This is an informative brief excerpt between President Johnson and National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy, Nov. 20, 2009: www.pbs.org/moyers
LYNDON B. JOHNSON: I will tell you the more I just stayed awake last night thinking about this thing, the more I think of it, I don’t know what in the hell it looks to me like we’re getting into another Korea […] I don’t think it’s worth fighting for and I don’t think we can get out. And it’s just the biggest damned mess that I ever saw.
MCGEORGE BUNDY: It is. It’s an awful mess.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON: And we just got to think about — I look at this sergeant of mine this morning. Got six little old kids […] and I just thought […] what in the hell am I ordering him out there for?
MCGEORGE BUNDY: One thing that’s occurred to me […]
LYNDON B. JOHNSON: What the hell is Vietnam worth to me? What is Laos worth to me? What is it worth to this country?
President Johnson was sworn into office after the Kennedy assassination in November 1963. In the waning days of 1963, President Johnson had those misgivings about escalating in Vietnam. And in the early months of 1964, he was not yet committed to an increased level of military involvement, but he had an election to think about as well as how he would be politically attacked if he didn’t fight communist aggression. After the events in the Tonkin Gulf in August 1964, the path toward greater U.S. military involvement in Vietnam was made easier.
As they say, the rest is history. Despite President Johnson’s own reservations about the value of Vietnam to the U.S., over 2.7 million Americans served in Vietnam (vietnamveteranproject.org). Eligibility for the Vietnam Service Medal shown above required a service member to serve in Vietnam between July 1965 and March 1973.* National Vietnam War Veterans Day is celebrated on March 29th because the last combat troops left Vietnam on that date in 1973: apnews.com/today-in-history/march-29. In 2017, the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 was signed into law. (Public Law 115-15).
The Vietnam Service Ribbon displayed here was worn by Emerson Trainer, First Sergeant, US Army, (Ret.). Eligibility for the Vietnam Service Medal required a service member to serve in Vietnam between July 1965 and March 1973.
For most Americans today, the Vietnam War is history. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh City) to North Vietnamese troops on April 30, 1975, nearly two-thirds of Americans were not yet born. United States Population by Age – 2025 Update | Neilsberg. Those who consider the Vietnam War as history have many books and documentaries available to edify themselves. Alternatively, one can listen to the stories as told by these warriors on websites like Witness to War (witnesstowar.org).
Marking this anniversary, it is worth taking the time to honor the Vietnam veterans who served in a most unpopular war. Their sacrifices in the name of the United States should be and must be honored and respected in a manner distinct from the decisions made by the politicians who sent them there and funded the continuation of that war for years.
Unlike veterans who fought in wars before them, many of these old warriors spent decades after the war never acknowledging their service, their sacrifices, and their wounds. What we must recognize is that, like their predecessors in other wars fighting other battles, these warriors fought valiantly. They tramped through the jungles, slogged through the delta, and fought to capture mountains. They battled the environment as well as the enemy.
Only a couple of decades after World War II, young Americans, whether voluntarily enlisting to serve or showing up when their draft boards notified them, believed in great numbers that it remained a duty to serve their country. Like others before and after them, Vietnam veterans have done things and seen things that most would never want to see or do, but they did it in the name of their country.
As a society, we may have matured to the point of not blaming the men and women who served and sacrificed for the decisions made by those who voted and decided to send them off to war. The warriors honored the decision made. They deserve respect for having served and sacrificed. Once on the battlefield, they fought a determined enemy. They fought to stay alive and to keep each other alive.
Over fifty years ago, these old warriors wearing baseball-style caps denoting their past service were young, strong, and dedicated to a mission they believed their government wanted them to fulfill. We are indebted to such duty, service, and commitment. As we read that the current administration seeks to cut government support and services, including those that would help thousands of disabled veterans, the country should not turn its back on those who served nobly and honorably.
The country has a duty to provide the care necessary for those who gave so much in their youth, while the government’s own reservations about the war resulted in questionable decision-making. Having served, sacrificed, and suffered during their early years, we should not allow the government to deprive them of the care they deserve as they live the final chapter of their lives.