Being A Prisoner Of War

The Vietnam war, also called the Indochina War , may be said to have started in 1957 when Communist-led rebels began mounting terrorists attacks against the government of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The rebel forces, commonly called the Vietcong, were later aided by troops of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). American combat personnel were formally committed to the defense of the South in 1965. An agreement calling for a ceasefire was signed in January 1973, and by March the few remaining U.S. millitary personnel in Vietnam were withdrawn. However, the war between the two Vietnamese sides persisted inconclusively for two additional years before South Vietnamese resistance

1...The Vietnam war was a timely and expensive conflict between 1954 and 1975; the war pitted North Vietnam and its Southern Allies also known as the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. There were five Presidents during this time; Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Multiple things contributed to America losing the war of Vietnam and the fall Saigon. The strongest factors were the fear of communism, the fear of American military failures and domestic instability in America.

It was under President Johnson’s presidency that the United Sates sent U.S. troops to enter the Vietnam War. The military troops became involved in the conflict in order to contribute to the salvaging of the country underneath communism; additionally it was also supposed to prevent any further expansion of communism during that time. The French had sent in troops prior to the U.S., but after their retrieval it was the United States turn to contribute actively to the cause with military action (Rosenberg, n.d.).

The history of the Vietnam War had a violent beginning. Before the assassination of President Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson had little to no involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Beforehand the United States had mainly sent supplies and aid to South Vietnam against North Vietnam. After the assassination of both president Kennedy and the President of South Vietnam, the war became inevitable.

Part 1: The Vietnam War occurred when conflict between communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam (supported by the United States) arose during the years 1954 and 1975. The Vietnam War created many controversial issues because for one thing, President Lyndon B. Johnson was reluctant to send U.S. to Vietnam, however, he feared that voters wouldn’t forgive him if he lost Vietnam and that this loss will give electoral advantages to Republicans (Foner …). In 1964, an American ship on a mission to spy on North Vietnam was encountered by North Vietnamese boats. This caused the U.S. Congress to immediately pass the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in order for the president to take any necessary measures to defend the U.S troops in Vietnam.

The Vietnam War was the longest war in the history of the United States it lasted from 1959-1975. Billions of dollars was spent trying to win and unwinnable war. Countless of lives were lost and America failed to achieve its objective. The origins of the war stem from the Indochina wars that occurred in the late 40s and early 50s. After many years of colonial war, the Viet Minh a communist group led by Ho Chi Minh sought independence for Vietnam. The French were not reluctant to let go of their crowning jewel without a fight. The French were aided militarily by the Unites States who sought the membership of France to the NATO and were willingly to provide as much aid to ensure that they won the war and Vietnam did not fall to communism. This led to an eight year war which culminated with the defeat of the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. A cease fire was issued and peace agreements known as the Geneva Accords where drawn during the 1954 Geneva Conference. The agreement issued a temporary division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel which created a Communist North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh and a democratic South Vietnam led by prime minister Ngo Dinh Diem. Vietnam was supposed to unify after the nationwide election of 1956 which Diem refuse to acknowledge.

“When he took office in 1961, President John F. Kennedy vowed not to allow South Vietnam fall to communism” (“5 Things”). With this in mind, America decided to help the South Vietnamese by supplying them with weapons and sending American troops (). Although the war didn’t have a formal start, many references state that “U.S. involvement in Vietnam began with Eisenhower” (). American involvement in the Vietnam War truly started in 1954. Involvement lasted for more than 25 years (“Comment”).

‘The Japanese High Command in the Philippines has insisted that it does not recognise any form of international law, although the Japanese Premier told America in 1942 that the Japan would honour the Geneva Convention.’ SMH, February 6, 1945

No one goes to war thinking they will be the one captured and tortured by the enemy. As Canadian troops sailed to Europe to join in the fighting of World War Two, they more likely had nightmares about dying tragically, or suffering for days. No one really worried about being captured because war was associated with fighting, guns, winning and losing. A rude awakening came to those captured and taken to the many different concentration camps. Canadian POW's endured very unfortunate experiences in the Second World War. All of which were unnecessary and most of which were against international rules."Canadian prisoners of war are the forgotten men of World War Two" The process in which they suffered plays a significant role in Canadian

President Kennedy saw the Vietnam situation as America’s fight to stop the spread of communism. Kennedy, who was young and well liked by the American people, did not really see much protest from the American people. He wanted equality in America, and supported open-mindedness in his country; at his assassination in 1963 only 15,000 troops were in Vietnam. His successor, Lyndon B. Johnson greatly increased the number of troops that went to Vietnam, reaching 500,000 in 1966. Television allowed the American public to see what these soldiers were facing and that this was a senseless war. Too many men were coming home in American flag draped coffins, causing many Americans to rebel and move to the new hippie counterculture.

The Vietnam War was a pivotal changing point in the American foreign policy. Through the span of three presidents and the Cold War, Vietnam changed the outlook of America in the world wide arena. After the end of the Indochina war and oppression of Vietnam by the French, the country was split into the north and the south along the 17th parallel. Following the declaration of the Geneva Accord there was to be a demilitarized zone along the north and the south of the 17th parallel and each side of the nation would have 300 days to remove their personnel from the opposing side of the country. North Vietnam, or the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, was controlled by the Vietnamese Communist Party (Worker’s Party) the

In 1958, Communist-led guerrillas, eventually known as the Viet Cong, began to battle the government of the South Vietnamese. The United States then sent 2,000 military advisors t support South Vietnam’s government. This number grew to 16,3000 by 1963. The military force slowly deteriorated. By 1963 the fertile Mekong Delta was lost to the overpowering Viet Cong. The war rose in 1965, when President Johnson issued commencing air strikes on North Vietnam and ground forces, which had risen to 536,000 by 1968. The Tet Offensive by North Vietnam turned many Americans against the waging war. President Nixon, following Johnson, promoted Vietnamization, the withdrawing of American troops and handing over the great responsibility of the war to South Vietnam. Protesting of the war dramatically increased, especially after Nixon’s attempt to slow North Vietnam forces and supplies into the South by sending American forces to destroy supply bases in Cambodia in 1970, which violated Cambodian neutrality. This provoked antiwar protests on many of the United Stats’ college campuses. In 1968 through 1973 attempts were made to end the ongoing conflict through diplomacy. Then in January 1973, an agreement was reached. U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam and the U.S. POWs were released. In April 1975, South Vietnam surrendered to the North and Vietnam was once again united. The Vietnam War ended, but it took the lives of 58,000

The conflict in Vietnam for the United States started when President Dwight D. Eisenhower went along with the domino theory and sent in military advisors in South Vietnam to stop the communist movement from taking place in South Vietnam. The Vietnam conflict was between the communist’s and the United States. North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh, and Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Cong, a guerilla group to help spread communism. The United States were supporters of the South Vietnam because they wanted them to maintain their government rather than falling to the domino theory of communism. After Eisenhower’s term ended John F. Kennedy became president and took control of the situation of Vietnam but on November 22, 1963, Kennedy was

South Vietnam declared Independence in 1955 and hence, the Republic of Vietnam was born. Under the Eisenhower administration, as an attempt to avoid Communism spreading from North to South Vietnam, substantial funds were provided. However, under the Kennedy administration, against advisers advise, not only money was increased, but also military aid. Not until 1964 when American ground troops were fired on by North Vietnamese did it turn from a Vietnamese civil war to an international war.

Verity is describing her capture and torture as a prisoner of war. Von Linden is her captor. He is trading her clothes that she has been completely stripped of in exchange for the wireless code that she can provide to him. She says there are eleven strings of code in all and that so far she has given him four strings of code—earning her back four pieces of her clothing. She has also been able to earn a pen and paper to write in exchange for another string of