Vietnam: War Abroad

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Vietnam War Abroad at Home
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• I. Containing Communism from a Domino Effect
• A. Colonialism to 1954
• 1. Ho Chi Minh 1945 independence
• 2. 1952 US 40 war cost. 1954 70 cf. to Fr
• B. 1954 Partition
• 1. Geneva Accord 17th parallel
• 2. Ngo Dinh Diem

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• C. National Liberation Front 1960
• 1. Green Berets v Vietcong troop
  advisors CIA commando raids
• 2. Strategic Hamlets
• D. Johnsons Inheritance 1963
• Inherited 16,000 advisors conducting daily
  operations Cold War fear of Communism looking
  weak by losing to Communists.
• 1. Gulf of Tonkin 9-2-64
• 2. 535,000 troops tech. by 1967
• 3. War of attrition (500,000 N Viet mil.
  222,000 S Viet mil. 100,000s civ.
• 58,000 US mil.)

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• E. Anti-War Protest from Vietnamese Buddhist
  American Catholic Clergy
• 1. Immolation as determination to protect
  people
• State killed monks, nuns, students
• 2. Fr.Thomas Merton, Fr. Daniel Berrigan, Fr.
  Philip Berrigan interfaith coalition
• Merton (d.1968) Trappist monk, writer for
  non-violence during race riots war

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• 1967 P. Berrigan in Baltimore Four blood on
  Sel.Service records ? prison bail
• 1968 Howard Zinn D. Berrigan to Hanoi ? 1st
  release of 3 POWs unharmed
• 1968 Berrigans in Catonsville Nine
• (MD) burn over 300 draft files
• ? 3-3.5 yrs. prison

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• 3. M.L. King, Time to Break Silence 1967
• Harms Civil Rights/Great Society
• Lack rights at home
• Opposes independence
• Destroys Vietnamese family and village while
  supporting oppressive regime and landlords
• To end war
• end bombing,
• unilateral cease-fire,
• prevent other battlegrounds,
• negotiate with NLF,
• date to remove troops

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• II. Class and Race Biases Appy, Working-Class
  War
• A. How Many Who
• WWII 18 million served
• Vietnam 27 million ? eligible (19-26)
• 11 million served
• (9 million enlisted 2.2 drafted)
  1961-1973 2.8 million ? 6,400 ? in Vietnam
  80 as support personnel
• 80 of 2.8 million working-class poor

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• B. Keeping Men in a 12-month Tour
• Absent without Leave 12,000
• Desertions 50,000 (30,000 to Canada until 1977
  pardon)
• Soldiers killing officers (fragging)
• C. Class and Race
• 1. Class Bias Deferments to 1967 National
  Guard Sen. Patrick Moynihan
• 2. Reasons to Serve
• Working-class Unemployment 12 cf. 5
  overall
• 3. Racial Inequities
• Black casualties 20.6 ? 12.5
• 4. Attitudes toward the war and anti-war protest

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• III. Great Society Vietnam Funding
• Fund Great Society Vietnam War no tax hike ?
  Destablized Economy
• Programs instituted under Johnson expanded under
  Nixon
• of Budget toward Overall Defense and Overall
  Human Resources Shifted
• 1962 (JFK) 48 defense, 29 human res.
• 1968 (LBJ) 45 defense, 32 HR
• 1971 (Nix.) 37 defense, 41 HR
• Destablization LBJ v. taxes. Deficits
  19663.8bill, 19678.7, 196825.2
• ? inflation ? economic growth ? weaker
  overseas, ? foreign trade