Remembering The Vietnam War Through An Image Slideshow

By PettyandPosh | October 2, 2019

The Vietnam War was probably the most devastating and long-lasting war to occur in Southeast Asia. The war in the United States was considered unethical and illegal by many and had lead to numerous protests. In the end, the war had lasted from 1955 to 1975 and the United States had failed to keep the country from falling to communist forces.

President Eisenhower’s administration had played the most major role in the Vietnam War. He had a strong ant-communist stance, so it was only natural that he would become involved.

Eisenhower had a famous Farewell Address when he passed on the torch to Kennedy in 1961.

President Johnson was very diplomatic with Vietnam and had met with President Ngo Dinh Diem.

Napalm was used profusely in the Vietnam War. It is an incendiary weapon that came in handy to attack enemies that used the jungle to their advantage. It is a harsh chemical that severely burns the skin.

Kennedy had continued on the war, even though he was from the opposite party as Eisenhower. He let military experts lead the efforts overseas and he had close meetings with them. The image shows one of the meetings he had towards the end of his presidency.

The South Vietnamese army had struggled in the war against the Vietcong for a very long time. They had taken significant casualties, so it was not just the American soldiers that suffered.

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was used for bombing runs during the war. It has been in service since the 1940s.

 The Binh Gia attack was a 4 day battle of the Vietcong versus the South Vietnamese. It was eventually settled by an American bombing run.

American soldiers had mostly positive interactions with the locals of Southern Vietnam.

President Johnson had approved the Tonkin Gulf Resolution so that the US military can become even more involved with the struggle. Nixon would also take advantage of the powers granted by the resolution.

 This photo shows U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade landing a Helicopter on a road near the small village of Plei Ho Drong. This photo was snapped in 1965.

Martin Luther King was one of the most prominent voices that had spoken out against the war in Vietnam. He gave this anti-war speech at Riverside Church in New York, New York that had attracted many of his followers.?

There were some creepy insects that US troops had never seen before. This photo shows the size of centipedes out in this Southeast Asian jungle.

 We should not forget the innocent civilians that had suffered from attacks from either side. This family is escaping from a bombing run lead by the United States in 1965.

 We must also not forget how man US soldiers had died in the war with a significant percentage being innocent draftees. The soldiers in the photo are being placed on a plane in Saigon to be sent back to their families eventually.?

The dense jungles allowed the native soldiers to hide from the inexperienced American soldiers. For this reason, machine gun raids were needed to provide cover for foot soldiers.

Pressure had been put on US policymakers to end the war in Vietnam. Thousands had gathered to hear out the position of Ernest Gruening on the war.

Children from either side of the enemy lines had to watch the adults fight each other and possible devastate their families. A US soldier in this photo is taking cover with some Vietnamese children.

 US soldiers hit the Red Beach of Saigon on April 10th, 1965.

The local Vietnamese soldier had trained to take down aircraft with just their rifles. They had practiced thoroughly to shoot ahead of aircraft at just the right angle to hit it.

The government paid for television spots to promote the sales of war bonds. In this picture, Batman is encouraging viewers to support the war by purchasing bonds from the Federal Reserve.

Even with inferior weapons, the Vietcong were able to take down some of the expensive aircraft of the US military. This photo shows a CH-46 Sea Knight going down in flames after an attack. 13 people were killed in this crash.

 The Hue Bridge had been completely destroyed by the war, but locals still crossed it as they had no other choice.

The Ho Chi Minh trail is a 750-mile treck that goes through the Truong Son Mountains. This trail makes up a great deal of the country’s Western border. In this photo, troops are going on their long journey through he trail.

 White phosphorus munitions were another one of the devastating weapons used by the US military. It can kill by severely burning the victim or by its intense fumes being inhaled. In this photo, a A-1E Skyraider drops a white phosphorus bomb to take out the Vietcong hiding within the jungle.

 It was hard to come by drinkable water in the jungles of Vietnam. The tropical climate invites a lot of deadly parasites and infrastructure was severely lacking in rural areas. Luckily, there were heavy rains that allowed for troops to gather water to drink.

 Protesting had increasingly gotten intense by those with ant-war views. Guards had to resort to physical violence to remove unruly protesters from the Pentagon. Claims of police brutality was rampant during the 1960s.

A serious amount of ammunition was expended during the Vietnam ware. This photo shows just how much ammo was used judging by the amount of empty shells that were gathered. This photo was taken at the artillery base at Soui Da, which is only 60 miles from the big city of Saigon.