Gladius;n2305733 said:
That simplification omits the whole anti war movement and the division of the american society on that matter. If there had been enough believers, no draft would have been necessary. But yes, after the golf of tonkin, vietnam war and watergate etc. even the hardcore believers might have started to question their government. Anyways thanks for recommending that show.
First: At the time combat troops were being sent into Vietnam and for quite some time, there was no anti-war movement. The anti-war movement didn't really get start growing any legs until late 1967. There were a lot of civil rights issues preoccupying the nation in the mid-'60s.
Second: I was off by a few percentage points it would appear. ( but not many). A much larger percentage were drafted for WWII.
Just some interesting facts to consider.
DRAFTEES VS. VOLUNTEERS...
- 25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees. (66% of U.S. armed forces members were drafted during WWII.
- Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam.
- Reservists killed: 5,977
- National Guard: 6,140 served: 101 died.
- Total draftees (1965 - 73): 1,728,344.
- Actually served in Vietnam: 38%
- Marine Corps Draft: 42,633.
- Last man drafted: June 30, 1973.
Source:
http://history-world.org/vietnam_war_statistics.htm
That is the thing with Vietnam and one reason I've found the series to be so informative. The mis-information that abounded from all-sides was absolutely astounding. I think this series does a good job of pulling info from all sides without necessarily raising ire or promoting any one view. A case in point was John Kerry's April, 1971 speech on behalf of the VVAW to the Hearing on the Vietnam War chaired by Senator Fulbright. That part of his speech that many veterans took exception to, was touched upon (rather than sensationalized as would be the accepted norm today) and an opposing view presented.
I don't know how old you are, Gladius, or where you hail from so I can't know your paradigm of or life experience within the US. Having been born in 1956, I can identify with the sentiment of the paraphrase I made above. It was from Karl Marlantes, I believe.
W.D. Ehrhart (also a 'contributor' to the series) said the following in an interview Wednesday, "It never occurred to me that my government would be wrong, that my government would misuse and abuse me, that my government would lie to me. None of that stuff ever occurred to me. So my experience in Vietnam was extremely disturbing." He was interviewed by Novick in 2011. He goes on to say, "I rode around in the back of a flatbed truck in Perkasie with a bunch of my classmates, singing Barry Goldwater campaign songs 'cause Lyndon Johnson was not tough enough on those Communists."
'He teaches an elective class on the U.S. and Vietnam -- 'not a course on the Vietnam War,' he said. It starts in ancient China - but for many of his other students, some of whom weren't born or were in 'diapers' at the time of the 9/11 attacks, the Vietnam War "might well have been the Peloponnesian Wars." '
Source:
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news...-20170914.html
