Vietnam+-+Soldier

The American  Soldier in Vietnam

====Throughout the year, we spent some time learning a bout and reflecting on the life, challenges, impact, and sacrifices of the men and women who served the United States in our various military conflict. While we do not have a great deal of time to spend on the soldiers in the Vietnam War, it is important to examine their experience to understand the conflict, their sacrifice, and the honor they deserve ... especially with Memorial Day coming on Monday. Please spend some time this evening examining some of the resources below, and come to class tomorow with thoughts, ideas, and questions about the soldiers that served in Vietnam. ====

ONCE YOU ARE DONE BROWSING - Select one  of the following options and post it in your online notebook ...

1) Write a sincere letter to an anonymous solider who served in Vietnam. discuss what you think about their service, the challenges they faced, and the sacrifices they made. 2) Create a [|wordle] that describes the life and legacy of American soldiers in Vietnam. Include words that discuss the historical part of their service as well as your feelings about their service. Select colors and size of words to fit your mood and your message. 3) Compose a poem or song lyrics that describe the service of American soldiers in Vietnam. The lyrics can go to a specific song or be an original song of your own. 4) Create a brief annotated[| voicethread] with images of soldiers isn Vietnam and your reflection on their service and sacrifice.


 * Sources ...**

[|In the Trenches] from PBS' //Vietnam Online// ====[|Guerilla Tactics - An Overview] from PBS' //Battlefield Vietnam// ==== ====Videos from the History Channel - [|Vietnam's Underground Warfare] / __[|History Rocks: Vietnam Soldier] __ / [|A Soldier Comes of Age]/ s(not the irony of the name of the man being interviewed) ====

[|History Channel Images from the war -]
==== [|Vietnam - Chasing Charlie reading.PDF]Vietnam - Chasing Charlie - a great reading from Interact==== ====Taft's [|videos and photos] from the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam - check them out! ==== [|Letters Home from Vietnam]- from the Wisconsin Historical Society

Hover over the animation below to learn more about the tunnel system use by the VietCong. \

If you are really interested, you can check out the series[| "Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam"] on YouTube. It's powerful (and mature) stuff, and split into 9 episodes .. but if you want to know what it was like to be a soldier in Vietnam, this is the best resource.

Dear Soldier,

 Thank you for your service. The duty you did for your country required immense amounts of courage, energy, and determination. Your amazing journey began when you first landed in Vietnam. The first thing you probably noticed was the different weather. Vietnam weather is horrendous; it is either hot and rainy or hot and humid. The atrocious mix of fertilizer, body odor (Vietnamese citizens don’t wear deodorant), and spicy food was breathtaking (literally). These new surroundings gave Vietnam a bad reputation from the minute the plane stopped moving. From there, you went to base camp. Here things weren’t as bad, but life was usually boring and repetitive.  Things only got worse in the jungle. Of course, getting out of camp had to provide some sort of relief (if nothing else, to break the monotony of camp-life), but marching over 6000 meters per day had to be exhausting. This is especially true when you're carrying anywhere between 35 and 90 pounds worth of supplies. Sacrificing your body to help eliminate the enemy was a very noble thing to do. The jungle was also scary. One wrong step meant death or serious, permanent injuries. Booby traps, snakes, mines and punji sticks lurked in the tall forest grasses. It took a lot of courage to be able to be undaunted by such weapons. While in the forest you tried to locate and kill North Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong soldiers. Sometimes, the hunter became the hunted, because "Charlie” sometimes comes out of nowhere and loves to hit and run. His hit-and-run tactics made it hard to find where the bullets were coming from before it was too late. Pursuing the Viet Cong would only lead to frustration; their complex tunnel system was impenetrable and hard to find. It took a lot of hard work and courage to fight in the forests. Fighting was not so much about gaining territory as it was about killing the enemy. Taking a souvenir of what you accomplished in the form of an ear is what many soldiers chose to do. Overall, the Vietnam War probably changed your life forever. I just want to thank you for serving your country and help stopping the spread of Communism. Your legacy is one filled with bravery, valor, and gallantry.