Here’s a reference that will put your son head and shoulders above his teacher, the lamestream media and most Americans. It’s called “Vietnam: A History” and was written by Stanley Karnow. The book chronicles that Vietnam has been involved in various wars and civil wars since around the 1400s. It wasn’t new by the time we got involved, we just stepped in after the French gave up trying to defeat the Viet Cong. And they had been fighting from sometime in the 40’s until they abandoned Vietnam in ‘53 or ‘54 after the battle at Dien Ben Phu (sp?).
With respect to Tet and the Crankcase comment, it is true. One of the leading North Vietnamese generals (don’t recall his name, either; probably has a Phu or Diem in his name, though!) acknowledged after we capitulated in ‘Nam that Tet had been a disaster for them and they were talking about surrendering until the American media spread the story that Tet was a disaster for the US.
Vietnam was called “the Living Room War” because we all sat around the TV in the living room at night and watched the news reports. Something else your son might want to check out is Congress’ battle with Nixon over various pet projects. They would turn the money off the fight the war (no bombs, bullets, gas, or airplane fuel) until they got Nixon to either give in on whatever they wanted or he would compromise with them. This tactic went on for months during the last couple of years of the war. The only problem was that someone didn’t bother to tell the North Vietnamese that the military in ‘Nam couldn’t buy the materials of war and they just kept on killing American kids. There is no way to estimate how many of those names on the Vietnam Memorial might not be there had Congress and the MSM not been so intent on undermining our efforts.
Your son’s teacher sounds like a leftist moron whose knowledge of the war comes from John F’n Kerry, Jane Fonda and the DNC talking points. Those of us who were actually there know the real story.
Tell your son good luck. We fought that war once, it is disgraceful that he has to fight it again.
Don’t trust Karnow on Vietnam. MacLean also lefty and Isaacs is questionable. Trust absolutely nothing by D. Gareth Porter and Marilyn Young is a lefty.
See Mark Moyar, Louis Sorley, Guenter Lewry, Lewis Fanning, Glen McDonald, Peter Braestrup, Bernard Fall, P.J. Honey, Dennis Duncanson, Robert Shaplen, Norman Podhoretz, Michael Lind (”Vietnam: The Necessary War”, 1999); Douglas Pike; Robert Turner; William Duiker; Sir Robert Thompson; Gen. Lansdale; William Westmoreland; Chanoff and Doan Van Toai, ex-VC; Truoung Nhu Tang; Truong Chinh; Harry Summers; Al Santoli; Michael Lee Lanning; William Colby; James “Nick” Rowe; John Hubbell; Donald Kirk.
Some of these are friends of mine; others were acquaintances I met as a journalist while in So. Vietnam and Cambodia.