https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb The quotes from government officials and reporters about the Vietnam War en-us 2018-01-10 16:53:52 UTC 2025-10-16 15:12:06 UTC hello@padlet.com 200700343 https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220659010 "You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and I will win." Ho Chi Minh, 1946.

This demonstrates the Viet MInh's willingness to defend their country. They do not care how many lose because no matter what, they will achieve victory. 

This also shows that the American leaders were not paying attention, because they thought they were easily going to win. The Viet Cong lost 1.1 million soldiers in Vietnam; the Americans only lost 55,000. That is 20 dead Viet Cong soldiers for every 1 American soldiers, yet they still won the war. The Americans won on paper, the Vietnamese won on soil. ]]> 2018-01-11 16:25:22 UTC https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220659010 201403250 https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220660324 "Now we have a problem in trying to make our power credible, and Vietnam looks like the place." President John Kennedy, June 1961

This quote shows the why the U.S. was so adamant to stay in Vietnam; they wanted to prove themselves a strong power to other nations. It shows that for the U.S., the president thought it to be a power move, to be a display of the U.S.'s power.

In a way, the act of the U.S. going to Vietnam was a sort of redemptive construct, a demonstration that we are credible. It wasn't all about saving the Vietnam people, it was about being taken seriously. 

Ultimately they struggled with proving themselves in Vietnam

]]> 2018-01-11 16:27:53 UTC https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220660324 200700384 https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220661360 " Declare the United States the winner and begin de-escalation"- Senator George Aiken October 19, 1966

This quote is showing us how the senator was offering advice to president Lyndon Johnson, on how to handle the politics of reducing the U.S. commitment in Vietnam. It’s gelling us the that United States have won and that there should be a de-escalation of movements towards the enemy. ]]> 2018-01-11 16:29:42 UTC https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220661360 201403250 https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220671258 "We will not be defeated. We will not grow tired. We will not withdraw either openly or under the cloak of a meaningless agreement." President Lyndon Johnson, April 7, 1965.

This quote shows an attitude of determination. This reveals that the U.S., under this presidency, had intentions of helping the Vietnamese.

Along with this, it shows the resolve to remain in a war that is not their own, to provide assistance, but shows it as a positive thing. The president's willpower and idea of not backing down shows the U.S. as a strong power. ]]> 2018-01-11 16:47:15 UTC https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220671258 200700343 https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220673232 "I think we have all underestimated the seriousness of this situation. Like giving cobalt treatment to a terminal cancer case. I think a long protracted war will disclose our weakness, not our strength." George W. Ball, Deputy Secretary of State. July, 1965

This quote shows that one of the government officials actually disagreed with the idea of the Vietnam war. We see that as the 1970s approach, the government realizes their mistake, yet in this case, Mr. Ball notices the mistake 5-10 years before everyone else. ]]> 2018-01-11 16:50:47 UTC https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/220673232 200700343 https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/221047593 "I am not going to lose Vietnam. I am not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went." Lyndon Johnson, November, 1963

Lyndon B. Johnson was determined not to lose Vietnam. He was willing to let American soldiers die just because of a tiny country that is almost 30 times smaller than the United States. He believed that something similar to the Red Curtain would occur in Southeast Asia, yet the Red Curtain in Europe never threatened the United States (we did have the Cold War, but that wasn't a war; and the Soviet Union was much stronger than Vietnam).]]> 2018-01-12 17:02:34 UTC https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/221047593 200700343 https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/221051501 "If the Buddhists want to have another barbecue, I'll gladly supply the gasoline and a match." Tran Le Xuan, South Vietnamese First Lady, 1963
This shows the division between the two sides of the Vietnamese. I am surprised to see that the South did not give up to the Buddhists because Vietnam was mainly a Buddhist country. It would make sense that they would change their ideas to agree with God, but they did not.

]]> 2018-01-12 17:12:17 UTC https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/221051501 2006168821 https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/221772679 "We are fighting a war with no front lines, since the enemy hides among the people, in the jungles and mountains... One cannot measure our progress by lines on a map." General William C. Westmoreland, April 28, 1967.

This quote shows that progress was hard to see, and that people who weren't on the front lines didn't understand that progress was a victory no matter how small. Others couldn't see it because it was so minuscule, but this general is shedding light on the reality of this war: the enemy is everywhere, and their success can't be defined by a map. ]]> 2018-01-16 16:27:21 UTC https://padlet.com/200700343/tgq9vfh6v9rb/wish/221772679