Archive for date: September 4th, 2015

Vietnam War

Every letter that I read in class on Friday was heart warming. Most of the letters I read were from women from various ages. But this was a male writing a letter to the senator. When I read this specific letter it almost made me cry a little. These letters were written in 1971 and that is when most people started opposing the
war. They started opposing the Vietnam war because it had already been going on for a long time and they didn’t expect it to last that long. Also because the United States began bombing Vietnam and the citizens didn’t feel safe in their own neighbors.

In this letter this man, Vincent, was writing this letter because the war in Vietnam had already taken way too long. He said that the war had started when he was in high school and he was a senior in college when he wrote the letter. The reason why this letter made me tear up was because four of this man’s high school friends were killed at war. He states “I must say one of the most revolting sights in this entire world is to attend a military funeral and sit and look at the American Flag draped over a closed casket containing the pieces of a life long friend.” Its sad knowing that a friend you have known for a long time that at their funeral you cant have the casket open to see them one last time before they are buried because they are in pieces. This letter made me value my friend more and to be thankful that I wasn’t alive at this time because I can not bare with losing someone close to me. Everyone I know is valuable to me in some sort of way or form.

It was interesting, to say the least, to look over the letters sent to congressman Bizz Johnson during the Vietnam war. While a vast majority were opposed to the continuation of the fighting, some wrote with a great deal of emotional attachment, mourning or fearing for a relative overseas in the military. On the other hand, some wrote using a more political point of view, explaining that the president had overstepped his legal boundaries in regards to the war effort.

The couple that wrote the letter which particularly caught my eye chose to not only address Johnson as his constituents, but more importantly, as Americans. Though they hold the United States in high regard, referring to it as their own “great country,” their own patriotism seem to have been crushed by a more prominent craving for violence in the United States at that point in history. Their acknowledgement of our country’s mistakes represents not only their opinion, but the opinion of a great deal of American citizens, which was shifting from pro-war to pro-peace.

In my own opinion, the most crucial aspect of the letter is the ending, in which the writers state that in spite of any efforts that have been or will be made, the Vietnam war is “one that we have lost.” Even with the original objective of supplying aid and supplanting communist regimes, the body count of either side was far too massive for their to be any true winner, and I believe that this is what the couple was trying to convey. Their view is much the same as many other U.S citizens at the time,

Historical Context

• The Cambodia Campaign added further anger to the war, which was already lengthening
• American involvement in the war had been going on for over a decade
• 6,173 deaths in 1970 alone

  My name is Ilyanna Camacho and  I hope to major in Registered Nursing although I am thinking of changing majors to Political Science or to Sociology.  I grew up taking care of family and helping others with various work. Which is what led me to want to help in the community or at least make a difference in others lives. I am the baby of 4 children, my moms only and my dad’s fourth. I am very close to both my parents, as they are my biggest motivators. Although times were not always easy they taught me to never give up but to stand up and find another way around until I made it. These wise words would stick with me for the rest of my life. I didn’t really have the typical high school experience but I do not regret it in the slightest because I was able to realize my potential early on. In my early teens we began to move around a lot so I switched from public High School to an Independent Charter school. Within that same time I began to work and continued to work through my last three years of high school. Focusing on school and work really helped me grow up  and realize I am the one who needed to be responsible for getting to work, maintaining school and my grades. I do also enjoy traveling to see my family in Carrillo Puerto, Mexico twice a year. Where I enjoy nights of music, food and lots of laughs. My favorite hobby is to help care for animals we started fostering puppies when I was 15. I kept it up until I fell in love with a little boy Chihuahua right after my 17th birthday. Seeing how attached I got my mom didn’t make me give him back but told me I could no longer foster. Being away from my fur babies is the biggest challenge, but I hope to begin volunteering at the local shelter to give back to the kindest creatures around.