Vietnam War

            
             To many, the Vietnam War symbolizes controversy, myth and question in America. There are many events that made Americans wonder what reasons we had for putting our troops and families in Vietnam. Up till that point, many other Americans had never questioned the acts of the American government and armed forces. Issues dealt with in the Vietnam War showed great impact on the American people, particularly the students. American involvement started off very low key. Two marine battalions landed in Da Nang on March 8, 1965 (Doyle, Lipsman). They were not fighting a war yet, though a war was going on in the very country that they were in. Their job was to merely protect an air field in Da Nang, not look for trouble or initiate any kind of war tactics. But soon, holding off the enemy was not so easy for the American soldiers, and more troops were sent in. This continued on, and when May rolled around there were 46,000 American Troops in Vietnam (Doyle, Lipsman). It was at this time when American troops were then given the "permit to use more active defense," and soon after, the number soared to 82,000 American troops in Vietnam (Doyle, Lipsman). From there, the American defense quickly turned into an offense, and transportation flights turned in to rescue missions. This was about the time that Americans at home began to become worried that the war in Vietnam was getting out of hand. Small protests broke out amongst college students across America, but these began to become very serious. On April 17, 1965 The Students for a Democratic Society organized a national protest on the steps of the capitol in Washington D.C. (Doyle, Lipsman). Television coverage enraged people by misleading facts and disturbing war images of troops killing women and children. Frustration in America grew and riots and protests got out of hand as no questions seemed to be answered. Students protested and gathered, building rage against the war spurring events like the Kent State Massacre.