The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a very long and costly war that involved four different groups. These groups were the Northern Vietnamese and the Viet Cong versus the United States and the Southern Vietnamese. U.S. involvement in the war began in the 1950's with advisors working in what was then known as French Indochina, as part of the effort to contain communism. This was part of the greater Cold War strategy. By the early to mid 1960's, the U.S. troop levels had grown significantly with combat troops deploying in 1965. To achieve the troop levels, a draft was instituted that required many young Americans to join the military. This was quite unpopular with the Doves. U.S. troop involvement peaked in 1968 with the Tet Offensive, which was a massive attack by the communists. Although the Tet Offensive was not successful, the magnitude of the attack shocked the South Vietnamese and U.S. governments, as well as the American people. It was clear that the communists were a force to be reckoned with. With great pressure from Congress and the American people, by 1973, President Richard Nixon decided to remove all U.S. forces from Vietnam. By the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, more than 3 million people had died and because we left, the Viet Minh (the Northern Vietnamese and Viet Cong) had gained control of Vietnam and therefore ended the conflict. About a year later the country was named the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
How the Soldiers Felt about the War
In previous wars, American soldiers felt that fighting for the United States was honorable and were accustomed to being welcomed home with parades and open arms. The conflict between the Hawks and the Doves was very heated and many Doves associated the individual soldiers with the government's policies that they disagreed with. Consequently, many soldiers were ridiculed, mocked and generally not supported when they came back from Vietnam. There are reports of Doves throwing fruit and other items at returning soldiers. Many soldiers who were already struggling with the horrors of a guerilla style war, felt abandoned and often felt resentment towards the people and government of the United States.