I just watched the U.S.
Military Vietnam War Indoctrination film, Your Tour in Vietnam, narrated by actor Jack Webb, on youtube.com. The film was shown to soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in 1970 prior to their shipping
out to Vietnam.
I recall watching the film aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk before we set sail for the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China sea, where the carrier would perform combat operations on “Yankee Station” off of the coast of North Vietnam in 1970 and 1971.
You can watch the film via the link below:
"YOUR TOUR IN VIETNAM" 1970 U.S. MILITARY VIETNAM WAR INDOCTRINATION FILM GG22055 - YouTube
My role in the Vietnam War was a minor one, as I was a teenage sailor stationed aboard an aircraft carrier, but I am proud of my service. My late older brother Eddie was also a Vietnam veteran, having served in the U.S. Army at Chu Lai in South Vietnam.
I have made a serious study of the of the Vietnam War. Over the years I’ve written numerous articles about the war and I’ve interviewed many soldiers, sailors, Marines, pilots, journalists and CIA officers that served in Vietnam. I’ve also read nearly everything on the war, including books written by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers.
Unfortunately, the political left has hijacked the historical narrative of the Vietnam War in academia and the media, portraying the American involvement in the war negatively.
It should be noted that the North Vietnamese Communists, supported and supplied by Red China and the Soviet Union, invaded South Vietnam. They started the war.
After the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong surprise 1968 Tet Offensive, which was covered widely in newspapers, magazines and on TV, the U.S. and South Vietnamese military rallied quickly and crushed the Communists. The Viet Cong was totally crushed after Tet. Despite the Communists’ military defeat, they gained a psychological victory as the left-leaning media and politicians turned against the war.
President Nixon authorized the U.S. military to slam the Communists hard, which forced them to accept a peace treaty. Unfortunately, Nixon was impeached and resigned over the Watergate scandal. I don’t believe the North Vietnamese would have moved on the South had Nixon still been president.
President Ford was unable to
convince the Democratic majority in the Congress to go to the aid of South
Vietnam after the North Vietnamese invasion. In my view, this was a national
disgrace. After all of our sacrifice in American lives, the Congress allowed
the Communists to win. The fact that thousands of South Vietnamese risks their lives
by escaping from the Communists by boat and other means showed that the Communists
were not the choice of the people.
It should be noted that when the North Vietnamese defeated the South Vietnamese, there were no American combat troops left in the country. The only Americans there were in support roles. The North Vietnamese defeated the South Vietnamese - not the United States military.
In the 12 years that the U, S. military fought in Vietnam, we never lost a battle over company strength. The U.S. Military did not lose the war. American politicians lost the war.
In my view, and the view of many of the Vietnam veterans I've interviewed, our efforts in the Vietnam War was just. The U.S. military held the line against Communist aggression for 12 years. The Vietnam War was a battle in the Cold War against the Soviet Union. And the United States won the Cold War when the Soviet Union fell.
You can read my Counterterrorism magazine on the Vietnam War via the below link:
