Source #1: This first article looks, with great detail, into the effects of ones being effected by post-traumatic stress disorder. William J. Cromie states that PTSD is a disease that about 19% of the approximately three million soldiers who fought in Vietnam, returned with symptoms of PTSD. The symptoms caused these young men to have invasive memories, nightmares, loss of concentration, anxiety, feelings of guilt, irritability and even major depression. This study was aimed at better understanding this sickness to help those who may suffer from the disease in future wars. Between the years of 1999 and 2004, “the total number of [Vietnam] veterans receiving disability compensation for PTSD increased by 79.5 percent” Richard McNally stated. The more combat experiences and trauma a soldier was exposed to lead to a higher rate of experiencing symptoms of PTSD. The article reveals that 28% of those with high exposure to combat still suffer symptoms today, while only 1% of those who experienced little to no combat experience still suffered from the disease. The 1990 National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study stated that 30.9% were wounded mentally, 22.5% were partially wounded, and 15.2% were still suffering from symptoms leading Congress to continue its funding of helpful programs. Finally, it is noted that treatment methods vary for each individual as some recover quicker by utilizing other stress-relieving exercises rather than just psychological treatment.

Source #2: The second source discusses one of the purposes for fighting in Vietnam. The Americans were frightened deeply by the thought of communism spreading around the world, as it had been gaining traction in countries outside of Europe. With rising fear that the US would also fall to communism, the Red Scare begin to affect many and Nixon used this to his advantage. The domino theory was a belief that if one country fell to commusim, then all surrounding countries would also fall.

Source #3: The third source discusses how the United States was effected by the war in Vietnam. It disccuses how the American people were led towards distrust of its government because of the war. Patriotism was faltering and so was the economy. This had been the only war that the United States had lost, and North Vietnam had taken over its southern counterpart to help feed the Red Scare. When the soldiers returned home from war they were no longer hailed as great heroes as they once had been seen as. They were met with disdain and hatred for fighting in a war they were forced to partake in. While lessons were, in fact, gained from this disastrous point in US history, this war had taken its toll on the ‘ole red, white, and blue.

Source #4: This source is one that was conducted by three people whom have an association with Stanford University. The paper thouroughly investigates the psychological effects of the Vietnam War and how it effected so many young men. Numerous diferent points of view are considered such as life before, during, and after the war; the war portrayed by the media; and even through the eyes of a veteran through a one-on-one interview with him. The war left these men ravaged and for some, had their lives completely ruined.


Fighting a war is not easy. One’s mental fortitude is put to the test as they are pushed to their absolute limits physically and mentally. There are many ways that some attempt to handle this stressful environment such as by carrying certain memories or tangible objects for luck or to help remind them why they have to return home, but not everyone can handle that kind of emotional duress and do, in fact, collapse under pressure. 

In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, many of the soldiers were shown carrying many different things such as a girlfriend’s underwear, love letters, or even a lucky rabbit’s foot. These are just a few of the ways soldiers tried to cope with the extreme conditions in Vietnam. Unfortunately though, most soldiers that returned home from the war struggled mightily with adjusting back to normal life. According to the Harvard Gazette’s 2006 article, approximately 30% of veterans returned home with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This disease lead. Web.stanford.edu describes PTSD as “a development of characteristic symptoms following a psychological event. ‘It begins with an event in which the individual with his or her own death or the destruction of a body part, to such humiliation that their personal identity may be lost.” Symptoms include feelings of helplessness, depression, anxiety, insomnia, reacting to tense situations by using survival tactics, guilt, and irritability to name a few. 

There were many factors that caused these men to become unstable and experience the many symptoms of this disease. When these young men were sent to fight they all knew they would be returning home at some point due to a twelve month rotation set up by the US military. These men had scheduled DEROS (date of expected return from overseas) and the closer they got to these dates, the less enthusiastic they would get towards combat. Going to fight in a war may have seemed exciting at first, but after most had their first combat encounter the enthusiasm wore off rather quickly. With a DEROS in sight, soldiers would either remove themselves from battle or simply try to play it very, very safely to greater their chances of returning home to their hometowns and loved ones. Having an end in sight may have been even harder for the soldiers and not all of them only used vast items and ideas to help calm their nerves and keep their sanity. 

Fighting in Vietnam was so stressful that most men turned to using drugs and alcohol to help keep their psyches as intact as possible. The men turned to marijuana at first, but soon the American public learned the soldiers they had sent overseas were now “drug addicts” and were deeply frowned upon. This actually led the US to start trying to suppressing drug use more, especially when it came to marijuana. With one drug came a next. Many moved on to heroine after this to get their fix. Weed and alcohol tend to slow down time, while shooting u heroin would do the exact opposite and actually speed things up. The amount of drug and alcohol abuse that the media shared with those back home deeply affected veterans when they returned home. Many were still unable to legally purchase alcohol when they returned and drugs simply were not as plentiful in the states as they were over in ‘nam. There were multiple instances were store owners would flat out deny a job application from a Vietnam War veteran due only to the fact that they could have had a drug addiction. Studies show that those aged from 19 years old to 23 years of age when they returned struggled the most with readjusting to everyday life. The drug habits and reliance on alcohol coupled with PTSD ruined many relationships with loved ones further elongating their transition time. 

The way previous wars had been exhibited by the media also did not help these young men being sent off to fight a strange war in a strange country. In past wars, combat was held in high regard. Men that fought and came home were hailed as heroes and always seemed to get the girl. Propaganda always showed smiling faces and triumphant Americans. When these men traveled to Vietnam they were caught off guard. Combat was not nearly as exciting as they had led to be believed and it was not nearly as clean cut either. Many young men watched their closest friends die right next to them when normal kids their age would be more worried about an upcoming test or talking to a pretty girl. These experiences were so very traumatic for these fresh-faced soldiers and truly corrupted them. Furthermore, the hero’s welcome they had all come to expect, was instead a barrage of insults, boos, and denied job applications. Due to shady war tactics by the Vietnamese, many squadrons had ended up killing women, children, and civilian men causing the US public to call our veterans brutal names such as “baby killers.” They did not return as heroes, but rather as villains. Many would look at our veterans and blame them for the atrocities committed even if they had nothing to do with it. These young men were ripped away from their lives and when they came back they simply felt as if they no longer belonged and had no real purpose. After fighting for so long to protect your country, sitting in cubicle all day simply did not feel near as important. Their personal identities had been stripped from them and many never truly reclaimed it. Society rejected them, the government ignored them, and no one truly understood them. These men were more alone than ever. Veterans felt as if they could relate to no one and really could not share their war stories with anyone other than those that fought alongside them. They often felt very alone and many were even pushed to suicide due to crippling cases of PTSD. 

This war actually turned out to be a disaster for us American people. With already shady reasons for going in to this war and with the public learning of many conspiracies towards it, nothing about traveling to Vietnam seemed right. Fighting her led to people to distrust our government more due to our falsifying what had actually happened. We had claimed that we were attacked first and were simply retaliating, but in reality, the news outlets were lying to the public to garner national support. Instead, this led to national distrust and disapproval of both the war and those fighting in it. United States patriotism also took an immense hit with us losing a war. Going into this we believed it should be quick and simply because after all we were only fighting a “fourth-rate power” according to Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State. Losing this war caused many to feel even more ashamed and scared. We had lost what many believed to be a surefire, blowout victory and communism had once more spread to another country. The domino theory was in full effect and the Red Scare was spreading through America like a wild fire. The media had also projected those who had partaken in this war as psycho, drug-reliant, merciless killers and many treated them as such despite it simply being a case of good soldiers in a bad war. To make the situation worse, veterans were not given full respect for what they had done and sacrificed until 1982 when the Vietnam Veterans memorial was dedicated to those young men who had fought overseas. 

Overall, this war destroyed lives, both American and Vietnamese alike and had lasting effects on the United States still to this day. War was shown to be less heroic and more gruesome, through both media outlets and literature. Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,”  showed how America’s sons had been forced to rely on fragile ideas and items to keep them sane. The sweet young men of our country had been plucked from their lives and brought back hardened, cynical, and many were addicted to drugs and trying to find themselves at the bottom of a bottle. Our soldier’s image was forever scathed, and our trust in the government had taken a huge hit. This war had forever changed the United States of America’s history, despite it being a seemingly unnecessary fight.