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Almost 9 military troops served in the military at this time and only about 3 million fought in the war and 25% of them were draftees. 

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Almost 9 military troops served in the military at this time and only about 3 million fought in the war and 25% of them were draftees. 

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The American experience in Vietnam was a long and painful one for the nation.

For those against the war, it appeared to be a meat grinder for draftees, unfairly targeting the poor, the uneducated, and minorities.

For those in favor of the war and those who served in the military at the time, the American public and media were (and still are) misled about what happened during the war and so feel betrayed by many at home ( Jane Fonda is the enduring symbol of the cultural schism).

The other facts are not so clear. We are at the fifty year mark for the start of the war, so soon more and more government documents from the period will be declassified. We will learn a great deal about this time in American history. Right now, however, the misinformation, cover-ups, and confusion about Vietnam still pervade our national consciousness. Right now, we can only look back at the war and take stock of what we know was real and what was B.S. from day one.

1. The U.S. first got involved in Vietnam in 1954

Sort of. The official line is the United States sent only supplies and advisors before 1965. Looking back before the fall of French Indochina, Vietnam's colonial name, the end of World War II saw a briefly independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam under President Ho Chi Minh. Minh even gave a nod to the visiting American OSS agents by paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence in his own Independence speech: "All men are created equal. The Creator has given us certain inviolable rights, the right to life, the right to be free, and the right to achieve happiness."

Almost as soon as Minh realized the Western allies were going to restore French rule, Chinese advisors and Soviet equipment began to flow to North Vietnamese guerillas. After the Vietnamese Gen. Võ Nguyên Giáp handed the French their asses at Dien Bien Phu, the French left and Vietnam would be split in two. In 1954, an insurgency sprang up, but was quelled by the government of the new South Vietnam, led by Ngô Dình Diem. Unfortunately Diem was as dictatorial as Ho Chi Minh and as Catholic as the Spanish Inquisition.

2. U.S. and South Vietnamese Presidents were shot in 1963, and this would be significant

They were also both Catholic, but that's where the similarities end. This also may be the death of coherent containment strategy in the country. Diem was shot in an armored personnel carrier on November 2, 1963. At the time, there were 16,000 U.S. advisors in Vietnam. President Kennedy was said to be shocked at the news. Then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara said he "had never seen the President more upset." Both men knew the U.S. government was responsible "to some degree."

The Pentagon Papers leak explicitly stated the U.S. clandestinely maintained contact with Diem over-throwers and the U.S. government gave the generals in Vietnam the green light to start planning a coup. Twenty days later, Kennedy would himself be shot in the back of a vehicle.

3. Kennedy wanted to get the U.S. military out of Vietnam but couldn't figure out how

President Kennedy was a fervent believer in the policy of containment and believed in the Domino Theory, but not so much as to wage unending war with the Communists in Vietnam. During his Presidency, he and McNamara actively pursued a way to leave Vietnam, while still maintaining their commitment to a free South through financial support and training. Kennedy wanted all U.S. personnel out by the end of 1965.

Many people refute this theory using a quote Kennedy gave Walter Cronkite: " These people who say we ought to withdraw from Vietnam are totally wrong, because if we withdrew from Vietnam, the communists would control... all of Southeast Asia... then India, Burma would be next." The only problem with this quote is while Kennedy was in office, there was no open warfare in Vietnam and U.S. involvement was limited. Their strategy was to bring the North to heel using strategic bombing and limited ground attacks. Recordings between Kennedy and McNamara were since released to attest to their efforts in getting out of Vietnam.

4. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident only sort of happened.

The Gulf of Tonkin Incident is the catalyst for the escalation of American action in Vietnam. It refers to two incidents in August 1964. On August 2, the destroyer USS Maddox was shelled by NVA torpedo boats. The Maddox responded by firing over 280 rounds in return. There was no official response from the Johnson Administration.

The pressure mounted however, with members of the military, both in and out of uniform, implying Johnson was a coward. On August 4th the second incident was said to have happened, but Secretary McNamara admitted in Errol Morris' 2003 documentary The Fog of War the second attack never occurred. The Pentagon Papers even implied the Maddox fired first in an effort to keep the Communists a certain distance away.

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See what the movies got wrong about the war that divided a generation.

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The United States contributed a total of over $168 billion dollars on the war.

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The United States contributed a total of over $168 billion dollars on the war.

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After all the billions of dollars and lives lost from the Americans this war not a victory for them. One reason for this failure was that there wasn't enough public support.

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After all the billions of dollars and lives lost from the Americans this war not a victory for them. One reason for this failure was that there wasn't enough public support.

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While initilly supportive of the war in Vietnam, as it dragged on, American public opinion began to turn, horrified by the images of young Americans coming home in body bags on the television news.

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After the war in Afghanistan Vietnam was the second longest war in history being about 20 years long.

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After the war in Afghanistan Vietnam was the second longest war in history being about 20 years long.

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While initilly supportive of the war in Vietnam, as it dragged on, American public opinion began to turn, horrified by the images of young Americans coming home in body bags on the television news.

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More than 3 million people died during this war while more than half were Vietnamese and about 60,000 Americans died.

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More than 3 million people died during this war while more than half were Vietnamese and about 60,000 Americans died.

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The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.

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Both sides wanted a unified Country but both leaders, Emperor bao Dai and HoChi Minh, had different ways in achieving this goal.

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Both sides wanted a unified Country but both leaders, Emperor bao Dai and HoChi Minh, had different ways in achieving this goal.

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The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.

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When Ho Chi Minh created the League for the independence of Vietnam this first initiated the start of Vietnam war.

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When Ho Chi Minh created the League for the independence of Vietnam this first initiated the start of Vietnam war.

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The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.

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Vietnam war was a fight against north and south Vietnam from Nov. 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975. This is also known as a civil war because the fight was between citizen within the same country.

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Vietnam war was a fight against north and south Vietnam from Nov. 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975. This is also known as a civil war because the fight was between citizen within the same country.

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The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.