1. -Who Fought for the US-

2. I. The Early Years: Volunteers and Victories
A. During the first years of the war, most soldiers in Vietnam were professionals or volunteers
1. They trained together
2. Were sent to fight together
3. Morale and expectations were high

3. B. The first major battle took place in the fall of 1965
1. Ia Drang Valley in the Central Highlands
2. US Army’s First Cavalry Division fought the North Vietnamese Army (NVA)
3. 1,500-1,800 NVA casualties compared to less than 300 US

4. C. Casualties were small enough and volunteerism high enough to give credibility to the administration’s reassurances that a successful war effort could be managed without great public sacrifice

5. II. The Troop Buildup and the Draft
A. By the end of 1966 the type of soldiers in Vietnam began to change
1. Many enlisted men had served their one year tour and were heading home
2. Their slots were being filled by soldiers recruited through the Selective Service System—The Draft
3. By December 1966, the draft call was up to 40,000 men each month

6. B. These recruits faced a number of difficulties their predecessors had not
1. They lacked the security of serving alongside friends from basic training
2. Many were being sent straight into combat
3. Morale problems began to surface
4. By 1970, draftees comprised 55% of combat deaths

7. C. Almost 60% of the eligible population escaped military service entirely during the Vietnam era

8. III. How to Avoid Vietnam
A. The most popular way to avoid service was to go to college
1. If the student flunked out or graduated, they were eligible for the draft
2. Increased enrollment reduced the pool of draft- eligible males by several hundred thousand

9. B. Occupational draft-deferment was another option for avoiding service
1. These job included:
a. Medicine
b. The ministry
c. Teaching
2. Between 1968 and 1971, occupational deferments rose by over 270,000 (124%)

10. C. Hardship deferments
1. Men who were the sole means of support for their dependents (families)
2. From , such deferments rose by almost 420,000
D. The ‘best’ way to get out of service was an IV-F classification
1. Granted for reasons of illness or disability
2. Could be obtained by failing the induction physical

11. E. One could lower one’s chances of seeing combat in Vietnam by choosing a branch of service more removed from action
1. Coast Guard
2. Navy
3. Reserves
F. Studies by the Pentagon indicated that 70-90% of all reservists and Guardsman were draft-motivated

12. IV. Who is Likely to See the Most Combat?
A. You were much more likely to serve in the military, be sent to Vietnam, and see combat if you were:
1. From a low income family
2. Did not receive a college education
B. Most of the alternatives for avoiding the draft and combat were restricted to those with money and education

13. V. Racial Minorities in Vietnam
A. Many African Americans volunteered for military service in hopes of escaping the ghetto and using their service as an opportunity
1. The poverty rate among black Americans was three times that among white Americans
2. Black youths were more likely than white youths to be:
a. Drafted
b. Assigned to Vietnam
c. Killed in combat

14. B. Few African Americans were assigned to decision making roles on local draft boards
C. In 1965, black soldiers accounted for 24% of all Army combat deaths
1. This was almost twice their share of the relevant population

15. D. Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT)
1. Designed to weed out potential recruits
2. A low but passing score channeled many recruits into non-technical positions in combat units

16. E. The data clearly shows that the military in Vietnam consisted primarily of:
1. Lower-income males with a high school education or less
a. White males from rural areas in the south
b. Blue collar communities in the north
c. Blacks
d. Hispanics

17. VI. Black Vs. White in Vietnam
A. Back in the US, the black population was waging an assault on institutionalized racism
1. American people’s problems with racism at home carried over to Vietnam

18. 2. War in Vietnam posed a special hardship on the black community
a. The war took media attention away from the civil rights movement
b. It demanded more and more of the national budget
c. Black youths were serving and dying in disproportionate numbers

19. B. Martin Luther King argued that social programs were being sacrificed to pay for the escalating costs of the war
C. 64% of black enlisted men believed that their fight was in the US, not Vietnam

20. The first thing that caught my attention while waiting for my bags at the airport was the Vietnamese. They were the ones unloading the plane, carrying the bags to where we were waiting. All during which the American soldiers who were supervising ordered them to hurry up while making derogatory remarks about Asians in general. I thought about the airports and train stations in the States, where menial jobs such as baggage carrying are handled by the brothers, who must take the same devil’s abuse in order to provide for their families. It disgusted me.

21. VII. Americans Against Vietnamese
A. The terror of life and death promoted a racist contempt that served to dehumanize the enemy and make killing morally defensible
1. US soldiers were told to disregard the Vietcong as sub-human

22. B. Many GIs felt that the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) showed less skill and courage in combat than the Vietcong
1. This reinforced American cynicism toward the Vietnamese

23. C. There was the peculiar nature of the war itself
1. Few sustained confrontations between troops
a. It was difficult to gain or defend a strategic location
2. The enemy infiltrated the population
a. Practiced hit-and-run tactics
b. Frustrated troops

24. 3. Many soldiers were killed or mutilated without seeing the enemy
a. Land mines
b. Booby traps
4. Frustrations turned to rage
a. Some GIs committed acts of terror aimed at innocent villagers