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Price of Conflict - Problems in Vietnam (Part Four) by Ela Nicholson -…
Price of Conflict - Problems in Vietnam
(Part Four)
by Ela Nicholson
Financial Cost to the USA
Due to this, the war may have cost double that amount.
LBJ had promised the 'Great Society' - money for this was diverted instead to the Vietnam War.
$170 billion was spent on the war. On top of this, benefits and pensions had to be paid to the injured and veterans.
The US public were annoyed that LBJ couldn't carry oout all of his reforms.
Human Cost to the USA
There were highly negative reactions to soldiers returning to the US - they were referred to as killers and losers.
15% of all troops left Vietnam with some form of addiction (drugs or alcohol) due to the PTSD induced by the war.
There were 58,000 Americans killed, with an average age of 23. 300,000 were wounded.
Many troops also developed cancers due to handling chemicals such as Agent Orange.
Cost to USA's reputation post-war
My Lai, the secret bombings in Cambodia, and Watergate all led to a damaged reputation for the US government.
The US was referred to as the land of the free however the My Lai massacre and the Kent State University incident led to people realising the US was NOT the leader of peace and freedom.
There was a split is US society due to those who supported the war versus those opposed to it.
After all of the lives lost, money spent, and effort put into this war, the USA still achieving their original reason for joining the war: containing communism.
Human Cost to Vietnam
Children born from relations (usually unconsensual/rape) between American soldiers and Vietnamese women faced discrimination, as they were seen as a reminder of the dark times of the war.
The peasants were then forced to live in shanty towns due to fighting (poverty, prostitution, and drug abuse were rife in these places).
2 million Vietnamese citizens were killed, with 5 million injured. There were also a staggering 11 million refugees.
1 million Vietnamese soldiers were killed, with a further 2 million wounded.
It took over 20 years to start to recover from the war.
From the late 1970s onwards, thousands tried to escape via boats sailing out to Malaysia and Hong Kong (due to being tired of poverty and Communist policies).
Approximately 1 million tried to escape to the West (mainly the USA), and at least 50,000 drowned or were murdered by pirates.
In the mid 1990s, the USA ended its trade ban with Vietnam, and the world bank was allowed to invest there.
Environmental Costs to Vietnam
Cancers developed in the Vietnamese population due to contact with chemicals.
Many children in Vietnam grew up with diseases and disabilities due to chemicals in the soil.
Much of the countryside was ruined by the use of chemical weapons. Farm land destroyed - meaning it couldn't be used to grow food anymore.
Roads, bridges, and irrigation systems were completely destroyed - bombs are still being unearthed or accidentally detonated today.
Cost to Vietnam's Reputation
They continued to face hostility from the US, and were initially not allowed to join the United Nations.
Many people in South Vietnam resented having to live under Communist rule.