The Vietnam War Interviews

Ever since the American defeat in Vietnam, the war has become increasingly unpopular among the American people. I was able to sit down and talk to two people who lived during the Vietnam generation, Mr. Johnson, a music teacher, and Mr. Grant, a Vietnam veteran. After the interviews, I came to the conclusion that the Vietnam War was indeed a very unpopular war in the history of America, if not the most unpopular war, even during its time.

During the late 19th to World War II, Vietnam was governed by France as part of French Indochina. In 1940, during World War II, the Japanese forces invaded and captured French Indochina. The Vietnamese saw World War II as an opportunity to gain independence and in 1941, the Vietnamese nationalists established Viet Minh, the League for the Independence of Vietnam. Based mainly on communist ideologies, the Viet Minh gained support for its independence movement as well social and political reforms. When Japan declared formal surrender on September 2nd, 1945, Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Viet Minh, used the opportunity to declare independence for Vietnam, calling the nation the democratic republic of Vietnam. France, however, refused to acknowledge the independence of Vietnam and drove the Viet Minh to the north of the country.

Ho Chi Minh immediately implored American President Harry Truman to recognize Vietnamese independence and assist the Vietnamese. However, the American foreign policy during the Cold War was the containment of communism, therefore making President Truman reluctant to help. Although Ho Chi Minh was not a puppet of communist Soviet Union, he was a communist nonetheless and as a result, the United States condemned Ho Chi Minh and provided assistance to France instead. Although with American help, the Viet Minh grew larger and larger everyday and soon, the French were fighting them to a draw. After the humiliating Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French government wanted to settle for peace at the Geneva Conference. From the 8th of May to the 21st of July, 1954, diplomats form the World’s major nations met at Geneva and made an agreement for the future of Vietnam. The agreement, known as the Geneva Accords, agrees to temporarily divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel.

France would occupy the South of Vietnam and the Viet Minh would occupy the North. In July 1956, both South and North Vietnam would hold elections and the form of government chosen by popular vote would reunify Vietnam. The United States, however, did not want the possibility of a communist takeover of Vietnam and had Diem appointed as the prime minister of South Vietnam because of Diem’s anti-communist sentiment. Along with American support, Diem refused to sign the Geneva Accords. Immediately following that, the United States founded the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, a treaty that protected several Indochina nations from communism, a justification used to support South Vietnam.