That's right, the Gulf of Tonkin incident shows how honest and kind the Vietnamese leaders are in the face of American plots. They know that America is wrong in participating in this war. They just don't want to escalate this war with America in vain. Vietnamese leaders always fight on the ideological and political front, calling on American compatriots to support Vietnam's cause. They just need the American army to withdraw from Vietnam, so that Vietnam can be ruled by the Vietnamese people. They just want independence, just like the Americans want independence from the British. So Vietnamese leaders always fight on the political front, not on the military front. Unlike the wars against giant China, Vietnam will fight with all its might on the military front. But America is eager to win and gets bogged down, creating a fake situation in the Gulf of Tonkin incident to deliberately blame and create an excuse to escalate the war.
Thank you! I have been hearing short ideology of my family background. I can only emphasize my family all my life but barely can understand them. This story taught me much more learning their tough time and how much it effect their mindset and thinking. I had to connect story tales but could not make out this whole conflicts. Your documentary resolve my long life family history background.
Buffalo Springfields ‘For What It’s Worth’ gave me goosebumps. It’s been running through my head lately…. How we compare to the dark ages is… I don’t have a word for it
A powerful protest song, I mistakenly had always thought it was about Vietnam. Stephen Stills actually wrote it about the new anti-loitering laws in Hollywood and the Sunset Strip curfew riots of 1966.
@@AG-ok7no I don’t think there was a FM “rock” station in 1966 L.A…..I doubt Buffalo Springfield played on top 40 AM radio. I probably got the album some where in 1967 or 68 when the Vietnam protests were raging. Anyway, For What’s it’s Worth has certainly held up. Sounds all too relevant today. And the ‘young people’ speaking their mind are now mid to late 70’s. I’m 72 ! I love the Isley Brothers Fight the Power and The Doors 5 to 1. And Eddie Harris, Les McCann’s Compared to What. Wife is out, think I’ll crank up the cd player…
The US dropped on Vietnam in ONE MONTH, the entire tonnage of bombs DROPPED IN WORLD WAR 2..and still lost. Americans should think carefully what they would go through IF THEY FOUGHT A WAR WITH CHNIA! Total Humiliation!...ANGUKA NAYO...
"Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater is such an iconic Vietnam War song............ every time I play it or hear it elsewhere, that's the first thing I think of. The soundtrack to this series is absolutely outstanding......... I love it!!
I cried because of the years of suffering of the nation. Today, our youth are determined to strive to study and work to bring Vietnam to strong development on par with other great powers in the world. In 2025, we will start construction on the North-South elevated railway project with a speed of 350k/h. It will be completed in 2035 and then it will take us only 5.5 hours to travel from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh instead of 32 hours by train like now. It is truly a symbol of Vietnam's new era. We will call it the Thong Nhat high-speed train line!
Look to china for a strong trading partner and buisness associate in that part of the world . They have everyone in a headlock anyway might as well join them since your both hybrid communist but dont count out American cheese burgers and Coca-Cola . I mean the embankment in Moscow that was built by stalin whos small apartments go for millions of dollars has a giant german symbol advertisement on top . Mercedes benz . One way or anothet money always wins doesnt it . I dont know if thats bad or good
@@nhasachduchanh the people of Vietnam will never know the enjoyment of true freedom and democracy under communist rule 58,00 American soldiers died for trying to give them American freedom
Mother: What the hell is my boy doing in Vietnam? General: Sir, what's the purpose of this war? President/Politician: To tight against Communist? What I think is they themselves don't know what they are doing¡. Because they don't know what they are doing. They are merely showing power to the others who think they are as powerful as USA is.
Very good. The odd mistake, but we all make them and war documentaries are more prone to them: the general synopsis is accurate. This documentary is very well constructed; imo.
Many ex-nam conscripts found their way into the Rhodesian civil war. Some of their eyes told all about what they went through in nam. There was one posted in guard force duties on the farms in Chipinga. He was polite but never smiled. Check out 'The Mouldings of Chipinge', Lulu Press, by RG Cooper.
10 years of government subsidized lunacy,, on an industrial level...And for a country that's always blowing it's horn about how smart we are...This was some dumb crap...
2 месяца назад
hindsight is always 20/20. armchair quarterbacks are always going to try to pick apart decisions from history. It is easy to look back and see that being in Vietnam was most likely a mistake. It is easy, for most, to know that had things turned out differently there would not be as much second guessing and armchair quarterbacking from the "experts". If you understand military operations it is easy to look at the different things the military did and suggest changes in tactics that would have made a huge difference in the conflict, such as not sending individuals like they did. That is the reason they deploy full units now. The US seems to always want to fight the war that was fought prior to the current engagement. The US was busy trying to use tactics that were out dated as we were trying to fight a war of territory instead of the war of attrition it turned in to. It took some time before the military figured out that they couldn't win a war of territory in VN and tried to adjust to the concept behind a war of attrition. I will be the first to admit that is a stupid concept and I never understood why they would go that route. I would like to think that the US military learned from what happened in VN and make changes to doctrine so as not to screw it up like that again but there are always going to be mistakes made and judging from the most recent events, we didn't catch on. The steaming pile of garbage that was Afghanistan is an example, but that is a different subject entirely....
@@mikepearson9983 Yeah,, playing games in the 197th infantry brigade at that huge festering crater euphemistically referred to as Ft Benning..Lot of 25th infantry and First Air Cav back from deployment..Don't know what those post MP's were gettin' paid,, but it wasn't enough..Still had a year to go..and every second was an eternity...
If you are ever in Houston, go to where Hwy 59 meets the Sam Houston Tollway. That whole area is "Little Saigon" with Vietnamese malls, restaurants, newspapers and street signs. Look for little cafes and restaurants and find older Vietnamese men, over age 70. They were likely involved with the South Vietnamese military or government and can tell you first hand what the Vietnam War was all about - freedom versus slavery, human rights versus totalitarian criminal regime.
How can they say anything else? they are in the USA. Every country has the right to its own way of government, if the citizens of a country want change, let them fight and die for it, thousands might die, but when the USA and allies get involved, millions will perish. The USA is still at it, leaving our shores to travel thousands of miles away to do '''Regime Change, while our working citizens live in care, and thousands of addicts fouling every city pavement. Vietnam is still a peaceful, prosperous country, and our army still keep coming home in body bags, from Afghanistan and Iraq etc., Recently the USA sent a delegation, to this '''criminal regime''' for trade talks, so what did thousands of USA troops die for?
The USA is still at it, mostly as a result of the support they get from people like you. Let's look at the false war on Iraq, after 911, Bush and his elite fled to the bunker under the Whitehouse to gas masks and safety, from the fall out of false wars they created. Where did the common man have to hide? Call it what is, Armed Robbery and invasion, with our soldiers coming home in Body bags, or not at all, being to pieces.
The Posture of Vietnam* You fell on the runway of Tan Son Nhat But you rose up, leaning your rifle against the helicopter wreckage And you died while still standing,firing Your blood sprayed like the rainbow in the gunfire's blaze. Seeing you, the enemy panicked and surrendered Some knelt at your feet, trying to dodge bullets Though you had died, your courage remained strong Still standing tall, launching the attack. What is your name, beloved soldier? You stood silently like an unyielding fortress Like the sandals beneath your feet, trampling countless enemy corpses Yet firmly advancing towards Saigon. Vietnam! Vietnam! ( Lê Anh Xuân's poem, a " Vietcong" - Tet offensive 1968 - he died in Saigon )
Why, when talking about Vietnam, no-one ever talks about Frances' war in what was then called Indo-China? That was the precursor to American involvement.
The French had been gone eight years before American lives were lost. The U.S. paid eighty percent of the French bill to be in Vietnam, you can’t blame the French, that was ‘Merican arrogance.
Well... the French were there for a century or so, prior to Dien Bien Phu, as a colonial power. But the Americans went in on a stupid hunt against "communist dominoes"... or so they said. The fact is that the USA had no business meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation... the war was an outrageous overstep on their part and likely a 10 year long war crime. Not a single soldier, sailor or airman of the USA should have set foot in country. The 58K dead were victims of a criminal US government. Vietnam was not our place or our problem... but, hey, metric shite tonnes of profits were made by "Big War" literally over their dead bodies.
Today, Vietnam tops the list for many travellers/backpackers/tourists as one of the best countries on Earth to visit. I've spent a little time in Vietnam teaching English and travelling throughout the country, and also spent a couple of months just hanging out there in 2018. When you ask those who have visited Vietnam why they enjoyed it, almost all that I have encountered has put "The people" above all else. And for me. it's also the people. Unlike their crazy Thai neighbours or shabby Cambodian buddies next door, the Vietnamese are, for me, truly one of the World's great peoples. They are tough but kind, intelligent and educated even if without much schooling as they are a naturally curious people, family-orientated, independent, and incredibly loyal as friends - they will help you in any way they can without wanting something from you and often become embarrassed when you thank them. But it is their quiet strength, above all else, that impresses. And when you learn this, it becomes much clearer why they have kicked the shit out of the Chinese (twice), the French, the US, the Japanese, and would have done the same to the Russians had they been so arrogant as to attempt an invasion. Much love and thanks to Vietnam for my wonderful times spent amongst its people.🙏
I used to believe this narrative, until I moved to Texas and started getting to know Vietnamese people. Recently I was in a hair salon getting my haircut (off I45 Exit 19). The shop was filled with Viatnamese women. I asked the young woman cutting my hair when she planned on going back to Vietnam? I thought Vietnam was like the Philippines or Mexico, people come to the US, send money back home, stuff money jn a Savings account and eventually go back and retire. The young woman did not have that expectation, apparently. She slowly walked around me, staring at me with an open mouth. "I never go back Vietnam! I never go back Vietnam! I never go back! Never!!" I apologized a dozen times but the manager, also a young woman from Vietnam, let her go take a break and came to cut my hair. That's all I needed to know about what life is like in Vietnam hahaha. I tell you, getting to know a few people from there really helps you understand what Communism really represents.
Omg, why don't you learn about Vietnam yourself by visiting the country and see it with your own eyes? Do not learn it from someone who had a bad experience in Vietnam. Alternatively, you can watch Vietnam clips from tourist on youtube. Vietnamese in Vietnam has moved on and nobody cares about the war anymore.
@@IvanNguyen-ky6nn Yes, Vietnam has turned into a very vibrant industry producing country since the ignorance of the American government left. JFK had escalated the conflict with the first 400 Green Barets he sent to train S. Vietnamese troops. Then the assassination of JFK and the blundering idiot LBJ became president that eventually cost the lives of over 58,000 American young men & women, which was profoundly assisted by Gen. Westmoreland and Sec. McNamara. I was in Phan Rang 1967-68 USAF to honorably serve my country but can say I never believed we should have been involved in Vietnam, especially after my tour was over. I have done many searches about the growth of Vietnam and the success they have achieved after the war was over. Beautiful places like Da Lat City & Na Trang. A beautiful country with the richness of producing crops by the hard-working people that endured so much outside aggression that stood in their way!!! May there never be another war or any war like that of Vietnam...
Vietnamese always conflict against each other when talking about the Vietnam War. We even have these Vietnamese who supported the French to kill Vietnamese, or even hope the U.S to drop nukes on North Vietnam. Some Vietnamese even say "if the U.S kills any Vietnamese, that Vietnamese surely is Communist.". Boat people. They usually are wealthy families, who have gold to have a seat on these boats.
Exactly! In America there are some Vietnamese people, the vast majority of south Vietnamese people who fled to America to fight against communism. They do not dare to return to Vietnam and they made up stories to speak ill of the Vietnamese government even though in reality Vietnamese communism is not as bad as people rumor @@yevonsama
@@joebombero1 the French were in Vietnam in the 1850s because they were invited in by A losing “faction” . All of those who are here in the U.S. or elsewhere their from losing factions.
in 1960-63 the US had CIA snipers with chinese rifles, who wore viet-cong uniforms, and ate, lived, like viets. they were tasked with eliminating south Vietnamese generals and other high ranking targets. they would wait for a month or more for their target, one shot and slither away. I personally knew some of these men while they were alive - RIP by the time the conflict got going they had gone back to the US
"The situation in Saigon was intensified as the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) fought against Diem ultimately leading to his death.' This is misleading. It's as if you are saying the NLF killed Diem and his brother Nhu. It was Diem's own generals (who arranged a coup with the knowledge of the Americans), who Diem & Nhu killed on the orders of Dương Văn Minh - who became the next President.
The Vietnamese civil war was the result of the division of Vietnam after the defeat of France in 1954 and communist North Vietnam supported by the Soviet Union, China, North Korea.
When the majority number of South Vietnam 🇻🇳 people biased the vetcong regime, especially peasants in landscapes...American military presence lost its legitimacy .. better for Americans withdrawing in South Vietnam before escalations organized full conflicts. Whey Americans are always organizing disabled weaknesses regimes in countries under the threat of communist or Islamic terrorism groups in Middle East.....
Money and power=god , it is worth jihad , is it not , their faith is strong , if they have failed god , god has not failed them . Mohammed would have understood consolation of power ,that is why Islam is so prevalent.
Very good documentary as usual why did we do this or do that like they say hindsight is 20/20 look at times the crap stalin pulled after ww2, when he invaded Czechoslovakia ,then you ca understand I believe why the alarm was sounded about Communism we lost so much with this war and didn't stand up with our young men and women
France involvement in indo China and American involvement in Vietnam is different. France was a colony power who thought they could be the same power after ww2. American involvement was all about stopping communism. The Vietnamese just did to America,as what America did to British in their war of independence, but 200 years later
@BenLewis-zi8wg OK, so the hippie thing was a joke. That aside, if you think for one instant with everything we know now historically that we never belonged there, then you're delusional. There are a couple of very in-depth documentaries on the war . Maybe give them a go. Kennedy opposed it, and well.... Freedom is the last thing we were fighting for.
I grew up in West Germany and the Vietnam War is the full equivalent of East Germany sending their Nationale Volksarmee (NVA, ironically) over to conquer West Germany for the "Arbeiter und Bauernparadies", the Workers and Peasants Paradise. Given the reality of the Workers and Peasants Paradise, I would have very much liked the US to come to our aid. The tragedy of the Vietnam War is not that the US went there but that the entire US body politic (and that induces its armed forces) never managed to come up with a coherent winning strategy. Or any strategy. Full disclaimer: I have no idea what this strategy could have been.
What are you talking about, Vietnam didn´t care about communism or whatsoever, Vietnam just cared ONLY to be independent country!!! unfortunately the super powers USSR, China, US, France teared Vietnam apart into two parts so Vietnam had no choice to fight for independent.
@@somboonsaetang6380 What Vietnam cared about, I don't know.What the Vietcong/minh whatever wanted was Vietnam for Communism. Not what the rest of Vietnam wanted. Otherwise the Vietcong recruiters would not have had to terrorize villages for "volunteers" or all the Boat People would not have happened.
This is a war between freedom and communism. The Americans gave up, abandoned South Vietnam to choose China and the Middle East in the cold war with the Soviet Union.
What were the reparations imposed by Vietnam after they lost this war? How much did America have to give Vietnam after losing this conflict? Are they still under these reparations and are still paying them? I know America really caused some serious damage over there and should pay for all the damage they caused to their property!! They should be brave like Japan with a 72,000,000 population and go on the attack, although the Japanese could not beat the Australians with a 7,000,000 population and could not get there to impose victory reparations either!! In the end the Australians did to them but?!!!!!?
First, the fighting is to get rid of the Japanese and the colonists French. Then came the domino theory by the US. Vietnam then became the battlefield of the cold war. When Korea was divided, South Korean welcomed the American became the US nuked Japan. Japan colonized Korea from 1915 to 1945. When the Americans came to South Vietnam, the South vietnamese saw similarities between the Americans and the French 😂😂😂
The 1946 French army was doomed to failure. The flakey French governments sent them to war with obsolete weapons and limited supplies. Moreover, the frugal French government depended on American finance and military equipment after the fall of China in 1949.
For anyone who wishes to get a fundamental understanding of the Vietnam War, you would have to go back to the years immediately following World War II. Vietnam began its own civil war. I highly recommend the book “Dereliction Of Duty” by H.R. McMasters (1997). And the book “America In Vietnam: A Bright Shining Lie”, by Neil Sheehan (1988). Read the 47-volume of The Pentagon Papers, there are different versions. Another good book is “A Soldier Reports”, written by General William Westmoreland.
@@m.scottreeder Bernard Fall , a Frenchman who was there when the French fell, as so did he with the Americans , in 68, he has several books . “A Street without Joy” is one.
@@chipschannel9494 I read about that guy, too. He was killed in Vietnam after his jeep ran over a land mine, a Marine photographer was killed as well. If I’m not mistaken.
Ever nations have right to choose their own leader Ho Chi Minh was there leader who free their people from foreign role. Because of US interference millions of inosent people lost.
Perhaps, but I think Ukraine is an equal blunder. No, our troops are not there, but people are also dying for nothing. Another military industrial complex coup.
31:13: "The situation in Saigon was intensified as the Viet Cong faught against Diem, ultimately leading to his death". He was assassinated by the CIA. This is double speaking b s to shift the blame to the other side.
Can any US citizen tell me where in the Constitution that gives LBJ the authority to continue a war for 20 years he was only in office for what 4 years find the nearest 3 1/2 years of Kennedy so they're 7 1/2 years but under what part of the Constitution gives the president of the authority to continue a war for 20 years I thought Congress could only declare war in presidents have a limited time to send troops out and then I have to bring him home
And we're off, plus characteristic INHERITED????? and "the idea that there's been one people called the Vietnamese over the last two thousand years is a bit of a modern invention." You are the ones making the movie and you are the ones who get to pick the cherries(watermelons)
Well I can tell you when you graduate high school you’re 17 years old and for that year you’re number three on the draft not wanting to go in the army like my brother had I join the Navy so I wouldn’t have to go to Vietnam guess what I was there
