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"'Cause it means destruction of innocent lives
War means tears to a thousand mothers eyes
When their sons go to fight"

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"Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong
And who was right"

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"Harmless Children Terrified"  taken by photographer Nick Ut

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"Harmless Children Terrified"  taken by photographer Nick Ut

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"Something had gone wrong. I'd come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person... but after seven months in the bush I realized that those high, civilized trappings had somehow been crushed under the weight of the simple daily realities. I'd turned mean inside. Even a little cruel at times" (O'Brien 190-191).

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"...but the book hasn't been checked out for a long, long time. All you can do is wait. Just hope somebody'll pick it up and start reading" (O'Brien 232).

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John Kerry, testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, April 23, 1971.

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John Kerry, testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, April 23, 1971.

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"We could come back to this country, we could be quiet, we could hold our silence, we could not tell what went wrong in Vietnam, but we feel because of what threatens this country, not the reds, but the crimes which we are committing that threatens it, that we have to speak out... "

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Martin Luther King's speech, "Beyond Vietnam," delivered April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City.

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Martin Luther King's speech, "Beyond Vietnam," delivered April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City.

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"...and I knew that America would never invest the necessary fund or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube."

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Violence Mars Peace Protest Newspaper Article

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Violence Mars Peace Protest Newspaper Article

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http://unceduc415.pbworks.com/f/1270130872/newspaper%20article.jpg
Click on the url below to read about the newspaper article.
http://unceduc415.pbworks.com/w/page/24768798/6)%20Marches

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Attempting to Pull Families Apart taken by Horst Faas

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Attempting to Pull Families Apart taken by Horst Faas

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https://www.worldpressphoto.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/1965007_0.jpg?itok=DQEu6fus

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Ripping families apart, home and away.

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The Vietnam War ends childhood innocence.

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The truth about the war is that it closes doors on the innocence of soldiers and families in both Vietnam and America, and tearing apart their lives. In the chapter “The Ghost Soldiers”, from the book The Things They Carried, the author and narrator Tim O’Brien explains that post-war he thinks about his previous life when he focused on achieving his dreams through his studies. The idea of attending college contrasts with his newfound priorities and purpose of life. He no longer can focus on his education after experiencing the true realities and horror of war. It’s impossible to return home from war and magically have the same desires in life because his perspectives have greatly changed. He also has changed from an innocent young boy with ambition to a man whose goals have been crushed. The song “Goodnight Saigon” by Billy Joel further explains how a lot of the these young soldiers had to leave their childhood behind and grow up overnight. Many did not even know the reasons they were at war, but they were forced to fight anyway. In the chapter “The Lives of the Dead”, Tim O’brien describes how he feels separate and alone when he came home. This is because nobody could relate to how he was feeling because they hadn’t experienced it themselves. He waited for someone to ask if he was okay but they continued on with their lives not looking back.

In John Kerry’s testimony to the U.S. Senate, he highlights the need to speak up about what went wrong in Vietnam. The ultimate goal in this war was to improve the rights and values of the South Vietnamese people. Instead, the American soldiers are doing the opposite, they are murdering innocent people. Kerry feels that Americans should use their right to freedom of speech to stand up, speak of the crimes being committed and end this unnecessary war. In Martin Luther’s speech “Beyond Vietnam” at a meeting in New York,  he points out that the horrendous things we are doing to Vietnam directly contradicts our rights as Americans. The phrase: actions speak more than words is the goal that Martin Luther King is trying to spread. We say that we want to help the poor but we chose to spend it on our military like there is no tomorrow. He feels aiding the poor and spending the money on improving their lives should be valued more than improving the military.

Not only did the Vietnam War affect the soldiers but it indirectly affected the communities in America and Vietnam. As shows in the photo taken by John P. Filo, a classmate at KSU lies dead on the ground after National Guardsmen opened fire on student demonstrators  protesting because they opposed the war. This event killed 4 and wounded at least 10. Two of the students who were killed were innocently walking to their next class. In parallel, the photo taken by Nick Ut, titled “Harmless Children Terrified”, captures an innocent 9 year old girl running for her life after her life was turned upside down. It captured her frozen face of heartbreak. Another photo that shows the innocence of families in Vietnam during the war is the photo taken by Horst Faes. It captured how terrified they are. They are holding on to one another, afraid to lose their loved ones. In the song “War”, Edwin Starr sings about the effect war has on the families that have to send their children away. It is devastating to watch their sons be a part of this horrific experience knowing that they could die or come back torn apart. Parents are overcome with worry about whether their children are alive and well. Americans are all in this experience together.  All of these images, quotes and song lyrics illustrate the truth about war. Soldiers lose their innocence at war never coming home the same person they were when they left. War also rips families apart both at home and away. You never know what’s on the other side of the war until you are there yourself.