oral+history

Between 1945 and 1954, the Vietnamese had an anti-colonial war against France and received $2.6 billion in financial support from the United States. The French defeat at the Dien Bien Phu was followed by a peace conference in Geneva, in which Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam received their independence and Vietnam was temporally divided between an anti-Communist nation. In 1956, South Vietnam, with American backing, refused to hold the elections. By 1958, Communist led guerrillas known as the Viet Cong had started to battle the South Vietnamese government. This was the longest war in American history.

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[] 1. The Vietnam War cost the United States around 58,000 lives and 350,000 casualties. It also caused in between one and two million Vietnamese deaths. 2. Congress enacted the War Powers Act in 1973, stating that the president shall receive explicit Congressional approval before committing American forces overseas.
 * __The Consequences__**

Interview questions 1. Did you or anybody else in your family get a draft card for the Vietnam War? I received a draft card but there was never a draft for me. My brother was drafted but he did not go to active service because he was in ROTC ( reserve officer training camp).

2. Did you see propaganda? Yes I did, I remember seeing protestors against the war mostly. This was mainly on television though.

3. Were you part of any propaganda? I was not part of any propaganda.

4. Did you agree with president Nixon’s decisions regarding the war at the time? At the time I agreed with the president. But now when I look back on it I think it was a war that the US should have never got involved in.

5. Did you know anybody that was in war? At the time I didn’t know anybody now I know several people that were in the war.

6. Do you feel that we won or lost the war and why? I feel that we lost the war because after the war north and south Vietnam were still north and south Vietnam. We also failed to overtake Korea and failed. All those people in the war I think died for no reason.

7. Do you think America would be different if we won the war? I don’t really know what would be different in our country but Vietnam would be different because Vietnam would be one country and there would have been no communism.

8. Were you a hippie? I was sort of a hippie I had long hair and had lots of fun.

Charlie Ziegler

__**reaction**__ I was interested in what he had to say and I learned more about what the Vietnam War was like. I have never heard him talk about the Vietnam War and I didn't realize he knew so much about it. I would have not wanted to watch my friends get shot so I am thankful that I didn't live in this time period. I think he had a good understanding about the war and what was going on. I agree with a lot of his opinions about the war. I never knew that he was a hippie though. I think it is cool that he knew people in the war and that he recieved a draft card. I learned a lot from him from this project.