Posted on Aug 24, 2015
A Millennial’s Perspective on the Legacy of Vietnam — The Bridge
8.4K
87
43
14
14
0
Have Any Of You Read About This? It's A Great Article. The Vietnam War’s Legacy, As Viewed By Millennials.
Though the Vietnam War was over by the time the millennial generation was born, the conflict plays an important role in informing how we view and understand our most recent wars. In an article for The Bridge, Will Station shares his thoughts on the Vietnam War, as well as the lessons learned both on and off the battlefield, and how they apply to today’s conflicts.
“The most important parallel between the thinking that led to Vietnam and the War on Terror is the flawed methodology of fighting an ideological battle as a ‘hot’ war,” Station writes. “Indeed, there are times when force is necessary, and we have applied it both proportionately and disproportionately at times during the War on Terror. But bullets do not kill ideas, and absent a superior ideology to complement necessary use of force, a ‘hot’ war against an idea is destined to be a losing prospect, a long and futile war of attrition.
The first time I visited the Vietnam Memorial was in the fifth grade. There, I observed tearful mourners and cried too without understanding why.
The last American combat troops left Vietnam in 1973, twelve years before I was born and 42 years ago as I write this. No millennials, as my generation is called, lived through the Vietnam War. For most of us even the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union happened too early in our lives to resonate politically. My generation’s perspective on Vietnam is shaped entirely through textbooks and movies.
Read More Here: https://medium.com/the-bridge/a-millennial-s-perspective-on-the-legacy-of-vietnam-21e247dde019
Though the Vietnam War was over by the time the millennial generation was born, the conflict plays an important role in informing how we view and understand our most recent wars. In an article for The Bridge, Will Station shares his thoughts on the Vietnam War, as well as the lessons learned both on and off the battlefield, and how they apply to today’s conflicts.
“The most important parallel between the thinking that led to Vietnam and the War on Terror is the flawed methodology of fighting an ideological battle as a ‘hot’ war,” Station writes. “Indeed, there are times when force is necessary, and we have applied it both proportionately and disproportionately at times during the War on Terror. But bullets do not kill ideas, and absent a superior ideology to complement necessary use of force, a ‘hot’ war against an idea is destined to be a losing prospect, a long and futile war of attrition.
The first time I visited the Vietnam Memorial was in the fifth grade. There, I observed tearful mourners and cried too without understanding why.
The last American combat troops left Vietnam in 1973, twelve years before I was born and 42 years ago as I write this. No millennials, as my generation is called, lived through the Vietnam War. For most of us even the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union happened too early in our lives to resonate politically. My generation’s perspective on Vietnam is shaped entirely through textbooks and movies.
Read More Here: https://medium.com/the-bridge/a-millennial-s-perspective-on-the-legacy-of-vietnam-21e247dde019
Posted in these groups: 
Vietnam War
Military History
Vietnam War Military History
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 11
7
7
0
I disagree with the statement "The most important parallel between the thinking that led to Vietnam and the War on Terror is the flawed methodology of fighting an ideological battle as a ‘hot’ war".
The flawed methodology is fighting a hot war without the intent to win. In Viet Nam we were restricted in methods and targets for political reasons, and in Iraq we had beaten the terrorists (AQI) until this administration pulled out our troops prematurely and allowed them to reconstitute into ISIS.
In both cases the left's refusal to fight the war to win was the cause of our defeat - not the failure to deal effectively with the idea.
"For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?"
- 1 Corinthians 14:8
The flawed methodology is fighting a hot war without the intent to win. In Viet Nam we were restricted in methods and targets for political reasons, and in Iraq we had beaten the terrorists (AQI) until this administration pulled out our troops prematurely and allowed them to reconstitute into ISIS.
In both cases the left's refusal to fight the war to win was the cause of our defeat - not the failure to deal effectively with the idea.
"For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?"
- 1 Corinthians 14:8
(7)
(0)
SGT (Join to see)
Proves my point about Westmoreland, and the property we took being given back to the NVA, Capt Seid Waddell. I didn't know Westmoreland left Vietnam after the siege. Thank goodness someone with some smarts took over his command, and closed down that road wasteland.
(1)
(0)
7
7
0
Keith, SGT (Join to see) I have no conflict with the author. He hit the nail on the head, ideologies are hard to overcome unless the society is ready for the change. We did what we could, our hands were tied behind our backs. If the politicians wanted us to "win", they should have given us that mission, and kept the news media out of it and let us fight.
(7)
(0)
CPT (Join to see)
CSM Charles Hayden Remember the game hang-man, I would have like to have played using her as the stick-man, and hung her ass so many times. I hate her as much as I hate the Iranians and I hate the Iranians. (God forgive me.)
(2)
(0)
SGT (Join to see)
CPT (Join to see). When something like 9-11 happens, if it doesn't directly affect you and your life style, after all the dust settles( No Pun Intended), and things seem to return to normal, the general public may not totally forget about the tragedy, but it's no longer at the top of their bucket list. I think this applies to civilians more than military and ex military. Also there are those who don't give a crap about anything like ISIS or other world problems. They prefer to act like it will go away some day, and it's someone else's problem. That's what I think. I may have it all wrong.
(6)
(0)
CPT (Join to see)
SGT (Join to see), Keith, you're probably correct, out of sight out of mind, those in the military always remember because they put it on the line, every day.
(4)
(0)
6
6
0
It seems that millennials (or at least the one that authored this article) learned his history from the poisoned pens of the journalists that misrepresented the War in Vietnam while it was happening. Sad. And now the same false conclusions are being fabricated from the maelstrom in the Middle East. Ideologies have no existence outside the human consciousness that harbors them. Eliminate those humans and you eliminate that ideology. I know that sounds brutal but let's face it, evil is brutal. And no, you can't reason with brutes. We are no more fighting Islam in the Middle East than we were fighting communism in Vietnam. We are and were fighting brutes, the henchmen of tyrants. They may hide behind ideological ideals such as Utopian fantasies or theological pragmatism, but don't be fooled. They are tyrants with the same desires of tyrants in all times and in all places. They want to be in charge. They want to be the great deciders. They want to receive the adulation. And they don't care who gets hurt in the process. Death to tyrants...
(6)
(0)
SGT (Join to see)
Awesome post, as usual, CPT Jack Durish. I haven't thought of it that way, but you're correct. Evil tyrants, trying to run the world. Glad I wasted a few of them.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google