Why was the Vietnam War unsuccessful for the United States?

First, the Americans were an invading force, and the Vietnamese were fighting on their own soil. Second, the Americans were not willing to make an all-out commitment to win. The second item is interesting to me. I was in the U.S. Air Force in Thailand in 1971.

Was Vietnam a winnable war?

By 1970, the war was won militarily–or almost won. All that was needed to save South Vietnam was what the United States did in South Korea: leave a couple American divisions and provide military and other support for the government. The truth is, the war in Vietnam was winnable.

Why were Vietnam veterans often treated badly when they returned to the US?

Many American soldiers were exposed to Agent Orange and other chemicals during their time in Vietnam. Upon returning home, some of these veterans began to experience health problems that they blamed on their exposure to herbicides.

When did the Vietnam war end and who won?

Having rebuilt their forces and upgraded their logistics system, North Vietnamese forces triggered a major offensive in the Central Highlands in March 1975. On April 30, 1975, NVA tanks rolled through the gate of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, effectively ending the war.

Was the Vietnam war unwinnable?

The second assumption was that the war was unwinnable. According to the orthodox historical narrative, the United States never could have won the war because of the dedication of the Vietnamese Communists, which was said to be far superior to that of America’s South Vietnamese allies.

Was the Vietnam War really necessary?

The history of the war, as taught in my college classes, rested on two assumptions. First, that the war was unnecessary; the “domino theory,” the idea that a Communist takeover in Vietnam would cascade through the rest of Southeast Asia, was wrong.

Why didn’t the Dominoes Fall in Vietnam?

The fact that most of the dominoes did not fall after South Vietnam’s defeat in 1975 was Exhibit A. The second assumption was that the war was unwinnable.

What was the most momentous blunder of the Vietnam War?

The most momentous blunder was the decision of the American ambassador to South Vietnam, Henry Cabot Lodge, to foment the coup that overthrew Ngo Dinh Diem, which wrecked the South Vietnamese security apparatus and led North Vietnam to initiate a huge invasion of the South.