Notes

They fought a hi-tech war, using B52 bombers, artillery, helicopters, napalm and defoliants (Agent Orange). This killed many innocent civilians, and failed to stop the Viet Cong guerrillas

U.S. troops used a substance known as napalm from about 1965 to 1972 in the Vietnam War; napalm is a mixture of plastic polystyrene, hydrocarbon benzene, and gasoline. This mixture creates a jelly-like substance that, when ignited, sticks to practically anything and burns up to ten minutes. The effects of napalm on the human body are unbearably painful and almost always cause death among its victims.
Napalm was first used in flamethrowers for U.S. ground troops; they burned down sections of forest and bushes in hopes of eliminating any enemy guerrilla fighters. Later on in the war B-52 Bombers began dropping napalm bombs and other incendiary explosives (called carpet bombing). Air raids that used napalm were much more devastating than flamethrowers; a single bomb was capable of destroying areas up to 2,500 square yards. Throughout the war, 1965 – 1973, eight million tons of bombs were dropped over Vietnam; this was more than three times the amount used in WWII.

Agent Orange is a toxic chemical herbicide that was used from about 1965 – 1970 in the Vietnam War. It was one of the main mixtures used in attempting to deprive Vietnamese farmers and guerrilla fighters of clean food and water in hopes they would relocate to areas more heavily controlled by the U.S. Over twenty million gallons of herbicides and defoliants were sprayed over forests and fields.
Agent Orange is fifty times more concentrated than normal agricultural herbicides; this extreme intensity completely destroyed all plants in the area. Agent Orange not only had devastating effects on agriculture but also on people and animals. The Vietnam Red Cross recorded over 4.8 million deaths and 400,000 children born with birth defects due to exposure to Agent Orange.
Agent Orange was later determined to be in violation of the Geneva Contract. U.S. troops gradually stopped using Agent Orange and any other harmful herbicides.

Bombing the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Ken Burns: The Vietnam War (Links to an external site.)


Strategic Hamlets and Search & Destroy Patrols

Americans forced the peasants to leave Viet Cong-controlled areas and made them live in defended strategic hamlets in loyal areas. This created immense opposition, and allowed Viet Cong infiltrators into loyal areas. Vietnamese hated being forced from their ancestral homes to live in terrible conditions in the hamlets so they left to return to their homes. Vietnamese citizens found outside of these hamlets were deemed enemies (Vietcong) and soldiers could shoot them on sight.

Soldiers would then go on Search and Destroy patrols (U.S.'s primary strategy in Vietnam). On these patrols, soldiers went out looking for "Charlie", as they called the Viet Cong. But the patrols were very visible, and easy to ambush. Soldiers were tasked with looking for the Viet Cong and destroy any villages that were determined to be a Viet Cong stronghold. This led to atrocities such as "zippo raids" to burn villages, and the unprovoked massacre of peaceful villagers at My Lai in 1968.

Search & Destroy & Body Counts - Ken Burns: The Vietnam War (Links to an external site.)



Search & Destroy.pngSearch & Destroy 2.jpg

Soldiers on Search & Destroy Missions