13 Crazy Facts About the Vietnam War You Never Knew
Some historical facts you may not know
The American experience in Vietnam was lengthy and painful for the country. Those opposed to the war saw it as a meat grinder for draftees, unfairly targeting the poor, the uneducated, and minorities.
For those who supported the war and those who served in the military at the time, the American public and media were and continue to be misled about what happened during the war, leaving many at home feeling betrayed.
The facts, which neither side disputes, are equally harrowing. Over the course of 20 years, more than 58 thousand Americans were killed and more than one hundred fifty thousand were injured in Vietnam, not to mention the emotional toll the war took on American culture.
The war ended Lyndon Johnson’s presidency and left an indelible mark on Richard Nixon’s. It served as the foundation for the most turbulent period in American history since the Civil War a century before.
Here are some crazy facts that you never knew about the Vietnam war.
Fact #1: The United States first got involved in Vietnam in 1954
In a way. Before 1965, the official line is that the US sent only supplies and advisors. Prior to the fall of French Indochina, Vietnam’s colonial name, the end of World War II saw the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under President Ho Chi Minh.
Minh even alluded to the visiting American OSS agents in his Independence speech by paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal.” The Creator has bestowed upon us certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, the right to be free, and the right to happiness.”
Fact #2: Both the United States and South Vietnamese Presidents were shot in 1963, and this would be significant
They were both Catholic, but that was the extent of their similarities. This could also spell the end of the country’s coherent containment strategy. On November 2, 1963, Diem was shot in an armored personnel carrier.
There were 16,000 U.S. advisors in Vietnam at the time. President John F. Kennedy was said to be taken aback by the news. Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara stated that he “had never seen the President more upset.”
Both men were aware that the US government was to blame “to some extent.” According to the Pentagon Papers leak, the US secretly maintained contact with Diem over-throwers, and the US government gave the generals in Vietnam the go ahead to begin planning a coup.
Kennedy would be shot in the back of a car twenty days later.
Fact #3: Kennedy wanted to get the United States military out of Vietnam but couldn’t figure out how
President Kennedy was a firm believer in containment policy and the Domino Theory, but not so much that he waged an indefinite war against the Communists in Vietnam.
During his presidency, he and McNamara actively sought a way out of Vietnam while still supporting a free South through financial support and training. Kennedy desired that all U.S. personnel leave by the end of 1965.
Fact #4: The M-16 sucked so hard, US troops preferred the AK-47
In the middle of 1966, Gen. William Westmoreland, Commander of US Forces in Vietnam, replaced the M-14 rifle with the new M-16 rifle as the standard issue infantry rifle. There was no pomp and circumstance.
The first generation of the M-16 rifle was a shambles, with a proclivity for “failure to extract” jams in the middle of a firefight. They were so bad that Congress hammered the Army in 1967 for delivering such a bad rifle system and then failing to properly train troops to use it.
Fact #5: The North Vietnamese Air Force was actually a pretty worthy adversary
On a Reddit AMA, a Vietnam era pilot and Hanoi Hilton POW was asked how good the NVAF fighter pilots were. “They got me, didn’t they?” he says. This is anecdotal evidence, but there is more.
The Navy’s Top Gun strike fighter tactics school was established in response to the loss rate of one aircraft for every thousand sorties during Operation Rolling Thunder, which was significant given the total of 1 point 8 million sorties flown over Vietnam.
Fact #6: The draft didn’t unfairly target the working class or minorities
The demographics of troops deployed to Vietnam were nearly identical to those of the United States at the time. 88.4% of troops deployed to Vietnam were Caucasian, 10.6% were African-American, and 1% were of other races.
According to the 1970 census, the African-American population in the United States was estimated to be 11%. Although 76% of those who served were from working class families, this was a time when most troops had at least a high school diploma, as opposed to enlisted men in previous wars, where only half had a high school diploma.
Fact #7: Richard Nixon ended the war, but invaded Cambodia first
President Nixon’s “Vietnamization” strategy called for a gradual withdrawal of US troops while arming ARVN forces with modern equipment, technology, and training. It also included plans to help the Saigon government gain support in the provinces and strengthen the government’s political positions.
In 1970, he authorized incursions into Cambodia as well as massive bombings of Cambodia and Laos in order to maintain pressure on the North while Vietnamization was underway. This sparked widespread public outrage in the United States.
As US troop numbers declined to sixty nine thousand in 1972, NVA attacks such as the 1972 Eastertide Offensive revealed the ARVN’s overall weakness.
Fact #8: The Communists do not still hold Prisoners Of War
Many people point to “evader signals” on satellite imagery of Vietnam as proof of the continued detention of American POW’s. If POW’s were still being held in 1973, they are almost certainly dead.
Those withheld POW’s who did not die of old age would never be repatriated to the United States. It would be difficult to explain the sudden discovery of over six hundred MIA in Hanoi. The truth is that North Vietnam had no reason to continue holding American hostages.
The Americans refused to return, and the North continued to violate the Paris Accords.
Fact #9: A lot of unconventional devices were engineered during the Vietnamese War
During the Vietnam War, resources were scarce, and troops had to use anything and everything they could to save lives. During this time, superglue was used to stop the bleeding until the injured soldier could be properly treated.
To repair damaged helicopter blades, duct tape was used. Slinky’s were used as mobile radio antennas during the Vietnam War. They’d sling the Slinky over trees to increase the range of their radios.
Fact #10: The use of Chemicals was a matter of controversy
‘Agent Orange,’ a defoliant designed to strip away forest cover used by enemy guerrilla troops, was a contentious tool used during the Vietnam War. Following the war, it was discovered that the chemical mixture caused tumors, birth defects, and other illnesses in both returning US soldiers and many Vietnamese.
Even to this day, the chemical’s effects can be felt. Children in Vietnam are still being born with horrific birth defects as a result of the lingering effects of ‘Agent Orange,’ a herbicide used by the US military to destroy forest cover used by Viet Cong forces.
Fact #11: Large Scale US Military Involvement in the Conflict Began in 1961
President John F. Kennedy spearheaded major American involvement in the conflict. Until 1961, there had been a relatively small number of military advisors in Vietnam.
By 1965, the United States had active combat units fighting in Vietnam, and by 1969, 500,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed there.
Fact #12: The Conflict Was Nicknamed “The Helicopter War”
In the conflict, 12,000 American helicopters saw action. There were eleven different types of rotary winged craft used to back up troops, extract them from the battlefield, or rush them to hospitals during the Vietnam War, but the one most commonly associated with the conflict was the “Huey.”
Fact #12: A Failed Attempt Was Made in 1973 to End the War
President Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973, effectively ending the United States’ direct involvement in the conflict. The North Vietnamese accepted a cease-fire, but even as US troops were leaving Vietnam, North Vietnamese military officials plotted to take over South Vietnam.
Fact #13: The War Finally Ended in 1975
Saigon, South Vietnam’s capital city, fell to the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong on April 30, 1975. Vietnam had been at war for 19 years and 9 months. North Vietnam’s victory effectively ended the war.
Final Thoughts:
There you have it, our 13 crazy facts about the Vietnam War. This was a terrible event in our history that cost lots of people their lives. I hope you found this interesting. You may also like:
Wrap Up:
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