Vietnam- Memorial Day

Dear Men and Women who fought in the Vietnam War,
Prior to studying the Vietnam war, i barely knew anything on the topic. I would like to express my gratitude towards all of the soldiers and people who helped out during the war. I never realized that without this war and your efforts, our world would be filled with communism and dictators. Also, I can imagine it would be hard to fight in a battle that is so deeply criticized. Another thing that I never thought about this war was the number of American casualties. As I was strolling along in the Vietnam Memorial, I couldn't believe how many names were on that wall. The number was astronomical. I had never imagined that there could be that many deaths from one cause. Although we may have not "won" this war, I believe that we won the fight against communism. I could not image what the world would be like if those soldiers would not have given their lives. I am extremely grateful and even though there is no way I could repay any of the casualties, I would really like to give back to the cause some day.

Continued

Jack Smith by Ron Steinman

9 pages - complete by Wednesday May 23

What challenges does Jack Smith face as a soldier in Vietnam? (a bulleted list is fine)

-Seeing tons of filled body bags

-Seeing friends get killed in war

-Being forced into adulthood at a young age

-Hearing hundreds of bullets being fired in his direction

-Killing other soldiers

-Blowing another guy's head off

-Being covered in a friend's blood

-Playing dead for prolonged periods of time and being sat on by a man with many pounds of baggage

-Hot shell casings burning his skin

How does Smith’s attitude toward war change?

He basically says at the end of the essay "war is pointless". So many people lose their lives and if you don't win then is it really worth it?

I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag by Joe McDonald

2 pages - complete by Wednesday May 23

This song by Country Joe and the Fish became one of the first protest songs of the Vietnam Era. Read the lyrics to the song, and then respond to the following:

What is the song asking the “big strong men to do”?

… the “generals” to do? to kill the Vietnamese and to help return to peace

… “Wall Street” to do? to make money to provide war materials

… “mothers” to do? encourage boys to go fight in Vietnam

Write down four specific lines from the song that display sarcasm, cynicism, or anti-war sentiment.

1) It says "Be the first one on the block to have your boy come home in a box" that is sarcastic because if your son comes home in a box that means that he is dead.

2) In the last stanza the lyrics say "what are we fighting for? Don't as me, I don't give a damn" this means that many people didn't even know why they were at war with Vietnam. This displays anti-war sentiment.

3)Also, it says "whoopee we're all gonna die!" that is somewhat sarcastic because no one wants to celebrate about dying.

4) Also, it is cynical and sarcastic when it says "peace can only be won when we've blown em all to kingdom come". That is somewhat ironic because it talks about blowing their country up and that's the only way we can accomplish peace.

Vietnam 1

A Dubious Crusade by James A. Warren

2 pages - complete by Tuesday May 22

Look up both words in the title of the short essay. What do they mean?

Dubious means doubtful and crusade means an aggressive battle so i think the essay will be about a doubtful but aggressive battle.

Relate the title to the reading. What is Warren saying? How do you think this will relate to the rest of our study if Vietnam?

Warren is saying how the first battle of Vietnam is so violent and controversial, and it's only the start of the war. With this said, this war is going to be long and very controversial.

History by Thuong Vuong-Riddick

2 pages - complete by Tuesday May 22

What is the overall theme of Vuong-Riddick's poem?

The main themes are betrayal death because it talks about how much people killed one another throughout the war. Japanese killed the French and everyone betrayed one another.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution … by Goldberg

2 pages - complete by Tuesday May 22

What is the main thesis of the essay?

I think this essay is about lies and war.

What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

It was a resolution to protect the US's ships from attack

What evidence does the author give to support his thesis?

He makes references to lies throughout the essay. He also mentions how the war may be built on a lie.

How does this link to the theme of the first reading, “A Dubious Crusade”?

It talks about how the war is going to be very vicious and controversial

10 Important Facts About the Korean War:

1) After WWII the UN decided to divide Korea in half along the 38th parallel with the northern half being controlled by the Soviet Union and the southern half being controlled by the US
2) The War didn't end until two years after the truce between Korea and the U.S.
3) The UN Troops defended South Korea.
4) The U.S had the upper-hand in the war until China sent 250,000 troops into South Korea.
5) Douglass Macarthur wanted to drop 50 atomic bombs onto China but President Truman said no because he was afraid of driving the Soviet Union into the war, this led to the firing of Macarthur
6) The Northern half was communist but the southern half was democratic
7) In the election of 1952, Eisenhower won by a lot because he promised to get America out of the war.
8) The Korean War was one of the "proxy wars" during the Cold War.
9) Many people thought that we shouldn't waste money to fight this war for something that wasn't our problem. America also thought that we shouldn't be responsible for Korea's future.
10) After the war, communism continued in Korea and America ended up having bad relations with the Soviet Union.

Martin Luther King Jr.- Dream

When Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, he addressed millions of civil rights activists. He said that he wanted people to be treated equally, regardless of their race. 13% of our population is made up of African Americans. With this said, in the labor force, out of 100 teachers, 13 should be black. According to recent statistics, out of 7900 teachers, about 9% are African American. Many would agree that that is not equal. Also, the average black worker makes $525.00 a week while the average white worker makes $657.00 a week. If America was fair and racially equal, blacks and whites would make the same amount of money. Our country has quite a while to go before we reach Martin Luther King Jr.'s idea of "equality".

Marting Luther King Jr.

Why does the author feel that whites owe King the greatest debt?

The author believes that whites owe MLKJ the greatest debt because he is the reason that America can call itself a "free world". America used to be a hypocritical nation when it said that it was a free country because it really wasn't.

Was King "the right man at the right time"?

Yes, King was the right man at the right time

Would King be upset with the current use of his most often quoted line? Why or why not?

I do not think that King would be upset with the use of his famous quote- "I have a dream" as long as someone was using it for the right reasons. In fact, I believe that he would be honored to know that people are quoting him.

Civil Disobedience

Question: Would you have been able to use civil disobedience and non-violence?
Answer: If I was a young child during the Civil Rights Movement, i would not have been able to use civil disobedience. I would have been to scared because many terrible things happened to young children, such as Emmett Till, during this movement. If I was an adult, i definitly would want to help. I would march, sit in at lunch counters and ride "white only" busses. I would want to help fight for equal rights. Segregation is just not fair and the only thing that we could do about it is revolt.