American Soldiers Conditions In The Vietnam War

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The total number of casualties in the Vietnam war was approximately 1,313,000 people. The Vietnam war was considered a very controversial, bloody war. Not everyone supported the idea of U.S. soldiers fighting in Vietnam. The lives of these soldiers were affected by many things that happened before, during, and after the war. There were many things about the Vietnam War that made it such a unique war such as, how soldiers got drafted, the combat conditions, and how soldiers were treated when they came home. There were many factors on deciding who would fight in the Vietnam war and what positions the soldiers would be in. Many soldiers were placed in jobs that they may have not liked or were good at, because during the Vietnam war there was …show more content…
Because the Vietnam was in such a different climate than what most U.S. soldiers were used to, it was difficult to adjust the it. In Vietnam they have a jungle like climate where it is humid and rains a lot. Jim said, “It was hot, humid, 120 degrees daily, it rained 4 months straight. There were also billions of mosquitos and leeches. You would walk through rice paddies and your legs would be covered by them” (Seery, Jim) From Minnesota, Jim was used to humid summers, but he didn’t expect such extreme weather when he was first drafted. Not only did the weather cause setbacks, but things like mosquitos and leeches were a nuisance during combat. Many Vietnam soldiers suffered through a kind of warfare called weather warfare, which is using the weather as a weapon. In the article, New World: Revolutionary Methods for Political Control the writer explains a situation where weather warfare was used. “During the Vietnam War the US Government used weather as a weapon under Project Popeye, which was an attempt to increase the rainfall over a supply route called the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which extended from North to South Vietnam” (Weather Warfare) The goal of Project Popeye was to extend the monsoon season and flood the Ho Chi Minh Trail. U.S. troops hoped to cause landslides, and cause disruption to the Vietnamese troops. The Vietnam war was the first war to use weather warfare. This was difficult for the U.S. troops to adjust to especially, because they were already struggling with the new
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