Did you know about 1.5 million people died during the Vietnam War, which was more than the population of New Mexico in the 1960s? Vietnam, which is relative in size to New Mexico, is a country in Asia that borders the Gulf of Tonkin. The Vietnam War was a result of people in Vietnam wanting independence from France. The US supported the French so that all of Vietnam would not become a communist country and so this would not lead to other countries following in their footsteps. What were the causes and effects of the US joining and leaving the war? This war left a big imprint on US history and we continue to remember it to this day. Overall, the Vietnam war ultimately changed America in many ways and the causes and …show more content…
There were many effects that occurred within the US after we left the war. The US was very weakened. But, instead of greeting soldiers with joy and patting them on the back, Americans were angered and shamed them. Many Americans thought that the soldiers were slaughtering innocent citizens on account of some newspapers that spread falsehoods and the pictures that were shared. It didn’t really help that their supporters still viewed them as losing the war. They were seen as committing a crime. All the soldiers were trying to do was spread liberty and justice around the globe. In fact, “According to a survey by the Veterans Administration, some 500,000 of the 3 million troops who served in Vietnam suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and rates of divorce, suicide, alcoholism and drug addiction were markedly higher among veterans.” (History.com Staff). This was mainly because of the poor treatment soldiers were given after sacrificing so much for their country. Soldiers also suffered physical damage from a chemical dumped on Vietnamese forests called herbicide. The war also ended the myth that the US was invincible due to the fact that the Vietnam War was the first war that we lost. Finally, in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was unveiled in Washington DC. We had lost about 58,200 soldiers during the war so the US thought it was only fitting that we honored our veterans