Vietnam Essay Research Paper Vietnam The War — страница 2

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Vietnam. Manufactured by McDonnell-Douglas, this plane was capable of multiple roles, as a dogfighter, bomber, recon, and support aircraft. However, the F-4 had its share of problems. First, the engineers who designed it neglected to mount any type of gun on the F-4A through the F-4D, thinking that the Phantom’s frightening compliment of missiles could take out any enemy threat. They were wrong. Not having a gun made the dogfighting role of the Phantom extremely hard, because the AIM-9 and AIM-7 missiles were not as effective at closer ranges against the enemy MiGs. Only after almost 2 years was the F-4E Phantom fitted with a 6-barrell gatling gun. 4 Also, many pilots were poorly trained, only having 6 weeks of training as opposed to the customary 1-year. These

excitement-hungry flyboys, these air cowboys had a voracious appetite for combat, but were ever-cognizant of the end of their tour of duty. The B-52 Stratofortress was the largest bomber ever produced at that time. It could deliver its massive 60,000lb payload up to almost halfway around the world, and could do it at an altitude that VC MiGs couldn’t even reach. 4 There were, also, shortcomings in the use of the B-52 also. During World War II, the allies could depend on decimating the industry of their enemy, thus destroying its fighting power. As will be explained later, the VC didn’t rely on industry and big guns, but guerrilla tactics and small arms. The U.S. also believed by bombing the living hell out of the population centers and by using napalm, the enemy would be

demoralized and surrender. Both of these hypotheses proved to be direly wrong. By bombing industry, the U.S. just wasted billions of dollars and precious time and manpower for nothing. Also, the bombing of population centers rallied the enemy and brought the North Vietnamese closer together, instead of its actual goal. Napalm was also another mistake. By using a flammable jelly to literally burn up all of North Vietnam, the U.S. not only killed more civilians than soldiers, but also raised several ethical questions. Napalm coated anything it came within reach of, and burned continuously for up to a week. Doctors who treated napalm victims said their wounds would still glow green with heat at night, while the patients writhed in pain. Also, many international scientists and

influential people around the world protested the use of napalm very adamantly. Yet another type of bomb was dropped by the B-52s, this one containing a large amount of the defoliating gas, Agent Orange. Hundreds of millions of acres of jungle were destroyed and even more fields and rice paddies were poisoned because of Agent Orange. South Vietnamese farmers complained about the detrimental effect Agent Orange had on their rice paddies, and its use flooded camps and cities with refugees from outlying areas where entire crops were destroyed. Agent Orange was supposed to eliminate the VC’s advantageous hiding places, but it only turned the people we were fighting for against us even more. Even more so, Agent Orange cause countless birth defects and deadly illnesses in returning

vets. Thousands of soldiers came back with reoccurring sicknesses, and even cancer. 6 The use of Agent Orange was perhaps one of the largest mistakes made in Vietnam. By simply thinking ahead, weighing the consequences of using weapons such as napalm and Agent Orange, the U.S. quite possibly could have won the Vietnam War completely through the use of air power. More tonnage of ordinance was dropped in any given week during Vietnam than during all other wars in the history of the world combined. One would think this would make the war easy to win. Unfortunately, ethical problems and lack of planning made it impossible to settle the war in the air, thus forcing the U.S. to invade with ground forces. Westmoreland and the Ground War President Johnson chose General William C.

Westmoreland to command the land forces in Vietnam. Westmoreland, a tall, rugged man from South Carolina, was know for his enthusiasm, and for always having good news from the front lines. Westmoreland commanded over 500,000 troops at the peak of the war, and was still unable to crush the Viet Cong, as hoped by most of Washington. 3 But there were many factors that contributed to our startling defeat on the ground in Vietnam. The first and foremost was the difference in tactics between the Americans and the North Vietnamese. The VC were ruthless soldiers, who, even though sometimes poorly trained, fought with as much drive and enthusiasm as the best trained soldiers in the world. The VC used something called guerrilla tactics. They would recruit children, tie themselves to trees,