... aspects, and includes fear as the most important factor. Fear from death in the jungle, fear for the ones at home, and fear that the ones at home might forget them. The conclusion from the story is that the spiritual burden is actually much heavier than the physical, because there is no efficient way of dealing with the intangible evil that resides in the soul of the soldiers. The men carry a wide variety ... safety, partly for the illusion of safety- (9). The weapons and accessories the soldiers carried show the ways they try to cope with their insecurity of the war, and try to establi...

• Word Count: 1574
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... upper breast pockets, were situated perfectly up and down. This made it hard to reach deep into the pocket to retrieve ammunition under combat conditions. Also, the buttons had a tendency to stick and not unsnap. Worn along with the utilities was the all weather boot. Not suited for the jungle, it was made totally of leather. In a wet environment, leather provided no ventilation . This promoted ... to jam in a fire fight and quickly earned it a bad reputation among the troops. The new weapon was not as durable as the M-14 and did not stand up as well to the jungle climate. Much to the "g...

• Word Count: 1323
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... general who cares more about the surf than the accomplishment of the mission. Perhaps it is only these men, on the brink of insanity, which can be successful in leading missions of such brutality. The journey into the jungle takes the viewer into the heart of the darkness, providing the viewer with the indications that we are getting deeper into the evil as we progress down the river. The themes of horror are evident ... in this movie just as sharply as they are in The Things They Carried. The main theme in Apocalypse Now is the concept that in order to ... murderer. His only option befo...

• Word Count: 1176
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... because they were expecting to come home in a body bag and become another statistic. Young American teenagers were being thrown into the jungle only to be slaughtered by the enemy, who was at home in the dense forests. The Vietnam War was a war fought without rules. Innocent Vietnamese civilians were killed whether by accident or not. Women and children were forced to use themselves as ... kill American soldiers. If they refused they would be sliced limb from limb by Viet Cong soldiers. No war is a good war, but this is as bad as they come. The war got the best of most soldiers. Many ne...

• Word Count: 752
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... writhed in pain. Also, many international scientists and influential people around the world protested the use of napalm very adamantly. Yet another type of bomb was dropped by the B-52s, this one containing a large amount of the defoliating gas, Agent Orange. Hundreds of millions of acres of jungle were destroyed and even more fields and rice paddies were poisoned because of Agent Orange. South Vietnamese ... farmers complained about the detrimental effect Agent Orange had on their rice paddies, and its ... death in Vietnam. Weapons were another problem in Vietnam. Again going back to...

• Word Count: 2310
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... avoided combat (Chant 38). Without complete involvement and a true desire to win, the guerrilla warfare of the Vietcong was too effective to face in a jungle setting, especially when most Vietcong soldiers were recruited in the South and had much support from the local civilians. Despite all of these problems, the U.S. remained in Vietnam, without any clear goals or objectives, or even a ... Vietnam War-). Instead, he offered France assistance in containing the "communist rebellion,"" (Chant 22). By October of the same year, the French had returned and regained control in South Vietnam, b...

• Word Count: 2744
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... many many men. No one wanted to be remembered as the president who was the first to lose a war. If they thought about it dualistically pulling out early could make them a hero and they could spread propaganda to spread this image. "The president who saved your sons from being brutally slaughtered in the Vietnam jungle." The war tactics used by America in Vietnam were lower than ... low. Dropping chemicals on their jungles, turning the once lushes green foliage to a sick orange color. So it was easier to spot ... the enemy. The napalm used was totally unethical, but I guess ethics go ou...

• Word Count: 430
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... this case takes the place of the organism, and the host becomes the soldiers. There are several examples of the parasitic nature of war through out the book. In one particular section, Tim O'Brien returns to Vietnam with his daughter. Twenty years had gone by, but it seems as though all of his thoughts are geared back to the time he had spent in the jungle so long before ... . The two of them travel ... all over the country, but before their departure, he returns to the field where he feels he lost everything. On this list he includes his honor, his best friend, and all ... ...

• Word Count: 567
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... been surrounded by communism and this could have very well taken over Australia. Australia wanted to stop communism in its tracks. Also Australia signed two major alliances in the early 50's, the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, United States) and SEATO (South-east Asia Treaty Organization) which were signed for protection and safety by becoming allies with U.S.A. In ... we are guaranteed protection. If Australia didn't fulfill the requirement these alliances could be terminated, leaving Australia almost defenseless. The war in Vietnam was a guerrilla warfare which means enemies did not w...

• Word Count: 701
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... (Westmoreland 147-154). Weapons were another problem in Vietnam. Going back to World War II, the massive armored assaults that won the war for the allies were useless in the dense jungle. U.S. armor was limited to using M113 troop carriers with machine guns on them, instead of using the more effective M60 tanks and artillery (Neal 82). So Westmoreland was forced to rethink tactics, as ... well as use weapons and strategies untested in the history of American warfare (Westmoreland 163). Other difficulties ... with weapons were rampant. The M-16, a revolutionary new ... ...

• Word Count: 1837
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... aide from the US. The aide only reaches the black market, because of many political officials resented American influence. The troops had there own broadcasting station. The broadcasts consisted of daily updates on the weather back in the states. North Vietnam matches the number of troops, that we had. The tactic search and destroy arouses controversy. The US units, the AirForce units, and the South Vietnamese units would patrol in the jungle till they ... found the main force units of the Viet Cong and destroy them. Troops ... ...

• Word Count: 1574
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... suffering serious health problems. Sprayed onto forests, it entered into the plants, soil, and water. " (Hopkins, pg. 56) This was an awful idea or tactic to use. It was not only harmful to both enemy and innocent people but also the environment. The original idea was to deprive the Vietcong of a food supply and the jungle they used to hide and for coverage. After these strategies ... were not giving the Americans any success President Kennedy's advisors secretly told him that the ARVN was feeble and that the situation was becoming more and more serious. Even with this ... said, the pr...

• Word Count: 4657
• Approx Pages: 19
• Grade Level: High School

... many Americans quietly and operatively. In the movie Platoon, The Viet Kong operated from secret bases in the jungle or marshes near the boarder of Cambodia. They played a significant role in the movie as they demonstrated the guerrilla tactics and warfare that was happening between the two camps. The other Vietnamese people that were illustrated in the movie were the village people. Like the Viet Kong, these people had no ... These characters represented men of the 1950's and 60's. The Nature of the war would later be described as original and ingenious. Both the American and Vietnamese...

• Word Count: 2144
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... and bushes in forest and jungle like environments, where enemies hide. In the book "Vietnam War A History" written by Karnow Stanley was talked about the Agent Orange was first sprayed into the jungle of Vietnam in 1965, and was used broadly at the height of the war (1967-1969). Agent Orange first killed the rainforest, stripping the jungle bare. In time, the substance then spread its ... toxic reach to the food chain, leading to a generation of birth deformities. Though it was ... diminished and disused in 1971, the amount of this fatally poisonous substance ... ...

• Word Count: 2102
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... they were there to rescue didn't want to leave. That didn't matter however, they had a mission, and the mission was going to be carried out. On the way back out, they were responsible for the people who couldn't move quite as quickly and efficiently through the jungle as the special forces was trained to do, so they had to sacrifice stealth for speed to get out ... room, lay my rucksack on a root that lifted half my height out of the earth, and listen to a stream nearby that you couldn't see but just knowing it was there was comforting." The worst thing my dad remembers is how the Vietn...

• Word Count: 1284
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... ; they were referred to as the lost platoon. Once they were on the ground they spotted an enemy solider and pursued him into the jungle in the hopes of capturing him alive for interrogation. The chase lead the platoon away from the battalion and once battle broke out they were separated an on their own. The enemy quickly surrounded the platoon. To compound the problem, their captain and medic ... were among the first killed in battle. Without leadership, medical treatment or supplies the chance of survival was slim. The soldiers recited ... still fighting with two of the NVA companies. ...

• Word Count: 2373
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... avoided combat (Chant 38). Without complete involvement and a true desire to win, the guerrilla warfare of the Vietcong was too effective to face in a jungle setting, especially when most Vietcong soldiers were recruited in the South and had much support from the local civilians. Despite all of these problems, the U.S. remained in Vietnam, without any clear goals or objectives, or even a ... Vietnam War-). Instead, he offered France assistance in containing the "communist rebellion,"" (Chant 22). By October of the same year, the French had returned and regained control in South Vietnam, b...

• Word Count: 2816
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... writhed in pain. Also, many international scientists and influential people around the world protested the use of napalm very adamantly. Yet another type of bomb was dropped by the B-52s, this one containing a large amount of the defoliating gas, Agent Orange. Hundreds of millions of acres of jungle were destroyed and even more fields and rice paddies were poisoned because of Agent Orange. South Vietnamese ... farmers complained about the detrimental effect Agent Orange had on their rice paddies, and its ... death in Vietnam. Weapons were another problem in Vietnam. Again going back to...

• Word Count: 2331
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... were for the war they were called the war hawks and if they were against the war they were called doves. The U.S. went into this war very confident thinking they could use their new advance technology to defeat the North Vietnamese. They were very surprise because it did not work. The North Vietnamese use guerilla warfare tatics and they were fighting in thick jungle areas. The Vietnamese did ... not wear uniforms and there was no clear battlefront. This changed the U.S. attitude about rushing into war and thinking that there new technology ... ...

• Word Count: 368
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... effort. They weren't a communist nation, but the North was. This brought on the fighting. The U.S. Marines first arrived in Danang in 1965. Danang is Located in South Vietnam, close to the Northern Vietnamese territory. This is the only war in which there was no true front line. The fighting happened where it happened. This was due to the thick jungle foliage. It covers most of Vietnam, this made ... the fighting very difficult. The soldiers often time ran into enemy patrols not meaning to, it just ... happened, then the fighting would break out. This went on thru the entire war. The V...

• Word Count: 408
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... of people in Vietnam work in agriculture and the southerners were very reluctant to give up their land to the collectivization and redistribution that the government was trying to implement. There was also a problem with the fact that U.S. had sprayed herbicides during the war in much of the south to defoliate it and, "The ruinous impact of the removal of the jungle canopy was incalculable." (Sar Desai, p.332) This created ... food shortages for the country and people were starving. "The Vietnamese people's standard of living ... ...

• Word Count: 669
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... lives were being lost in the jungle. A war that from 1968 until 1975 eveyones life was effected. Everyone knew someone that was in the war. It was a war where our soilders would smoke marajuana in the jungles. It was a war that was fought at night, and during the day the farmers tended to their fields. OVERVIEW The Country of Vietnam lies to the south of China. Laors and ... . Vietnam was divided into two parts, North Vietnam, the communist, and South Vietnam. The two halves of the country were divided by the 17th parallel. The North was known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under ...

• Word Count: 1156
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... be escalated in Vietnam. Secretary of State George Ball, Presidential Press Secretary Bill Moyers, State Department Advisor James Thompson, and Vice- President Hubert Humphrey believed that this war was not the United States battle. George Ball stated, " No matter how many hundred thousand white, foreign troops we deploy. No one has demonstrated of whatever size can win a guerrilla war- which is ... at the same time a civil was between Asians- in jungle terrain in the midst of a population that refuses cooperation to the white forces and provides a great intelligence advantage to the ot...

• Word Count: 878
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... ever fought in. The war fought was more than 10,000 miles away and never had a true beginning or end. It was very different than America's past wars. Guerilla warfare, mass civilian casualties, and fierce jungle combat were all found in this war. The war had involved the strongest military, the United States, and an untrained militia, the Vietnamese. The Viet Cong were not the only enemies of ... the war as harsh weather and the substantial amount of thick jungles grew into a frustrating factor. Many questions still remain regarding the involvement of the U.S. in the war. The psychologi...

• Word Count: 1774
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... . Even with these wrongs of the war, the soldiers acquired a magnetism to combat (230). The American soldiers were becoming much like the Viet Cong, as there rations became cooked rice rolled into a ball and stuffed with raisins. The soldiers learned to move in the jungle like the Viet Cong and they shared the common miseries of war. The combat soldiers had more in common with the Viet Cong than they did ... with the staff officers (277). During the last part of the battle soldiers changed from being disciplined to savages and back to being disciplined ... ...

• Word Count: 2036
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School