“Teaching the Vietnam War makes one realize how the shape of a narrative determines, and is determined by, its content”. The Vietnam War was one of America’s most controversial wars. Many of its aspects are still plagued with great uncertainty. Those aspects of the Vietnam War are argued and debated about, they were argued during the time of the war and the arguing has continued. The Vietnam War was indeed a time of confusion. Why did the war start? What was the United States’ real reason for getting involved? What was the objective of the war? What were the American soldiers really fighting, or in reality, dying for? How do you explain a war to someone who has not experienced firsthand, especially if you were not around yourself? There is no real answer. You can give the facts and figures, but that leaves out the true grit of a war. The human perspective must also be given. As with any war, the Vietnam War had many perspective: the protestors, the politician, and lastly, but most importantly, the soldier (Although there are many other stories that could and should be told). Through the facts and figures and the eyes of those who were there, an individual could learn about the Vietnam War, although how many actually want to understand war is uncertain.
The facts and figures are one of the first things that should be learned about the war (Although many would argue the facts). The Vietnamese waged an anti-colonial war against France between 1945 and 1954. They received $2.6 billion in financial aid from the United States to aid their efforts. The Geneva Convention followed the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, where Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam all received independence. Vietnam was momentarily divided into Communist North and anti-Communist South. Then in 1956, South Vietnam, with help from America, refused to hold the unification elections. In 1958, Communist-led guerrillas, eventually known as the Viet Cong, began to battle the government of the South Vietnamese....