The War's Effects on the Environment

The Vietnam War was more than just a war against the people of Vietnam, it was a war against the entire Vietnamese ecosystem. In 1947, half of the country of Vietnam was covered in tropical forests and two-fifths more were covered in grasslands. The forests of Vietnam are important, mainly because they protect the thin soils of the land from eroding due to heavy downpours of rain. They also affect the climate of Vietnam, by adjusting the temperature and humidity.

In some ways it can be seen as unfortunate that the Vietnam environment suffered such incredible damage from war. However, part of the U.S. strategy in the war was to destroy the forests, thus forcing the peasants of the surrounding areas into the cities. The plan was referred to as "Forced-draft Urbanization" and focused on continuous bombing of forested areas. It is approximated that about 40% of the forestry in the whole country suffered damage as a result of the bombings.

It was not simply explosives and napalm that were dropped on the forests. Many herbicides were also used to damage the plant-life, the most well-known being Agent Orange. Agent Orange is believed to cause cancer and birth defects in people, and areas in Vietnam today continue to make claims of issues arising from the use of the toxin. Herbicides affected the trees by either killing them, or destroying their foliage. Without the canopy as protection, the soil of the country was much more prone to erosion.

Deforestation continues to be a major issue that Vietnam faces. The destruction from the war cause the need for more trees to be cut down, in order to rebuild all of the structures that were lost. In 1988, only 21% of the country's surface was still covered in forested areas. Vietnam continues to feel the effects of the war years later.

Sources: "Vietnam: War and the Environment." Green Left. N.p., July 14, 1993. Web. .

The Weather Underground Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiIC8YwQVV8

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay4cgdq6g-o

Audio of Kent State Shooting

http://http://www.cleveland.com/science/index.ssf/2010/10/analysis_of_kent_state_audio_t.html

The War Comes Home to College Campuses

The Vietnam War is often what is seen as the beginning for college campus protests, and for good reasons. One example of a very early protest was the one that occurred at the University of Wisconsin. One of the more famous college campus protests occurred in the great state of Ohio, at Kent State University. This protest happened on May 4th, 1970. There was an attempt by some of the school's students to burn down the ROTC building on campus. The National Guard was called in by the Governor of the state to try to control the rioting students. The Guard bayoneted two people on the first day they were called in. The worst violence, however, came on the next day where the Guards fired on the protesting crowds for thirteen seconds. Thirteen people were hit, four were killed. The guards all admitted to the shooting, but were never punished. This is one of the most symbolic forms of war protest and is what many think of when the subject of Vietnam anti-war protest arises.

After the shooting at Kent State University, there were continued protests by students at other schools. Some of these riots were increasingly violent in nature. They even went so far as to call for a revolt that would result in complete governmental overthrow. One such group was called the RYM. Some groups planned strategic bombing of targets like ROTC building and building like that. This group evolved into what is known as "The Weathermen" and then "the Weather Underground" which were violent anti-war, anti-government groups. One such informed observer stated that the burning of the ROTC building looked like it "was right out of the Weather Underground's handbook." These groups and subsequent acts of protest are undoubtedly connected in many ways. The reason that there is a certain level of infamy is because of the death and injury of students. The war had truly hit home, and this violence helped to open the U.S.'s eyes to that fact.

VIETNAM: POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: What is it?

• an emotional illness that is usually classified as an anxiety disorder


• developes after a traumatic indicdent or any extremely unsafe experience like war or murder....


• there are three types of PTSD: chronic, acute, and delayed-onset


• PTSD can develop years after the event

Symptoms

• people often re-experience the incident or incidents that caused the person to develop PTSD ("flashbacks")


• activly try to avoid anything that reminds them of the incident including people, place, and activities


• extremely sensitive to "normal life experiences"


• feeling distant from others


• feeling on "guard"


• being "jumpy"


• haveing difficulty remebering important parts of the experience

PTSD & Vietnam

• about 19% of the 3 million troops who fought in Vietnam returned home with PTSD


• in an older study though, it was found that about one in every three soldiers developed PTSD and among those about 15% still suffer from it


• 28% of soldiers with the most combat exposure developed PTSD

As well as PTSD many returning vets developed other problems with either society or themselves (this doesn't that they developed PTSD though)...

• marital problems (40% of men have had one divorce and about 10% have had two or more divorces)


• parent problems (about 23% claim to have parent problems)


• breaking the law (about half the vets have been to jail once)


• alcoholism (about 39% became an alcoholic after the war but now alholism is down to about 11%)