Synthesis of the vietnam war
In this last project, I focused on synthesizing significant parts of the Vietnam war, specifically the military perspective. I created a short historical fiction story that synthesized true information with hypothetical information about using nuclear bombs/weaponry to fight off the The Sanh.
Short Story
Khe Sahn and Nuclear Warfare
Lyndon B Johnson had sent hundreds of thousands of troops to Vietnam in the 1960s. More than 55,000 U.S. soldiers died during the war. Johnson’s approval ratings dropped to below 25% by the late 1960s. After he decided to allow nuclear weapons against North Vietnam and the Khe Sahn, he was no longer respected by the citizens of America and the protesters.
In January of 1968, the Battle of Khe Sahn began. It was gruesome as it was- 10,000 PAVN forces killed, 500 U.S. Marine lives lost, and 50,000 explosives dropped onto the hills around the Khe Sahn. To make matters worse, President Lyndon B. Johnson went through with the idea to use nuclear weapons.
In order to defeat the North Vietnam forces that were attacking Khe Sahn, Johnson and General Westmoreland decided to fight back with nuclear weapons and bombs. The explosives being dropped were not effective enough to get North Vietnam to surrender, so they resorted to nuclear weaponry.
North Vietnam troops were far more effected by the attacks than the U.S. troops when the bombs were dropped. They were not comparable to Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but still effective enough to create significant damage.
Once the people of the United States became aware of the nuclear warfare between Vietnam and the U.S., Johnson became less respected as a president and protesters were angrier than they ever had been before. This anger and resentment from the people of the United States reached the president. He decided to send troops back to America in May, one month after the nuclear bombings. As for the prisoners of war held captive by the North Vietnamese, they were not released for another few months due to anger towards the U.S.
In September of 1968, Selective Service ends the draft, and the United States puts an end to military involvement in Vietnam with the Paris Peace Accords signed by Johnson. That same month, the American prisoners of war were released and returned back to the United States. Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not be running in the 1968.
Lyndon B Johnson had sent hundreds of thousands of troops to Vietnam in the 1960s. More than 55,000 U.S. soldiers died during the war. Johnson’s approval ratings dropped to below 25% by the late 1960s. After he decided to allow nuclear weapons against North Vietnam and the Khe Sahn, he was no longer respected by the citizens of America and the protesters.
In January of 1968, the Battle of Khe Sahn began. It was gruesome as it was- 10,000 PAVN forces killed, 500 U.S. Marine lives lost, and 50,000 explosives dropped onto the hills around the Khe Sahn. To make matters worse, President Lyndon B. Johnson went through with the idea to use nuclear weapons.
In order to defeat the North Vietnam forces that were attacking Khe Sahn, Johnson and General Westmoreland decided to fight back with nuclear weapons and bombs. The explosives being dropped were not effective enough to get North Vietnam to surrender, so they resorted to nuclear weaponry.
North Vietnam troops were far more effected by the attacks than the U.S. troops when the bombs were dropped. They were not comparable to Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but still effective enough to create significant damage.
Once the people of the United States became aware of the nuclear warfare between Vietnam and the U.S., Johnson became less respected as a president and protesters were angrier than they ever had been before. This anger and resentment from the people of the United States reached the president. He decided to send troops back to America in May, one month after the nuclear bombings. As for the prisoners of war held captive by the North Vietnamese, they were not released for another few months due to anger towards the U.S.
In September of 1968, Selective Service ends the draft, and the United States puts an end to military involvement in Vietnam with the Paris Peace Accords signed by Johnson. That same month, the American prisoners of war were released and returned back to the United States. Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not be running in the 1968.
For my art portion, I decided to create a piece that synthesized both sides, but focused on the American military perspective a little bit more. The dove is to symbolize peace, and the hawk is to symbolize war. On the American flag, I have passages from U.S. soldiers in during the Vietnam war talking about their experiences.