Heart of Darkness: The Tragedy of the Vietnam War

May 7th 1954: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu had torn the heart out of the French Empire in Indochina, signaling the beginning of the end for France's once powerful colonial empire. Two months later the Geneva Accords would bring the nightmare of the First Indochina War to a close, leaving behind a nation in ruins and divided into two armed camps.
From 1954-1973 Vietnam would be torn apart by a merciless civil war pitting North against South, pro-Communist against Anti-Communist.
Before the guns fell silent the armed forces of the United States, Austrailia, South Korea, New Zealand, and Thailand, would be drug into the carnage, in a war that marked the height of an age of fear and paranoia.
When the war finally ended for the Allies in 1973 the men and women who fought it became little then ghosts in a society where honor, compassion and forgivness were hollow words with no meaning in the eyes of the people on the homefront. For Vietnam the cease-fire of 1973 served ony to open the doors to a nightmare it has yet to emerge from

Song: Sleeping Sun
Artist: Nightwish
Subject: The Vietnam War

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Vietnam War
• Nightwish
• Sleeping Sun
• United States
• Austrailia
• Titanic
• Sydney
• Korea
• Lusitania
• Soldiers
• Army
• Navy
• Air Force
• Marines. ARVN
• Indianapolis
• Anti-War Movment
• 1960s
• Kent State
• Gulf of Tonkin

[wolfgunner4564]

The Vietnam war was famous for not just it's huge losses for somthing small. It was famous for being the first ever American War were Blacks and Whites were in the same regiments, Divisions, platoons, and crew side by side shoulder to shoulder fighting a foren enemey. Thats one of the reason why it was famous. Also are you sure the picture at 1:32 was in the Vietnam War?

[snakes3425]

@wolfgunner4564

Vietnam was the first war where segregation of the armed forces had been wiped out completly, the Korean War though was the first time integrated units fought on the front lines

1:32: The Photo is of a US Marine Artillery crew in action during the Siege of Khe Sanh

[buickboy92]

Wow. Very powerful video. I didn't know the Vietnam War was that long. Crazy what men will do to one another.

[CallofDaniel]

@buickboy92 The war was even longer. The French invaded Vietnam in

1946 and were beaten in 1954. The USA took over and fought until 1973.

In 1975 North Vietnam overunned South Vietnam and the war was then

finally over.

[snakes3425]

@CallofDaniel

Historically they're counted as three different wars (or at least I count them as three differnt wars) seperated by two cease fires in 1954 and 1973. Also France had ruled Indochina since 1887, through puppet Emperors in Vietnam and Kings in Laos and Cambodia. There had been uprisings against French Rule since at least 1895, but they ammounted to very little. The First Indochina war grew out of the gurellea war launched against the Japanese-Vichy Occupation during World War II

[snakes3425]

@buickboy92

Officail Miltiary involvement began in 1964-65 with Operations Pierce Arrow (Gulf of Tonkin Reprisail) Flamming Dart I (retaliation for a mortor attack on Pleiku Air Base) Flamming Dart II (Retaliation for a VC Bombing of a Hotel in Saigon that killed US Service Men) and Rolling Thunder (The 65-68 bombing Campaign) and the landing of Marines at Da Nang but advisors and Special Forces troops were in South Vietnam begining in 1954 to train and equip the ARVN to fight the VietCong

[blehthony67]

I was a vet in the Vietnam War but now i am retired

[SgtBaker16]

Nice balanced job. The photos of the VC/NVA and ARVN were a particularly nice touch, as it was their war. 

[SgtBaker16]

Nice balanced job. The photos of the VC/NVA and ARVN were a particukarly nice touch, as it was their war.

[carsmasher]

@warprohistory

Yes, there were many underage who lied about their age and joined. But, what I mean is the average age of all the soldiers.

[warprohistory]

@carsmasher in ww2 the youmgest to join was 15 or 14.

[carsmasher]

What is really sad is that most of the soldiers who fought in Vietnam had an average age of 19 (World War two the average age was 26). They were mostly still innocent kids and many were draftees. When I Came of age in the early 1980's the Vietman Vets I knew were still young and the WWII Vets were in their early 60's. Now the Vietnam vets are in their early 60's and I know several that still have nightmares about the war.