At War

I came across a Vietnam War documentary on Netflix this week.  I am embarrassed at what I must have learned and forgotten, and more embarrassed about how much I never cared to know.  Not just the details, but the major storylines were brand new to me, as if it was a fictional film that had just been released.  The war started with a fear of communism in the north threatening something like democracy in the south.  The United States takes notice and fears that if communism can move through that country, that it can spread through the rest of the world.  US war specialists are sent to "advise" South Vietnam, but not engage in combat.  That lasted only a short time until young boys and men began being drafted into active duty.  Many felt that blacks were being drafted at a disproportionate rate to the whites, which angered blacks back home, creating the first round of dissent for the war.  As a response, the "birthday lottery" was established to quell the protests.  Each day of the year was placed into a rotating basket, and drawn out one at a time.  If your birthday matched the one drawn, it was your turn to be drafted.  Success in Vietnam was measured by body count - who was killing more people.  Soldiers had areas where they could kill anyone they saw without determining whether it was the enemy or not.   The sheer brutality led many soldiers to resort to alcohol and drugs to soothe the pain.  Opiates were legal and readily available in Vietnam at that time and a jelly jar full of heroin could be purchased for five dollars.  The political leaders in the US were warned that there was no way to win the war, but they deceived the public so that support for the war would continue.   The political cover up began to be exposed, and as it did, protests erupted.  One of the worst was at Kent State University where 4 students were killed.  As soldiers returned home, instead of being honored for their service, they were spit at because of the stories of the atrocities that had been committed.  Many soldiers were already addicted to drugs.  Many more became addicted to drugs after returning and and some committed suicide.  I know that the boys and men that went to Vietnam had different experiences, but I have never heard of anyone that went whose life wasn't changed forever.   This soldier from Australia talks about his experience there which is nothing less than gruesome.   I hope things are better now, but I don't know if they are.