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Perhaps the paranoia and self inflicted anxiety that soldiers internalized throughout O'Brien's novel is a direct depiction of the hypothetical fear that the United State's delegations and decisions were based on. Consider this, communism had not realistically become a threat to the western hemisphere of the world. It was simply a permeating ideology that was used to operate foreign affairs in various external countries. The United States fought for what the threat could potentially become as opposed to the reality; the threat. The nonexistent threat at that.

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The protection of freedom as an intangible ideology is a valiant notion. However, the cost for this aid greatly outweighed the domestic benefit for the United States as one independent nation. We defended a justifiable concept but we already possessed its prosperous repercussions. This means that we fought against communism to assert democracy while we were already engaged in the democratic process for ourselves. In the end we ultimately achieved little and suffered colossally.

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Vietnam War, (1954-75), a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. Called the "American War" in Vietnam (or, in full, the "War Against the Americans to Save the Nation"), the war was also part of a larger regional conflict ( see Indochina wars) and a manifestation of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies.

At the heart of the conflict was the desire of North Vietnam, which had defeated the French colonial administration of Vietnam in 1954, to unify the entire country under a single communist regime modeled after those of the Soviet Union and China. The South Vietnamese government, on the other hand, fought to preserve a Vietnam more closely aligned with the West. U.S. military advisers, present in small numbers throughout the 1950s, were introduced on a large scale beginning in 1961, and active combat units were introduced in 1965. By 1969 more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and China poured weapons, supplies, and advisers into the North, which in turn provided support, political direction, and regular combat troops for the campaign in the South. The costs and casualties of the growing war proved too much for the United States to bear, and U.S. combat units were withdrawn by 1973. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North.

The human costs of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., inscribed with the names of 57,939 members of U.S. armed forces who had died or were missing as a result of the war. Over the following years, additions to the list have brought the total past 58,200. (At least 100 names on the memorial are those of servicemen who were actually Canadian citizens.) Among other countries that fought for South Vietnam on a smaller scale, South Korea suffered more than 4,000 dead, Thailand about 350, Australia more than 500, and New Zealand some three dozen.

Vietnam emerged from the war as a potent military power within Southeast Asia, but its agriculture, business, and industry were disrupted, large parts of its countryside were scarred by bombs and defoliation and laced with land mines, and its cities and towns were heavily damaged. A mass exodus in 1975 of people loyal to the South Vietnamese cause was followed by another wave in 1978 of " boat people," refugees fleeing the economic restructuring imposed by the communist regime. Meanwhile, the United States, its military demoralized and its civilian electorate deeply divided, began a process of coming to terms with defeat in what had been its longest and most controversial war. The two countries finally resumed formal diplomatic relations in 1995.

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Vietnam War | Facts, Summary, Years, Timeline, Casualties, Combatants, & Facts

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Vietnam War (1954-75), conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the Cold War.

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This speech from President Lyndon B. Johnson is straightforward and it directly addresses the exigence for American participation in the war. Our purpose was to defend those who could not defend themselves in the name of Freedom. We were to be advocates for democracy in a foreign domain that was becoming increasingly dominated by communism. It was necessary from an executive standpoint to become involved in order to assert the United States as a considerable superpower. However, we were defending South Vietnam for fear of our own nation's influence that was not realistically inhibited. We feared the hypothetical potential of communism spreading to America and this selfish fear is what drove our seemingly unselfish protectionism.

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President Lyndon B. Johnson, "Why We Are in Vietnam"

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President Lyndon B. Johnson, "Why We Are in Vietnam" Press conference, July 28, 1965

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrwS392iVsQ

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A heart-rending visit for vets at Vietnam Memorial Wall

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The Army's 359th Transportation Company saw heavy combat in Vietnam, where 14 of the unit's soldiers were killed, including Spec. 4 Larry G. Dahl, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. A visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2016, evoked many memories for several veterans in attendance.

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This graph addresses each major war that the United States had been affiliated with. Note that the greatest quantity of total injuries and deaths is in our domestically inflicted Civil War.

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It has been 30 years since the end of the Vietnam War, and the country once known for strife and crushing poverty has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Foreign investors flooded into Vietnam in the early 1990's, betting that the communist nation's "doi moi" economic reforms could make it the next Asian tiger economy. But by the late 1990's, the investors were pulling out almost as fast as they had come in. Doi moi, which means "renewal", was seen as too slow moving, and investors turned their attention to neighboring China.

Yet, in the past five years, Vietnam's cautious policy on reforms has quietly yielded results. Annual GDP growth has averaged nearly 7 percent a year. Poverty, which once plagued two-thirds of the population, has been cut in half. Average income for Vietnamese has doubled in the last 10 years.

Klaus Rohland, country representative for the World Bank, says those numbers are impressive by any standard.

"Vietnam is a major success story. As of 1992 until now, they have grown on average, by more than 6 percent," he said. "Last year they grew by like 7.5, 7.8 percent. And that is way above average growth. And it's probably, with the exception of China, the best performing economy in the world.

For all its success, Vietnam remains a poor country. Average income may have doubled, but it is still only about $600 a year - far behind wealthier neighbors like Thailand and Malaysia. Still, the mood is optimistic.

In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the sound of construction has become almost constant. Property prices have jumped by more than half in the past three years, as just about everyone seems to be renovating houses and building new office buildings. Real estate experts say office space in Ho Chi Minh City now costs the same as in suburban Tokyo or Paris.

Much of Vietnam's newfound prosperity comes from commodities exports like oil and agricultural products. The International Monetary Fund says Vietnam is the world's largest pepper exporter, and the second-largest exporter of rice, coffee and cocoa. Tourist arrivals reached three million visitors last year. That is only about a quarter of the tourists that Thailand welcomes, but is still up 50 percent from just three years previously. Nguyen Thanh Huong runs a souvenir shop in Hanoi's busy Hang Gai Street.

"Around late winter and early spring, there are many tourists Vietnam. Business is very good and I have a lot of customers," he said.

Economists say Vietnam still has a long way to go before its economy can match its more developed neighbors. Its expected entry into the World Trade Organization later this year could help. But first the government must further reform its banking and investment sectors - which now lend most of their funds to money-losing state-owned companies instead of private entrepreneurs.

Still, even foreign investors are beginning to regain confidence in Vietnam. This year's foreign direct investment is up by 30 percent. As the Communist Party touts its 30-year-old victory in the Vietnam War this week, Vietnam's economy gives the country something else to celebrate.

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голос америки

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Vietnam Enjoying Economic Recovery 30 Years After War

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It has been 30 years since the end of the Vietnam War, and the country once known for strife and crushing poverty has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Foreign investors flooded into Vietnam in the early 1990's, betting that the communist nation's "doi moi" economic reforms could make it the next Asian tiger economy.

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The first half of the decade seemed like an extension of the 1960s: the fight for equal rights for all Americans continued; the first moves toward environmental protection were initiated along with Earth Day; the Beatles announced their break-up; and an oil embargo from the Middle East brought long lines at gas stations and soaring prices.

Throughout all this, the American people conducted a vigorous and polarizing debate on how to end the war in Vietnam.

By the end of the decade, America was trying to regain its standing and ideals and recover from a crisis of confidence following the conclusion of a long and traumatic war. It was a conflict that molded the country in many ways, large and small.

But five key legacies of the Vietnam War stand out as having shaped the nation -- and indeed, continue to do so today:

1. The end of the draft

Sensing the public's disenchantment with the war, the White House of Richard Nixon moved to abolish the draft and shifted to an all-volunteer force before the 1972 election. It would take a generation for this all-volunteer force to become the modern, highly capable military that it is today.

But the end of the draft was a significant milestone in the country's relationship with its military and won immediate favor with the mothers of draft age sons and on college campuses.

2. 18-year-olds granted the right to vote

The cliche that 18-year-olds could be drafted but not vote in a presidential election (although the prime age for being drafted was actually 19 while all 18-year-old men were required to register with selective service) produced a rapid response from the House and Senate.

The Nixon White House, recognizing the electoral significance of this newly enfranchised population, courted the 18-year-old vote with mailings on the end of the draft as well as posters of the presidential visit to China.

In addition, Nixon maximized his appeal to the "great silent majority" symbolized by the "hard hat" construction workers in New York who would become the forerunners of the Reagan Democrats. This initial foray into "wedge politics" would help Nixon win a controversial re-election in 1972 in a landslide. In that election, 55.4% of the newly franchised young voters would go to the polls, the highest in history.

3. Banding together of military families

The families of American POWs and MIAs (Prisoner of War and Missing in Action) joined together to flex their political muscle and to make sure that America did not forget the men unaccounted for in the war. Walking the halls of Congress and the Pentagon insisting that "you are not forgotten," the POW-MIA league of families ensured that members of the Armed Services of the United States would always be respected for their service, even as the country debated the policies that sent them into war.

To this day, about 1,600 American men who fought in the Vietnam War remain unaccounted for, and their grandchildren continue to assemble in their names. The men and women who serve in the Armed Services deserve and have earned the enduring respect of their nation, even as strategy and policies are controversial.

4. War: Getting out is tougher than getting in

The Vietnam War serves as an important lesson for today's national security policymakers. Primarily, there is the Vietnam (and now Iraq) lesson, which cautions that getting out of a war is much more complicated than getting into conflict, especially for a democracy such as our own.

During the Reagan years, the Pentagon offered a doctrine on military engagement requiring clear policy objectives, public support before engagement and a predesigned exit strategy.

Indeed, President George H. W. Bush held to many of these principles during the 1991 Persian Gulf War by ceasing military operations and exiting once the core military objective of liberating Kuwait had been achieved. But a decade later, the painful lessons of Vietnam surfaced again as U.S. forces went back to Iraq and found themselves locked into a ground war that lacked a clear political and diplomatic solution.

5. The rise of China and the toll of Watergate

The pressures to exit Vietnam produced two very different but highly consequential Nixon White House decisions.

First, the opening to China was driven by Cold War political realignment as American troops were departing Asia. In many respects, the trip to China had a bigger impact on future events than the moon trips of the same period.

China, fed by its opening to the West in early 1972, has become a global economic and political colossus. But, while the trip to China had a lasting impact, other decisions made at the same time had drastic consequences.

The creation of the plumbers unit to "plug" the leaks on Vietnam planning at the Pentagon led to a constitutional crisis called Watergate, and a confrontation with Congress that led to the only presidential resignation. Together, the China trip and Watergate scandal would shape American politics for decades.

The transformative effect of the Vietnam War on the 1970s is therefore clear as a generation of Americans were shaken by political events at home and abroad.

It's also worth noting that Americans face similar challenges today: war fatigue from a decade-long engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan and the politics of distrust in Washington, a city that seems out of touch with the rest of America.

The question now is whether, as in the 1970s, these events will invoke a renewed sense of conviction to press ahead to build a better America for the future. I am confident that they will.

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Opinion: How Vietnam War changed America

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The first half of the decade seemed like an extension of the 1960s: the fight for equal rights for all Americans continued; the first moves toward environmental protection were initiated along with Earth Day; the Beatles announced their break-up; and an oil embargo from the Middle East brought long lines at gas stations and soaring prices.

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This article shows the direct impact of war on Northern Vietnamese families and veterans. America's involvement had reciprocating consequences.

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The conflict in Vietnam ended 40 years ago, with chaotic scenes in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on the heart of power, its tanks ploughing through the gates of the South Vietnamese presidential palace on 30 April 1975.

On board one of the tanks was Pham Xuan Do, who is seen in the picture above proudly wearing his uniform from the time.

The picture was taken during a project led by Raul Roman, co-founder of UBELONG, and Lonnie Schlein, a former New York Times photojournalist who took a party of 14 people to Vietnam in May, with the aim of capturing the stories of those who fought for the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) or Viet Cong.

Do served in the NVA as a lieutenant captain from 1965 to 1975. He said he misses some of the excitement of war, but now that time has passed feels "forgiveness".

The projects aim is to see the war from the perspective of North Vietnamese veterans, and to mark 20 years since the then US President Bill Clinton normalised diplomatic relations between the two countries, on 11 July 1995.

"It's really important work because the world needs to be reminded that the dark shadow of the Vietnam War still looms large in this country," says Mr Roman.

"This work is really special also because it's an international civic initiative by ordinary citizens, a sort of peace mission designed to bring people together."

The group conducted more than two dozen in-depth interviews with veterans, travelling to Hanoi and rural locations bombed during the war.

Many of these areas were subjected to use of the toxic chemical Agent Orange, a defoliant sprayed over jungle areas to destroy enemy cover.

Vietnam says several million people have been affected by Agent Orange, including 150,000 children with severe birth defects.

Here are a selection of the stories they uncovered.

Le Ba Bon

Le Ba Bon, 63, was from a family of rice farmers and withdrew from school in 1972 to join the North Vietnamese Army. He said: "Starting life after the war was terrifying to me. With my injuries, I could not continue my education or find a job. But I have let go of my hurt and pain. It's time to look into the future and begin cooperating." (Photograph by Joey Rosa)

Pham An Thic

Pham An Thic (left) served in an artillery unit from 1965 to 1977 and was the only son in his family who survived the war. His mother, Dau (right), now almost blind, remembers receiving the letters from the government announcing that her other four sons had been killed.

"I didn't know how they had died," she said.

"I didn't know what they were doing when they died. I just knew that they were gone. Losing a child is the greatest sadness."

Thic's wife (centre) waited for him for 12 years. "I did not know if he was dead or if he was alive," she said.

"All I could do was to take care of my children and work hard so I could feed them.

"I wasn't special. I was one of thousands of Vietnamese wives and mothers who had to survive without their husbands during the war."

She recalls the day her husband returned. She was working in the rice fields when one of their neighbours gave her the news. "I ran all the way home," she said.

"I was so happy to see him after so long." (Photograph by Raul Roman)

Tran Thi Thon

Tran Thi Thon served in the North Vietnamese army from 1965 to 1975, delivering supplies from the North to the South.

"The day I remember most vividly was the day we found a downed American pilot.," she said.

"I saw that he had lost his shoe, so I took my shoe off and strapped it on his foot.

"Then, I took my handkerchief out and wiped the blood off his face.

"I felt very sympathetic because he was just another human and he didn't want to be in this war just like I didn't.

"The pilot then told my crew to hide, as a rescue helicopter was on its way and they would shoot us.

"But the helicopter never came and the pilot was captured by our soldiers."

While making her deliveries, she saw a yellow liquid covering the jungle.

It felt cool to the touch, so she and her teammates picked leaves and rubbed the substance on their skin to refresh themselves. It was Agent Orange.

Now, the skin on her arms, legs, and stomach is covered in scars.

She underwent several operations to repair the damage.

But the worst consequence of the exposure were the birth defects of her son, who died of lung cancer at the age of 35, and her daughter, who is physically and mentally disabled. (Photograph by Lonnie Schlein)

Luong Ngoc Lam

Luong Ngoc Lam was photographed at Friendship Village, a shelter for veterans and children affected by Agent Orange. He served as a field soldier for the NVA from 1966 to 1975.

His proudest moment was participating in the taking of Saigon.

"When the war ended, I had not seen my wife in 10 years," he said. "I returned home to learn that she had held 10 funerals during that period, including one for my younger brother.

"Coming home to learn that he had been killed was devastating." (Photograph by Joey Rosa)

Luong Duc Pho

Luong Duc Pho was a driver, transporting soldiers in his jeep as well as rebuilding and clearing roads to facilitate the transportation of weapons and food.

Pho waited 15 years to recover the body of his brother killed in the war.

"The young generation doesn't know anything about the hardships of war," he said.

"They have never been through this. They don't know what being hungry means.

"It is important that they learn more to understand what we endured and why we did it." (Photograph by Raul Roman)

Tran Van Van and his wife, Pham Thi Sang

Tran Van Van and his wife, Pham Thi Sang, are pictured at their home in Binh Giang.

Van served in the North Vietnamese Army from 1965 to 1972 and was stationed on the border of Cambodia on the Ho Chi Minh trail, tasked with protecting the road from bombers.

"We were bombed so often, and so many people died on the battlefield," he said.

"The badly injured were taken to the aid station, but I buried my dead friends on the battlefield. I miss them greatly."

He was eventually discharged after being injured in a bombing. He often relives that event in his nightmares.

While Van was fighting, his wife worked as a rice farmer in order for the family to survive.

"We were very poor and always hungry because there wasn't enough rice for me and my babies," she said.

"One of the hardest moments of my life was when I had to go into the fields after my baby was born, but I had no choice.

"I didn't want to tell Van so I wrote him letters of encouragement to stay and fight in the war. Our country was more important."

During the seven years in the army, Van only saw his family once, for a 10-day span in 1968.

During that time he and his wife conceived a child, Tran Van Tin, now 46, who was born with severe health problems which is believed to be due to Van's exposure to Agent Orange. (Photograph by John DeSanto)

Vu Thanh La

Vu Thanh Lan fought with the Viet Cong in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai for more than a decade.

"I don't allow my grandchildren to ask about the war because I don't want to poison their views of the United States and the world," he said. (Photograph by John DeSanto)

Nguyen Van Vuong

Nguyen Van Vuong started as a soldier in the North Vietnamese Army in 1966 and ended his service in 1971 after contracting malaria.

In the battle of Quang Tri, during the Tet Offensive in 1968, his unit of 100 men was devastated. He was one of 20 who survived.

Later, he lost most of his hearing during a bombing raid. Returning home after the war was not easy.

"My village was destroyed and government assistance couldn't support me," he said.

"My dream was to start a family, but it was not to be." (Photograph by Lonnie Schlein)

Tran Van Thinh

Tran Van Thinh joined up aged 19 and ended his service with a high rank and multiple medals of honour.

In the battle of Quang Tri in 1968 he was hit by a bomb that blew off part of his left arm and shattered his right leg.

Married for 30 years with one son and two grandchildren, he lost two brothers in the war.

"I was very young. All I knew at that time was that I had to fight the Americans to reunify my country," he said.

"My most disturbing memory was killing two American soldiers." (Photograph by Joey Rosa)

All photographs © UBELONG.

The Vietnam War

1954 - Geneva Accords signed dividing Vietnam in two - the Communist North helps guerrillas in the South fight US-backed Southern troops

1964 - US bombs targets in North Vietnam

1965 - The first US combat troops arrive in Vietnam

1973 - The Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" are signed, officially ending direct US involvement - but fighting between North and South continues

30 April 1975 - North Vietnamese troops enter Saigon - South Vietnam is controlled by Communist forces and the country is reunited ending the war

It's estimated that more than three million people were killed in the conflict

Other pieces that might be of interest include: How photographs told the story of the Vietnam War Searching for the truth about my mother Photographs by US Rifleman Charlie Haughey who served in Vietnam from March 1968 to May the following year Guide to the Vietnam War Mai Nam, a photographer with the North Vietnamese Army For those in the UK Storyville: Last Days of Vietnam can be seen on BBC 4 at 22:00 on Monday 13 July 2015.

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The conflict in Vietnam ended 40 years ago, with chaotic scenes in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on the heart of power, its tanks ploughing through the gates of the South Vietnamese presidential palace on 30 April 1975.

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Article Concerning a Soldier's life after the war

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Article Concerning a Soldier's life after the war

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The repercussions for soldiers were intense. The discipline instilled. The fear inflicted. The memories engrained. All of these things can be observed through understanding a soldier's mentality as he verbalizes his recollections.

Be sure to flip through all pages of the Q&A article and to examine the possessive gravity of this soldier's statements.

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Unspoken Brotherhood of Vietnam Veterans

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A soldier's experience in Vietnam: Robert L. Jones - North Carolina Digital History

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LEARN NC is evaluating its role in the current online education environment as it relates directly to the mission of UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education (UNC-CH SOE). We plan to look at our ability to facilitate the transmission of the best research coming out of UNC-CH SOE and other campus partners to support classroom teachers across North Carolina.

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Washington, D.C.

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Central Wellington

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New York City

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Michigan Stadium

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Sports

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Entertainment

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Entertainment

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Six Vietnam "Slang Words" during the war: 

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Six Vietnam "Slang Words" during the war: 

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1) azimuth- a bearing from North
2) ballgame- an operation or contact
3) bird dog- forward air controller in a smaller but more versatile aircraft
4) bro- referred to a black soldier
5) cherry- used to describe a young soldier or a virgin
6) chop chop- food

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This song reflects the mentality of Tim O'Brien in the chapter called "On The Rainy River" from his literary work entitled, "The Things They Carried" which is a fictional recount of a culmination of aspects proliferated from the Vietnam war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40JmEj0_aVM

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Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son (Official Lyric Video)

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This song is indicative of the mood or stream of conscious throughout the era of the Vietnam war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_9SXtEWlxc&index=12&list=PL-4oZzaSFFKhOpeAoXP8pA2a_kXP0osmq

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Jefferson airplanes- Good morning vietnam

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Here is a link to the song in case the video fails to play directly from the padlet window:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfCOVAW4pmw&list=PL-4oZzaSFFKhOpeAoXP8pA2a_kXP0osmq&index=11

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US Marine Corps Drill Instructor vs US Army Drill Sergeant

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United States Marine Corps Recruit Training

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Full Metal Jacket Soundtrack - I wanna be a Drill Instructor with Lyrics

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Full metal Jacket soundtrack - I wanna be a Drill Instructor Lyrics: Ready? Yup Ready Oh! Hey! Get your hands down Huu! Left Right Left Right Up Double Time! Here!

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In this post, a Vietnam veteran describes his one year of service from a logistical and organizational standpoint. The details are enriching and helped to further my understanding of the militaristic functions of the war.

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This image depicts the nature of nuclear power and the insecurities of implementing their vast force. It is ironic, because each side was still strenuously retaliating just through guerrilla warfare as oppose to nuclear annihilation.

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This cartoon indicates the entrapping nature of the Vietnam war. The United States was up to their neck in conflict and extrication was an improbable alternative.

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This article reveals primary source documentation of the war from the time period that it occurred (1955-1975). It is a component of the Pentagon Papers that the secretary of defense ordered into existence. This collection of writings was previously classified but it is now available to provide a reliable portrayal of information.

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This article exemplifies the American sensitivity and protectionist principles as our leadership deliberated that the U.S. should become involved in this foreign affair. It is a primary source from John F. Kennedy written in 1965.

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This article discloses a little known anecdote regarding the Vietnam war in which a soldier keenly expressed valor by passing a subliminal message to the United State's intelligence while participating in a propaganda video simultaneously.

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(from CBS News) - Prisoner of war Jeremiah Denton declared his loyalty to the U.S. government during a 1966 interview for what was supposed to be a propaganda film. But his enraged captors missed his more covert message: "T-O-R-T-U-R-E," blinked into the camera in Morse code, a dispatch that would alert the U.S. military to the conditions he endured.

Denton, who would survive 7 1/2 years confined in a tiny, stinking, windowless cell at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" and other camps before his release in 1973, died of heart problems Friday in Virginia Beach, Va., at age 89, his grandson Edward Denton said.

The elder Denton later became the first Republican from Alabama elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction. ...

In July 1965, a month after he began flying combat missions for the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, the Mobile native was shot down near Thanh Hoa. He was captured and recalled his captivity in a book titled "When Hell Was in Session."

"They beat you with fists and fan belts," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1979. "They warmed you up and threatened you with death. Then they really got serious and gave you something called the rope trick." The use of ropes - to cut off circulation in his limbs - left him with no feeling in his fingertips and intense muscle spasms, he said.

Some of the most severe torture came after the 1966 interview, in which he confounded his captors by saying that he continued to fully support the U.S. government, "and I will support it as long as I live."

"In the early morning hours, I prayed that I could keep my sanity until they released me. I couldn't even give in to their demands, because there were none. It was pure revenge," Denton wrote.

The tape was widely seen, and U.S. intelligence experts had picked up the Morse Code message. But Denton theorized later that his captors likely figured it out only after he was awarded the Navy Cross - the second-highest decoration for valor - for the blinks in 1974.

He said his captors never brought him out for another interview. But with the war's end drawing closer, he was released in February 1973.

Denton was the senior officer among former POWs who stepped off a plane into freedom at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. Denton epitomized the military spirit as he spoke for the returning soldiers: "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our commander-in-chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."

His words and bearing, beamed back to his country by television, gave heart to the military at a time of increasing uncertainty and bitter division over the course of the war.

He was promoted to rear admiral and retired from the Navy in November 1977. Denton then turned to politics, despite having no experience running for a statewide political office. With Ronald Reagan atop the GOP ticket, Denton became the first Republican elected to the Senate from Alabama since the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.

In Washington, he was a Reagan loyalist, a defender of military might and an advocate for a return to traditional family values and conservative stands on moral issues. ...

Denton lost his re-election bid in 1986 by only a fraction of a percentage point.

After his defeat, Denton founded the Coalition for Decency and lectured about family causes. Denton also launched a humanitarian outreach to needy countries through his National Forum Foundation, which arranged shipments of donated goods.

"He was a war hero, an honorable senator, and a family man who cared deeply about his country," said a statement from U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, who as a Democrat defeated Denton in 1986. Shelby switched to the GOP in 1994 and was elected to a fifth term in 2010.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who also was held captive as a POW in Vietnam, described Denton as his mentor. "As a senior ranking officer in prison, Admiral Denton's leadership inspired us to persevere, and to resist our captors, in ways we never would have on our own," McCain said. [Over seven years and seven months, Commander Denton was held in various prison camps, including the notorious "Hanoi Hilton," and endured beatings, starvation, torture and more than four years of solitary confinement, including periodic detentions in coffinlike boxes. He and other officers nevertheless maintained a chain of command and a measure of discipline among the prisoners. "I put out the policy that they were not to succumb to threats, but must stand up and say no," he told The New York Times in 1973. The commander was often punished for urging others to resist. He also devised ways for prisoners to communicate by signs or numbers, tapping on a wall or coughing signals in a sequence.]

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions called Denton a "friend, warrior, leader, and hero." "He was a man of grit and character that can't be manufactured," Sessions said in a statement. "His word was his bond and his loyalty was unshakable."

[Former Republican Senator Pete Domenici, who served with Denton in the Senate, added, "He brought an experience and credibility with him that immediately established him as the kind of American who was willing to do everything he could to help the country, putting his own interests second."]

In later years, Denton lived in Williamsburg, Va., but he still appeared at patriotic gatherings. In November 2008, an emotional Denton watched at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Ala., as a newly restored A-6 Intruder fighter/bomber - like the one he flew over North Vietnam - was rolled out in his honor.

Denton's grandson, Edward, said that on one hand, Denton was a normal grandfather who enjoyed taking his grandchildren fishing aboard his boat in Mobile. "On the other hand," he said, "he was a war hero and someone who set an example for being what being a good, patriotic American is all about."

CBS affiliate WKRG reports that Denton, a native of Mobile, attended McGill Institute and Spring Hill College before graduating from the Naval Academy.
First published March 28. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from CBS News. Visit the website at cbsnews .com.
Questions

1. a) When was Jeremiah Denton captured by the North Vietnamese?
b) When was he released?

2. a) In what year was Commander Denton forced to participate in an interview in what was supposed to be a propaganda film?
b) Why were the Vietnamese enraged by his responses?
c) How did they react to his answers during the interview?

3. a) What message did Denton convey to the U.S. during his interview?
b) How was he able to convey this message?
c) Commander Denton was awarded the Navy Cross in 1974 (the second-highest decoration for valor) for his message. What is puzzling about this award?

4. a) What did Commander Denton say upon his release as he stepped off a plane in the Philippines?
b) What is your reaction to his remarks? (astonishment, admiration, awe...etc.) Explain your answer.

5. What was significant about Commander Denton's election to the U.S. Senate in 1980?

6. How do others describe Jeremiah Denton? Be specific.

7. Watch the news video on Commander Denton under "Resources" below. What two or three words do you think best describe this man? Explain your answer.

CHALLENGE: Jeremiah Denton was a true American hero. Read more of his story through the links under "Resources." Watch an interview he gave about his book. Share his story with at least one friend and your family.

Free Answers - Sign-up here to receive a daily email with answers.

Background

Jeremiah Denton, the Vietnam War POW who has died at age 89, uttered one of the great statements of defiance in American history.

In 1965, he was shot down in his A-6 during a bombing run over North Vietnam. He became a captive for more than seven years and endured an unimaginable regime of torture, humiliation, and isolation, managing to retain his dignity and spirit even as his captors went to hideous lengths to snuff them out.

Soon after his capture, a young North Vietnamese solider signaled to him to bow down and, when he refused, pressed a gun to his head so hard it created a welt. Denton quickly learned that this would be mild treatment. He was taken to Hoa Lo Prison, or the Hanoi Hilton, where he led the resistance to the North Vietnamese efforts to extract propaganda confessions from their prisoners.

As Denton related in his book, When Hell Was in Session, they tried to starve one out of him. After days, he began to hallucinate, but he still refused. They took him to what was called the Meathook Room and beat him. Then, they twisted his arms with ropes and relented just enough to keep him from passing out. They rolled an iron bar onto his legs and jumped up and down on it. For hours.

He agreed finally to give them a little of what they wanted, but at first his hands were too weak to write and his voice too weak to speak. He hadn't recovered from this ordeal when the Vietnamese told him he would appear at a press conference.

Denton told a fellow POW that his plan was to "blow it wide open." He famously blinked T-O-R-T-U-R-E in Morse code during the interview, a message picked up by naval intelligence and the first definitive word of what the prisoners were being subjected to. When asked what he thought of his government's war, Denton replied, "Whatever the position of my government is, I believe in it, yes sir. I'm a member of that government, and it's my job to support it, and I will as long as I live." ...

Denton's words aren't an embellishment. They were seen by millions when they were broadcast in the United States, and he almost immediately paid for them in torment so horrifying that he desperately prayed that he wouldn't go insane.

For two years, he was confined in what was dubbed "Alcatraz," reserved for the "darkest criminals who persist in inciting the other criminals to oppose the Camp Authority," in the words of one of the guards. Alvin Townley, author of the book , writes of the Alcatraz prisoners and their wives back in the States, "Together, they overcame more intense hardship over more years than any other group of servicemen and families in American history."

When the American involvement in the war ended and the POWs finally were released, Denton made a brief statement on the tarmac upon his return, no less powerful for its simplicity and understatement: "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our commander in chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."

A Roman Catholic, Denton told his family that he had forgiven his captors and, after recounting to them on his first night back what he had gone through, that he didn't want to speak to them of it again. His son James says he often heard him say - with typical modesty - "That's over. I don't want to be a professional jailbird."

He certainly wasn't that. Denton went on to become a U.S. senator from Alabama. With his passing, we've lost a hero whose example of faithfulness and duty should be for the ages. (from Rich Lowry at nationalreview.com)

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McGill Institute and Spring Hill College

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Vietnam War Hero who blinked "torture" in Morse code dies

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(from CBS News) - Former Alabama Sen. Jeremiah Denton, who survived 7½ years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and alerted the U.S. military to conditions there when he blinked the word "torture" in Morse code during a television interview, has died. He was 89.

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This article provides an overview of key operations or battles that occurred in 1967 from a factual standpoint.

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Vietnam '67

Lubbock, Tex. - By the beginning of 1967, there were 490,000 American troops in South Vietnam - along with some 850,000 from South Vietnam, South Korea and other allies - and America's civilian and military leaders were starting to think big. This, they believed, would be the year to crush both the southerners fighting as the Viet Cong and their North Vietnamese allies, who had infiltrated the south.

Doing so, though, would require enormous multidivisional operations involving all branches of the military. Already by the end of 1966, they had begun planning for the "era of big battles," and specifically for operations designed to eradicate the enemy from around the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon. In the months to follow, those plans would involve hundreds of thousands of soldiers, lead to the deaths of thousands on both sides, and bring simmering doubts about the war effort to a boil.

In December 1966, intelligence reports indicated that large units of both Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops were garrisoned in an area about 12 miles northwest of Saigon known as the "Iron Triangle," bordered by the Saigon River on the southwest leg, the Thi Tinh River to the east and a line between the villages of Ben Suc and Ben Cat to the north. Gen. Jonathan O. Seaman, who commanded the 100,000-man II Field Force, described the Iron Triangle as a "dagger" aimed at the South Vietnamese capital. The very existence of the Republic of South Vietnam was at risk. But if the Iron Triangle could be destroyed by a major operation, the Americans and their allies could gain the offensive initiative and begin to drive the Communists out of the country.

That operation, Junction City, was set to begin in early January 1967. But there was significant concern among the military leadership that such a large effort required considerably more planning than could be done in a few weeks, and that a better option would be to first unleash a more regional operation - still large in scope, but aimed at specific, vulnerable Viet Cong regiments, as well as the headquarters of the Viet Cong's Military Region IV, which intelligence reports indicated were located within the Iron Triangle.

This relatively smaller, more focused operation, called Cedar Falls, began on Jan. 8. It followed a so-called hammer and anvil plan: American and South Vietnamese units would be inserted to the north as "hammers" that would drive the enemy into an "anvil" created by elements of the First and 25th Infantry Divisions.

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Bamboo huts in flames in Ben Suc, a Viet Cong-controlled village, in January 1967. Credit Bettmann, via Getty Images

At 8 a.m. on Jan. 8, 60 UH-1 "Huey" helicopters, flying in a V formation, approached Ben Suc, a Viet Cong-controlled village. It was to be the first target for the "hammer." Small-arms fire erupted against the invading infantry soldiers, but within a few hours, Ben Suc was under American control, and South Vietnamese troops were brought in to interrogate all men between the ages of 15 and 45. At the end of the first day, 106 had been screened; 28 were determined to be Viet Cong. Soldiers also discovered, beneath the village, a network of Viet Cong tunnels.

The bigger challenge, though, was what to do about the remaining villagers - because the American commanders had decided to raze Ben Suc, rather than let it return to enemy hands (an effort the journalist Jonathan Schell later described in his book " The Village of Ben Suc "). In the end, 582 men, 1,651 women and 3,754 children were relocated, along with 247 water buffalo, 225 cows and 60 tons of rice. When they were gone, the commanders ordered a large hole dug in the center of the village, and 10,000 pounds of explosives were detonated to destroy both the village and the tunnels beneath it.

In an instant, Ben Suc no longer existed. This sort of search-and-destroy mission, and the subsequent relocation of noncombatants, would become routine in 1967, as America and its South Vietnamese allies sought to control the hamlets and villages of South Vietnam.

Subsequent operations over the next 20 days resulted in a "body count" of 750 Viet Cong and 280 prisoners (out of 30,000 American and South Vietnamese soldiers in the operation, 72 Americans and 11 South Vietnamese were killed). But the most significant achievement, according to military sources, was the confirmation of the existence of a huge labyrinth of tunnels northwest of Saigon that would become the elusive target of allied forces for the next six years. In future operations, legs of this tunnel complex would even be discovered directly under the 25th Infantry Division's huge base camp at Cu Chi. These tunnels would also become the headquarters for the planning of the Tet offensive, which would be launched in January 1968, just 12 months later.

Still, these results, especially the body counts, weren't enough for Allied commanders, who expected that search-and-destroy missions like the one at Ben Suc would kill or capture enough enemy troops to blunt the Iron Triangle. Thus another huge operation had to follow almost immediately, this one carrying the original name of Operation Junction City.

If Operation Cedar Falls was a hammer and anvil, Operation Junction City was more of a "horseshoe." More than 25,000 friendly troops would engage the enemy forces by creating a huge inverted U-shape position in the area north of the Iron Triangle known as War Zone C, with the open end of the horseshoe facing south. The plan was to drive the enemy against the opposite legs of the horseshoe in such a way as to destroy the opposing forces through attrition - to destroy units, rather than just drive them from villages. Allied commanders believed that Cedar Falls had deteriorated into too many small-unit skirmishes with minimal enemy casualties, and they believed the use of larger American units would result in more.

On the first day of the operation, 845 men from the 173rd Airborne Brigade jumped from C-130 Hercules aircraft, which also dropped artillery and other military equipment. This was the first, and would remain the only, major parachute assault of the Vietnam War. It was designed to rapidly place soldiers in the center of the legs of the horseshoe and, from there, to search for the elusive Communist Central Office of South Vietnam, or Cosvn, the enemy's main headquarters, supposedly located near the Cambodian border.

The airborne assault was necessary, but it also made for great optics back home: Images of American paratroopers jumping into combat reminded people of World War II operations in Europe. President Lyndon B. Johnson hoped that seeing such pictures in major news stories would give Americans confidence that victory could soon be declared.

But Operation Junction City failed to find and destroy Cosvn - because such headquarters didn't exist, at least as a permanent garrison. The Viet Cong were operating from mobile facilities because of the constant threat of aerial bombardment, infantry maneuvers and logistical considerations. Such mobility enabled them to better coordinate their actions with North Vietnamese planners and to retreat across the border into Cambodia when necessary. After 82 days of combat, Junction City ended with 282 Americans killed and a reported 2,728 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese casualties.

Cedar Falls/Junction City had collectively resulted in approximately 3,500 of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese killed at an American cost of 350 lives. This 10 to 1 ratio would continue through most of the war, but the "era of big battles," for all its size and power, failed to change the war's dynamics.

By never allowing their large units to engage American large units, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese units could remain organizationally intact and live to fight another day. The "era of big battles" was supposed to put the Americans on an offensive footing, but 70 percent of all contacts were initiated by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. The Communists were fighting the war on their own terms and chose when, where and how long to fight, which ultimately would result in victory.
"Vietnam '67" explores the meaning and consequences of the Vietnam War by examining its most pivotal period, from early 1967 to early 1968. To contact the editors, please send an email to vietnam67@nytimes.com.

Ron Milam is an associate professor of history at Texas Tech. The author of "Not a Gentleman's War: An Inside View of Junior Officers in the Vietnam War," he is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War.
Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTOpinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.

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Opinion | 1967: The Era of Big Battles in Vietnam

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Vietnam '67 Lubbock, Tex. - By the beginning of 1967, there were 490,000 American troops in South Vietnam - along with some 850,000 from South Vietnam, South Korea and other allies - and America's civilian and military leaders were starting to think big.

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Video Two

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CLOSE

PASADENA, Calif. - No, this is not the most divided America has ever been.

Not by a long shot.

There was the Civil War, obviously. But more recently, there was the War in Vietnam - a conflict that sparked generational and racial conflict, split families, and led to battles in the streets, some of them fatal.

As he did with The Civil War, filmmaker Ken Burns will examine The Vietnam War for PBS. Made with his partner Lynn Novick, this 10-episode, 18-hour documentary arrives in September and will feature a score by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Oscar-winners for The Social Network).

Burns, who has been working on the project for 10 years, says if nothing else, Vietnam will remind people that "the past is like the present." Many of our divisions, he says, were born in the military, political, cultural, social and familial conflicts that surrounded Vietnam, a war that took the lives of 58,000 Americans.

Yes, Burns says, it's possible that some people in our currently polarized nation will react negatively to the film, but Burns says he's more hopeful that the film will inspire people to come together and talk. That, he says, is how he sees PBS, as "a place to come together and to begin to have courageous conversations."

In the end, he says, the goal was to create a film everyone could embrace. "It will be controversial, but only among those who don't watch it."

The divisions caused by the war played out in every facet of American life, including the music of the time - much of which will be heard on the soundtrack. That's one of the reasons Burns says he's so excited to work with Reznor and Ross, who will write the original score and bring a new sound to his films. And they say they're equally excited.

"I can't over-state how flattering this is," says Reznor.

Reznor says he and Ross were contacted in the fall of 2012, and they began writing the music not long after that, "the goal being to create a world that was unique to this project....We spent a long time trying to figure out the language, the musical instruments, that would best fit this film, and trying to figure out why they chose us for this project."

Filmmaker Ken Burns, from left, composer Trent Reznor, composer Atticus Ross and filmmaker Lynn Novick of ''The Vietnam War,' coming to PBS. (Photo: Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images)

Why did Burns and Novick choose Reznor and Ross? "We knew we needed something different here," says Novick. She found it, she says, in 2011 when she went to see a movie they scored, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. "I lost track of the movie, and started paying attention just to the music....I thought, 'Whoever did this music, I need to get them for this film.'"

She didn't know at the time that the composers were Reznor and Ross, and when she found out, she figured she'd never be able to get them to do it. "But I thought, 'We might as well ask.'"

They said yes, and in the future, Reznor says, "should the subject matter warrant, it's an unquestionable yes" again. But that doesn't mean Reznor is open to everything. "I'm not going to be on The Voice next season. I don't think."

Over its 18 hours, Vietnam will try to cover almost every aspect of the conflict. Burns says inevitably it will include some information you've heard before, but most of what you hear will be both new and revelatory.

One thing you won't here, however, is the conspiracy theory that President Kennedy was assassinated because he wanted to withdraw from Vietnam.

"That's just a fallacy," says Burns.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2iA5QZv

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Ken Burns returns to PBS with 'Vietnam War'

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CLOSE PASADENA, Calif. - No, this is not the most divided America has ever been. Not by a long shot. There was the Civil War, obviously. But more recently, there was the War in Vietnam - a conflict that sparked generational and racial conflict, split families, and led to battles in the streets, some of them fatal.

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Video One