FIGHTING FOR NOTHING: THE TRAGEDY OF THE VIETNAM WAR

If ever there was a conflict that spoke of futility, it was the Vietnam War. The U.S. won every battle, but the enemy kept coming back. They didn’t quit. They just regrouped. They came again and again.

After eleven years, the truth was clear. The U.S. had given all they had. Bombs, bodies, and blood. Everything. And in the end, we pulled out. No fanfare. No ceremony. Just a retreat. We left behind the wreckage of war, the shattered promises, and the men who had fought with them. The South Vietnamese who helped were left behind, too, forgotten like the broken equipment and discarded weapons. They would have to face a new enemy, the victors. They had chosen sides,, and they would pay for it.

Looking back, it was apparent. The U.S. never belonged there. It was a mistake from the start. But the politicians and generals didn’t see it. They thought American military power could not fail. They thought a country smaller than the size of California could not defeat them. They believed victory would occur in a matter of months. It became a monumentally bad decision. After eleven years, they still wondered why the conflict raged.

It all began after the Second World War. The U.S. gave Indochina back to the French instead of letting the people who fought for its freedom have it. They ignored the ones who stood with…