How Did The Vietnam War Affect Families

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The Vietnam War caused a major conflict in not only Vietnam, but also the United States. When the United States joined the war there were many people who believed President Johnson was making the best decision, but there were several others who believed the Vietnam War was not America's war to fight. The Vietnam War had a huge effect on the American soldiers. Not only were the soldiers affected during conflict on the battlefield, but also when they returned home. The Vietnam War was the first war that was recorded and shown on television for families to see. This alone had a drastic impact on the family members of the United States' soldiers. However, this was not the only consequence of the Vietnam War.
President Johnson sent troops to Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. By 1968 536,100 soldiers had been sent to Vietnam. The Vietnamese soldiers fought using the guerrilla warfare strategy. This warfare strategy was unfamiliar to the American soldiers, who were used to the "American way of war" strategy. The "American way of war" strategy was to forcefully attack the enemy as quickly as possible. This strategy was used by Ulysses S. Grant to fight the American Civil War. When the soldiers arrived to Vietnam they were not familiar with the swampy terrain. Surrounding them were rice …show more content…
Parents of young men sent to Vietnam worried about their sons. Because the Vietnam War was recorded and broadcasted, family members saw gruesome footage from the war. For example, exploded shells and wounded soldiers were recorded and could been seen on the TVs back home. Unlike the Vietnamese, American losses were reported weekly. This way families knew if their loved ones died in a battle. Soldiers and family member could exchange letters, but often times the soldiers did not receive the letters from their loved ones. For this reason, families would go as long as years without hearing from their loved

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