Have you ever been told something small like, if you bring me a cookie right now I will bring you one later so you bring he or she a cookie? During the Vietnam war you would not have received that cookie most likely. While reading the article Vietnam Veterans Against War Statement, it was brought to my attention that promises were not kept no matter how tragic the situation.
How would you feel if someone left you lying there dead or severely injured on the ground? Well, personally I would be upset and angered at the fact that my fellow citizens left me. Americans are supposed to have each others back especially in war. Kerry states, "The Army says they never leave their wounded. The marines say they never even leave their dead." Kerry would not have addressed this if it was not an issue. How sad is that, leaving an injured fellow citizen. How would that make you feel, instead of going to help them up or trying to take care of them. Knowing you could have saved someone's life but you let them bleed to death. Yes, it is terrifying watching something like that happen but you signed up for it. Along with commanders leaving the troops. The commanders should have set people straight and told them to show leadership, but while they possess it themselves. The article Vietnam Veterans Against War Statement reads, "We wish that a merciful God could wipe away our own memories of that service as easily as this administration has wiped away their memories of us." After being apart of the war your life is changed for ever. You see stuff you have never seen before and stuff that you don't want to see. Even while reading an article called We made a promise, then broke it Vitnamese commondos being denied their due, the author Jeff Stein interviewed an instructor who pointed out that the worst thing that you can do is abandon someone who put their life on the line for you. If leadership was stronger during the Vietnam war, would these promises have been broken along with all these lives that were lost?If promises were upheld just imagine how different that war and many wars to come would be. Yes, it would still be war but you would be more of a family with your fellow Americans. People put their lives on the line for this country, therefore if you can save someone's life do it. Show the leadership you possess and keep those promises.
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| Injured soldiers during Vietnam |
I really like this post, it shows how horrible the Vietnam war could really be. I completely agree that the war changes you forever. One of my dearest friends went over seas and since then he has never been the same. It has strained our friendship.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insight! One of my friends also went over seas and it changed our friendship and definitely not in a good way.
ReplyDeleteMany people believe that after you have served for your country that the rest of your life is easy and you are taken care of by the government, which is not even close to being true. I think the cookie analogy you used works great for this situation. What you wrote about truly shows how cutthroat Vietnam soldiers, along with American soldiers could be during war. Leaving a fellow man behind to let him die is really one of the worst things to ever have to do. Good post!
ReplyDeleteThis post did a great job at making me think about the topic. These promises are something that each and every soldier must think about while in war. It is really awful that they did not always keep their promises. I can see how that could really affect someone mentally, especially after coming home and thinking about it more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mackayla, soldiers should not have to worry about being left behind while fighting for the freedom of our country. I believe that if every man and woman could go into war with the mindset of not leaving a fellow soldier behind, then it could drastically decrease the chances of men and women being left. Candice, your cookie analogy tied in perfectly with your topic, I really enjoyed this post and I can't wait to read your future posts.
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