, is Amerasian -- a mixed-race child -- with little future in Vietnam. Escape from Saigon allows readers to experience Long's struggle to survive in war-torn Vietnam, his dramatic escape to America as part of "Operation Babylift" during the last chaotic days before the fall of Saigon, and his life in the United States as "Matt," part of a loving Ohio family. Finally, as a young doctor, he journeys back to Vietnam, ready to reconcile his Vietnamese past with his American present. As the thirtieth anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War approaches, this compelling account provides a fascinating introduction to the war and the plight of children caught in the middle of it.

The year is 1968 and the Vietnam War is reaching its nadir. Thomas Bishop, like so many other young men of this generation, faces terrible decisions forced on him by foreign policy of the American government. Honor bound to defend America from communism, Thomas trains to become a Marine Corps pilot to avoid a walking tour in the jungles of Vietnam. Tran Thien Don is a simple peasant boy thrust into the American War following a violent and life changing encounter with soldiers from Saigon. The struggle to preserve and maintain Vietnamese culture through a history of invasion from China, Japan, France, and now the inexplicable devastation from America, has ignited a fire in Don to fight for his country's unification, while seeking the opportunity for revenge on his personal enemies. Oliver Lacey is a young man who is an accidental Marine inductee facing racism in the ranks in Vietnam, missing a civil rights movement at home, and experiencing his own awakening about his place in the world. On the streets of the United States and in universities around the world the war rages. Few escape its reality as the nightly news sends images from Vietnam into homes during dinner. This tragic and unrelenting suppertime carnage sparks a collective awakening and a revolution of social change is born. Glory's Child is a story of the death of American idealism. From multiple perspectives the horrifying truth of war settles in around its characters. It is a gripping tale of heartbreak, survival, death, and a thorough examination of the philosophy and politics surrounding the execution of the American War in Vietnam.

Arranged chronologically and in counterpoint, this unique book samples all conceivable forms of oral and written documentation to illuminate the United States' involvement in its longest and most divisive war. From foot soldiers to generals, politicians to protesters, hawks and doves, their attitudes and experiences are graphically revealed.