Letters from Wartime

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