i was born in 1956 to young for direct involvement with the vietnam war but old enough to know that it was going on. my brother who's a professor and lives in singapore is only 11 months older than me and he has visited vietnam and the other south eastern Asiatic countries, he tells me the majority of people are younger than 30 and weren't even born while the war was going on. my brother tells me(at least in Vietnam) they call it "the american war?"
my first recollection of the vietnam war was when i was in elementary school possibly around 1965, i remember having absolutely no knowledge about the war except that it was going on, i also remember hearing "The ballad of the Green Beret" about this time. several years later after hearing small bits about the war i can recall in 1967 hearing about a farmer's(charles cooper) son being killed by shrapnel in vietnam, i also recall watching the news and it seems like almost nightly the death toll would be in the thousands.
i paid little attention but it's obvious many of the young kids were paying close attention.Next thing i knew it was 1969 with charles manson the beatles and my personal discovery of girls i didn't have time for the vietnam war although 1000's daily were still being killed. i can still remember sitting in seventh grade ohio history and the draft lottery was on a wheeled in T.V. a fellow 7th graders brother who was a senior in high school was on his way to vietnam or dodging the draft in canada (i never heard). also the Woodstock music festival went on featuring at least some musical acts protesting the war.
next came high school in 1971 young kids were still dying by the truckloads, every now and then on the news they'd show P.O.W.'s getting home, and somewhere between 1971-75 patti hearst did her thing, richard nixon did his watergate(resignation)"I am not a crook" crap, and mama "cass" choked on a ham sandwich?
i later found out there was a kid who dropped out of school who had been in my class but he had been shipped to vietnam. i think his name was bill lacy? i never did hear what became of him.
the war ended in 1975 and all the united states gained was some horrid scar's.
my first recollection of the vietnam war was when i was in elementary school possibly around 1965, i remember having absolutely no knowledge about the war except that it was going on, i also remember hearing "The ballad of the Green Beret" about this time. several years later after hearing small bits about the war i can recall in 1967 hearing about a farmer's(charles cooper) son being killed by shrapnel in vietnam, i also recall watching the news and it seems like almost nightly the death toll would be in the thousands.
i paid little attention but it's obvious many of the young kids were paying close attention.Next thing i knew it was 1969 with charles manson the beatles and my personal discovery of girls i didn't have time for the vietnam war although 1000's daily were still being killed. i can still remember sitting in seventh grade ohio history and the draft lottery was on a wheeled in T.V. a fellow 7th graders brother who was a senior in high school was on his way to vietnam or dodging the draft in canada (i never heard). also the Woodstock music festival went on featuring at least some musical acts protesting the war.
next came high school in 1971 young kids were still dying by the truckloads, every now and then on the news they'd show P.O.W.'s getting home, and somewhere between 1971-75 patti hearst did her thing, richard nixon did his watergate(resignation)"I am not a crook" crap, and mama "cass" choked on a ham sandwich?
i later found out there was a kid who dropped out of school who had been in my class but he had been shipped to vietnam. i think his name was bill lacy? i never did hear what became of him.
the war ended in 1975 and all the united states gained was some horrid scar's.
