Forum:Call of duty facts

Part 1

The Vietnam War, like most other wars, has had terrible costs for both the losers as well as the winners. Vietnam, the country on whose land this terrible war has taken place has suffered great damage to its ecosystem and it has taken years and years for it to re-grow. People have died, families have been hurt and no one was left happy with the after effects of this war.

In the year 1954, Vietnam was split into two separate parts: the communist north and the democratic south. Thereafter, a series of events took place that led up to a full-fledged war between these two countries and the war did not only include the Vietnamese, it also included the Americans, Australians and a few other nations.

The Americans and other nations supported the largely unpopular southern democrats, and although initially they meant to keep their involvement very limited, they ended up sending millions and millions of soldiers to Vietnam to prevent communism from spreading. Years and years of bitter guerrilla struggle in the typhoid ridden villages and rugged jungles of Vietnam eventually led to the victory of the North Vietnamese and the reunification of the country. Millions of soldiers, Vietnamese and Americans alike died in the struggle, and till today the country struggles to reinstate itself after the staggering damages made to its land, economy and people.

The Beginning of the End When Ngo Dinh Diem was appointed to be the prime minister, with Bao Dai the then president, Vietnam was split into two separate countries: North Vietnam and South Vietnam. During this separation, more than 860 thousand people fled to the South and more than 50 thousand left for the north.

The northern government however, welcomed this change, as it meant feeding fewer mouths. It is said the Diem rigged the election so as to win, and then became the president of Vietnam. Although he wasn’t particularly popular with his people, the United States still agreed with his policies and completely supported him, as he was against communism.

However, the South Vietnamese despised Diem. Diem on the other hand, abused his power and sent people to kill his enemies while sending still others to jail for no apparent reason. Diem who believed that South Vietnamese people were influenced by communism canceled the election that was scheduled to take place in 1956.

It was then that United States stopped supporting Diem because they no longer agreed with any of his principles and policies. He forced peasants out of their villages and the final straw came when on May 8th, 1963 he sent soldiers to storm Buddhist temples and arrest the nuns and monks. In order to protest this, a Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc burnt himself alive in the streets. There were many other protest being led by the Vietnamese, but in other different ways. The northern government wanted to bring about peace and harmony, but this proposal was refused.

Finally the Southerners couldn’t take it anymore and Diem was assassinated on the 1st of May in 1963. South Vietnam celebrated this victory and the country was reunited.

By: Trunks100 copyright