This video is demonetized and might be age-restricted, but the heck with it. I released it, anyway. I have censored it so much already. The less censored version can be found here: th-cam.com/video/GLB6qbJ4jb0/w-d-xo.html I think I'm done covering wars for awhile. Support the sponsor to make up for the fact that I won't make much from ads on this one, eh? It's Henson razors this time.Try out Henson and get 100 free blades with purchase of a razor. Use code "mrbeat." Go here: hensonshaving.com/mrbeat For real
Would you say that it could be interesting if a "Presidents, and how many people died because of the president's actions and (miss)handlings" comes someday? PS: Congratulations to 1M!
Thank you Mr. Beat. I'm 19 and when I see a vet I thank them, but I really thank them if they were in Vietnam sometimes you can tell they want to tear up, some ask not to be thanked. It was so hard for them, so psychologically taxing. My neighbor is a Vietnam vet and since I love history I've always wanted to ask him about it, but I know he was sent home on injuries, and to this day he has bad PTSD. This was one of the toughest and most controversial wars that our country has been into (that really didn't need to happen). Congrats on 1M Mr. Beat!!
i understand how frustrating this must be and i havent watched the vietnam one yet (cant wait), but know that the iraq war one was amazing and so important. thank you for your work. i hope that youll continue doing long form videos like this in the future. all the best from germany
Thank you for telling the truth. I'm from Vietnam and what you doing means a lot to Vietnamese people. I really hate the way people distort history. The American War in Vietnam caused so much pain and Vietnamese soldiers had to shed so much blood and bones to gain independence. Not only in America, but in Korea, the Korean mercenaries who committed the crimes in 1968 are honored as national heroes for the benefit of the country. And a lot of Koreans think so too, they have no idea what really happened in Vietnam. They killed many innocent people, including women and children. Women were even sexually assaulted. Fun fact, they even made movies of those korean soldiers as heroes. What a blatant distortion of history! That's really piss me off. But anyway, it is not the fault of the Korean people but the fault of the government. People should know what really happened. Thousands of respects for what you doing.
I mean the Korean soldiers fought bravely, bring in American aids to South Korea which laid the foundation to the country become a powerhouse today. They deserve to be called heroes to their nation. On the other hand, Vietnam treat their war heroes extremely bad. Vo Nguyen Giap, their most decorated general, was put in charge of family planning ministry. Other vets have their houses taken away or their benefits embezzled by the government.
@@npcjay916 It’s strange that South Koreans are always whining about Japan not apologizing for war crimes, yet they don’t apologize and are even proud of what they did in Vietnam.
Americans never mention that half a million koreans were sent to the front lines. America never mentions that it tried to litrally starve the country to death by dropping chemicals on on their farms. They dropped more twice as many bombs on vietnam then every nation that dropped a bomb in WW2, america also had apart in installing pol pot. and just like now they are spreading hell fire all over the planet with their industrial war complex. I have been to vietnam your country is beautiful and the people have alot to be proud about. it was estimated that the damage left from america took vietnam back 100 years, the fact that it has one of the fastest ecomemies in the world and modern cities would not have been thought possible at one point. its an impressive country
“It’s kind of like the government telling you that there’s no war crimes, and then you get on TikTok and see the war crimes. And then the government bans TikTok.” So much respect for saying this, Mr. Beat. Thank you.
Tiktok should still be banned because it corrupts the minds of the youth. Of course certain horrific crimes are happening, but the app still ought to be banned.
@@bobfind9151 it’s implied he’s talking about Israel and Palestine. Mitt Romney recently admitted that a major reason for the TikTok ban happening now is the prevalence of TikToks that are pro-Palestine or criticize Israel.
@@chadthundercock4806 WW2 is a direct consequence of Woodrow Wilson breaking America's indifference to European affairs in WW1, drafting "free" men (poor people & minorities) to make a beaten Germany even more bitter with the Treaty of Versailles. So depends on how you look at it, military industrial complex is a pain.
@@bearlogg7974 So because germany starts a war where 15 million people die, loses, and whats done to every country that has lost war since people began making war on each its the US's fault?
Back to Vietnam: During WWII, the Viet Minh, rescued American pilots and worked with the precursor of the CIA or the OSS in operations against the Japanese. Ho Chi Minh wrote letters to Roosevelt in admiration stating that he wanted to model the Vietnamese Constitution on the American one. Ho Chi Minh also wrote to President Truman, and Ho never received a response to his letters. A window closed when the Americans decided to support the French in taking back their colony so as to re-victimize the Vietnamese people who suffered terribly under French colonial rule. This action supporting the French made the Americans the enemy of Vietnamese National Liberation Front. During what Americans call the Vietnam War (and what Vietnamese call the American War), the country was laid waste with more bombs dropped on little Vietnam, than had been dropped in all theaters of war during WWII. Millions of Vietnamese people were killed who were often innocent civilians and the Americans kept ratcheting up the level of violence thinking that this would make people forget their desire for freedom. They should have known better. The Vietnamese would have paid any price for their freedom as much as American patriotic brothers would have if they had been colonized. American defense contractors made out very well, and 58,000 Americans gave their lives on the basis of several public lies. It is the Vietnamese, who have the incredible magnanimity to forgive the US for the murder of around two million of their citizens, laying waste their country, destroying its beauty, and leaving a generation of unexploded ordinance which is still killing people in 2016. This is not to say that the Vietnamese government is perfect, as it is not, and needs to go further to improve human rights. Having visited Vietnam seven times, I am well aware of the current realities, but it is also a young country at peace, and with gradually increasing prosperity. Before Americans complain to the Vietnamese about human rights, they should offer to provide prosthetics to all those in Vietnam who still need them and medical care for those suffering the effects of Agent Orange. Is it not a human right to have legs and a chance for normal children? Additionally, instead of having squandered almost seven trillion in unnecessary and stupid wars in the middle-east, we could have spent a much more modest sum in helping to rebuild Vietnam, and the return on investment would have been much higher than expenditures for war in the middle-east where 90% of the Iraqi people see the United States as an enemy after having occupied them against their will for almost ten years. It is not that Americans can't learn from history, it is that our political class of the Democrats and Republicans are completely corrupt and have to raise money from interests in favor of endless war in order to be elected.
I'm not sure how true that is to be honest, you've got to take the wider cold war in too context, the Americans freed the french from nazi occupation during ww2 france around that time was weak militarily and France itself has been subject to revolution throughout history. During ww2 they was the break up of empire amongst the British as well. There's enough sources out there that indicate ho chi minh was influenced by Marxism/leninism. The Americans backed the south Vietnamese leader diem who was assassinated by the cia led by the general van minh. The Vietnamese fell back on the peace agreements at the end of the war with the amount of American prisoner of wars they had they always had an ulterior motive.
@@kimhuynh8530 rất cảm ơn bạn đã thấu hiểu. Gia đình người thân tôi có con cái bị chất độc màu da cam. Cuộc sống khó khắn với gánh nặng nhiều chi phí . Tôi chỉ ước những người bị ảnh hưởng bởi thứ độc hại đó xảy ra trên con cái của những người tạo ra nó và những chính phủ quyết định rải trên đầu người khác . Ngày nay nếu nước Mỹ đòi hỏi nhân quyền thì nước Mỹ hãy im miệng lại.
My dad and his cousin were both drafted. His cousin was killed and my dad came back messed up mentally and physically. Thank you for bringing up how the rich got out of going.
I went to Vietnam a few years ago and visited their war museums covering WWII against the Japanese, the War of Resistance against French Occupation, and the War of Resistance against American Aggression. Was really gripping and sobering. I got to go into part of the one of Viet Cong tunnels, which was so interest and quite claustrophobic. The Vietnamese people I met were amazing and very welcoming.
Maybe you did not know: that tunnel has been expanded to double its size to serve tourists, and of course, at that time, there was no concrete for reinforcement or to deal with the tunnel's surface.
@@112ks8 Bạn đã nói dối hoặc là bạn thiếu hiểu biết. Là người Việt Nam, tôi khẳng định các đường hầm đó (Củ Chi) đã có trong thời kỳ chiến tranh, nhân dân Việt Nam chống lại sự xâm lược của Đế quốc Mỹ.
When I was in 9th grade, I chose to write an essay about the Vietnam War, as I didn’t know much about it and wanted to know more. The further I got into my research the more appalled and disgusted I was. The things people experienced were truly horrific. Thank you Mr. Beat for educating people about this very important subject. I feel that not enough people understand the horrors that happened during the war.
Sure hope you're talking about the terrorism the north did and how the north started the war and surrendered to America and failed their objective of conquering south vietnam.
Former Vietnam war protester who enlisted in the USAF because WWII vets said I didn’t know what I was talking about saying the government was covering up what was actually going on. Good to see your video. Thanks!
What we’re they saying if you don’t mind me asking? Usually you don’t hear that perspective from WWII vets, it’s interesting. My grandfather served in WWII and my uncle in Vietnam, but by my grandpa never spoke about it and my uncle passed away during the fighting. I keep researching and listening to veteran’s stories trying to learn and understand what they went through.
Lots of people were dying and I guess young people didn’t want to lose their lives for a cause they couldn’t get behind. To this day, I feel it was a needless war, but many of my peers don’t agree with me and would consider protesters, cowards. I think the protests helped show the coverage of the war and shape public opinion against it…so, a win there.
@anon2427 he was father of my history teacher and was around 60 but pretty much he said "I did not do anything I would regret and I tried to help" responding to the mai lae massacre questions as he condemned the unit that did it. He also admitted that the reason for the beginning of the war "may have been a lie" I don't remember much of everything else as he started talking about recent events defending the U.S involvement in other nation affairs and politics of today
Hi im a Vietnamese person and im want to clarify some information at 3:11 . Ho Chi Minh was not exiled, he was actually travel to other country to find and learn a way that can help VietNam become independent
19:17 the HoChiMinh Trail at the time was actually being fix every minute after the bomb was drop by woman volunteers to help in the war. There even a memorial at Nga Ba Dong Loc where US bomb was drop making the tunnel collapsed leading to the dead of 10 woman when they was on their mission to fix the road.
Our grandfather just passed away last weekend after 28 years of fighting cancer and exposure to Agent Orange. He was the whistle blower of the NZ Army upon seeing transcripts being thrown out and realizing that our government was actively going to hide the affects of the exposure to not only soldiers and medics, but the generations that would follow too. You can receive funding, medical care and all sorts of support through the V.A thanks to Doc Mountain ❤ he also said it was not the war itself that caused PTSD, but witnessing the assault on children by American soldiers, so that's...interesting.
@@samanthamountain9764 Yes, it is true. Countless incidents in which American soldiers raped and killed children in fields and villages. Vietnamese parents just wanted to live to kill American soldiers. For sure you cannot win a war and a country over when you do such kinds of acts.
I’m in a relationship with a Hmong woman and she taught me the whole reason why that ethnic group is now here in America. During the Vietnam War, there was also the Secret War in which the CIA used the Hmong people to fight against the Viet Cong. In payment of fighting against them, the CIA helped the Hmong people immigrate to America. I’d love to see you make a video on this proxy war within the whole Vietnam War. Or how other groups were paid into fighting.
Can confirm this story being near Castle AFB in the late 80s and my Neighbors being Hmong…. I was very little but remember all of these stories first hand.
There's a whole rabbit hole regarding the hmong involvement in the Vietnam War. If you just look up Vietnam War and add hmong to the search, you'll find a lot of things about them. Every single hmong household has a story regarding the Vietnam War and is truly amazing to learn about. An video example would be Hmong Story 40: Documentary on Galen Beery
@HistoryResonate-vnm 100% Most of th older Vietnamese women are hardworking. You'll often see them doing manly jobs western woman normally don't do, like construction, etc
My FIL fought in Vietnam and we talk about every now and then. He definitely has suffered with PTSD. He still can't handle being in crowds, especially airports. He's almost 80 now. It's crazy how long reaching the effects of trauma can go. He's done well for himself at least considering all that. He's one tough dude. Thanks for making this Mr Beats.
THAT is where the PTSD comes from, when soldiers are put in situations where they are/may be killing non-combatants. It's disgusting that still-adolescents are brainwashed into killers by old men in expensive suits. Why Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan generated so much more PTSD than WW2
When I was 18 and thinking about enlisting or going to college, I had a conversation with my Uncle (mom's brother) about it. He was a Vietnam vet and he told me "every man in your family on both sides has fought in every war since the founding of this country and somehow returned home. I'm not sure how much luck is left in our blood." That simple statement helped me make the decision to go to college. Later on, in doing my own genealogical research and talking with my Aunt (dad's sister), I came to understand that he was at least partially correct, at least for my dad's side of the family. The men on my dad's side had fought in the Revolutionary War (US), The Civil War (North), and both World Wars. This is further corroborated by the fact that the men on my dad's side all had children in their 40's or older, so I would not have been born if any of them had died in combat. Additionally, my dad told me he had almost been drafted to Vietnam but the war ended before that happened. However, my dad was born in July 1956 which would make him 16 when the final draft of the Vietnam War occurred in June of 1973, so I wonder about the veracity of his claim (he's dead now so I can't ask him). My generation of siblings and cousins on both sides was the first in many generations to have no males join the military. I think this is probably due to Vietnam Syndrome spurred on by the access to information which became so widespread in our youth. In fact, to my knowledge, we are all decidedly anti-war. Sorry grandpa!
@@KarenHayes-fi5fu For sure. He was not a fan of war after returning from what I understand. I've seen pictures of him before and after the war and it most definitely took a physical toll on him. He was a mechanic for B17's in England but according to my Aunt, he was also part of a "reclamation squad" that would glide into enemy territory when a downed but salvageable bomber had been identified. My dad told me he refused to do anything in the snow and would say he spent "too many cold nights in France." My mom's dad was part of a mortar team and was in Bastogne, France during the Battle of the Bulge. I never really knew him because my mom kept us away from him (for reasons outside the scope of this conversation). But I have heard that he said he could go from foxhole to foxhole on the front line and find nothing but frozen corpses. Apparently he had a mental breakdown and started shooting his sidearm wildly on the frontline so the Germans would shoot him but they never did, ostensibly to save ammunition and let the freezing temperatures kill the Americans. He was taken to a psychiatric facility and that's the last thing I know about his time in the war. I was very young when I started hearing these stories so I imagine that also colored my view of military service and war.
Like, im a Vietnamsese person and i must say that personally, i don't like when other Vietnamese ppl call our revolution "Vietnam war" since when one of my lecturers said a thing which made i remember 'till now. Once we used "Vietnam war" as Western ppl, he said that "They call our revolution "Vietnam war" because they dont know our history and how hard we were to have our own liberty. So as a Vietnamese person, you must never use that term, instead, please always using "The Vietnamese Revolution." We call that in Vietnamese "Kháng chiến chống Mỹ cứu nước," which is translated word-by-word "The Revolution against America to save our country." I dont mean to criticise anything or force anyone to do like us, this is just a story which always pops up in my mind whenever seeing somebody using "Vietnam War".
This afternoon, I took the AP US History exam. To relax, I went on TH-cam and despite not really having an appetite for anything history at the moment, I put on this video because why not. I'm glad I did, Mr. Beat never fails to present multiple perspectives on every issue he discusses. Thanks for all you do, Mr. Beat!
Heh! I was worried I would literally get no APUSH kids watching this, especially I expected y'all to be sick of learning about American history at this point. Thanks for sharing this. It meant a lot.
@@iammrbeat as an apush kid i feel like a lot of us just want to learn about america more!! all my classmates are saying they’ve never felt so patriotic 🫡🇺🇸🦅
@@iammrbeat i am about to take my apush exam next week and this video really helped me reinforce a lot of what i learned in my class (key phrases emphasized, broader ideas contextualized, overall attitudes of the era etc.) i feel like these types of videos are a lot more beneficial and engaging to students, as compared to having to pore over textbooks and pages of dense notes, so thank you.
Hello, I am Vietnamese. Thank you for writing about a topic about Vietnamese people. As a person born and raised in peace, we only heard stories about the war in a few lines, the severity of which was something I could not fully understand. However, the Vietnamese soldiers in the war that day left behind many lines of writing and accounts, through which I really understand that what you are saying is completely true.
This is NOT "The Vietnam War Explained". This is the American's understanding the war in Vietnam, American's involvement in Vietnam and their involvement's impact on America/Americans.
My pop-pop was a soldier in the Army during Vietnam, he never fought in the war itself because he was honorably discharged due to an injury. He died three years ago at 72. Rip, 9/11/49-1/9/21.
It is honestly insane to me the frequency with which I still run into people in real life and online that say "America was the good guys!" or "America won the Vietnam War!" when like pretty much any reading that doesn't come directly from the government will tell you otherwise in both cases. I enjoyed this video.
Even the North’s biggest military action the Tet Offensive was a huge blunder resulting is massive casualties. The difference is that the North did not have to answer to the people they govern. They could throw bodies away aimlessly without repercussions. You don’t hear about the atrocities committed by the Northern government compared to My Lai which was a rare unique and horrifying incident. You hear the constant propaganda that Uncle Ho wasn’t really a communist and wanted to be like American revolutionaries. So compared to the northern communist government I’d say yes, the US was way better. And I’d say the US didn’t lose the way so much as it lost interest.
@@PLandericus What the US did to Laos is 50x worse than anything that the North Vietnamese did to anyone. I will never understand why Americans just see the word "communism" and immediately lose their minds and all reason goes out the window.
My mom's side of the family was a big army and military family. I have ancestors that have fought in every war from 1812 up until Vietnam. Vietnam changed everything. My mom's oldest brother fought in Korea and in Vietnam. After his second tour, he told my grandparents everything that happened. My grandparents did everything possible to make sure their two younger sons didn't get drafted. One spent a long time in medical school, the other lucked out that Saigon fell a few days before his 18th birthday.
The thing I like about Mr. Beat is that even though there is a level of sarcasm and jokes about the subject, you can still tell he deeply cares about the situations at hand.
I am a 20 man from Texas. And most of my later academic journey was ruined due to covid 19 and other aspects in life. I appreciate your video essays and lovely style of teaching. Thank you @mrbeat
25:00 good timing with this video. So many americans are ignorant to the fact that we are seeing a repeat of the vietnam war protests on college campuses and create a laundry list of reasons why their money must be spent on suffering.
Today's American college students shouldn't have to worry about being drafted into a war in Gaza. A lot of people aren't protesting for their life, they are just protesting misguidedly for an Islamic theocratic deathcult that has killed as much Palestinians or Arabs as they did Israelis.
i just wanted to say thank you. i never got educated on matters like this in school and now that im getting older (18) i feel this stuff is important to know. it helps me be not so naive and u explain it clearly and slowly enough to make perfect sense. i hope you’re having a nice day :)
As a Vietnamese who subscribed to your chanel for a long time, thank you for making this video Us Vietnamese, we don't care about communism or capitalism, America, China or Russia, we just wanted freedom. Even today, we might be a " communism " country, but we are different compare with China and Russia
@@PremierCCGuyMMXVI No need for that mate. War happened. We fought so many nations before to protect our country. We can't held a grudge on everyone haha. Right now Vietnam and America relationship is pretty good, which is nice to see
I’m an American history teacher and something that’s always fascinated me about Vietnam was how much influence our founding fathers had on Ho Chi Minh. My uncle served in Vietnam and he said that was the biggest waste of time ever. Several of my relatives have suffered from the side effects from agent orange exposure.
I actually went to the Vietnam memorial recently on a school trip to D.C. By far one of the best memorials ive ever been to and nearly cried seeing all the notes from parents and children alike to remember their family members lost in the war. Its awful to see so many young people drafted and dying when they had their whole life ahead of them. Amazing video as always! (These are better than my school at explaining things most of the time lol)
@@Datboi8989 in the National Museumn of the USAF they have a small part of a hanger dedicated to POW, and it talks about Vietnam POW’s because they have the most artifacts from there. Eye opening stuff, and I learned a lot visiting that museum.
Forever greatful my grandpa let me pick his brain and ask questions even though they were very painful experiences. One thing to read about it, another thing to talk to someone who was there. I love him dearly for sharing those experiences wifh me.
I've got a few Australian mates who fought in Vietnam and they very rarely talk about their experiences there. Only recently has my friend Gordon opened up about his two tours of duty. It has shaped and informed his life. Veterans deserve our respect and compassion 🙏.
The Viet Minh (Namely Ho Chi Minh himself) were not "straight up communists" which provoked the US into fighting them, they wanted help from the US, Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist who wanted independence, he was not a communist. But the US was staunchly against liberating them from the French so he turned to China for aid, which thus brought about communist rule and sentiment after-the-fact. The US pushed them into communism by fighting against them out of their own fear that they might fall to communism. Ironically the US could have more effectively fought against communism if it had been them who sided with the Viet Cong to help take over South Vietnam instead of China. If that were so, Vietnam today would likely be much more like modern Philippines in being an independent western ally on the South China Sea. Or South Korea and Japan to a lesser extent.
Ho Chi Minh was such a nationalist who just wanted independence for Vietnam that he attacked the independent State of Vietnam to set up a communist dictatorship. Yeah, no, Ho Chi Minh was such a communist that he was a founding member of not just the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930, but also the French Communist Party in 1920. Dude had been a communist for ~25 years before America could even find Vietnam on a map. The reason why the US refused to help Ho Chi Minh liberate Vietnam from the French is BECAUSE he was a communist, and there was no point in freeing a country from their imperial overlords just to hand them over to communist overlords.
Well I agree with you. BUT I’d like to add one more viewpoint. Ho Chi Minh said that “It was not communism but my love for my country that inspired me.” (Briefly translated, it sounds better in Vietnamese). As there were only 2 sides to choose, one is capitalism (literally colonized his country), one is communism, if you are not dumb, you know what to pick.
@@missh9560 Yes, communists love to lie to make themselves look better and more appealing to non-communists, what's your point? You're acting as if it's impossible to have a non-communist nationalist movement. If you're not dumb, you'd see what happened to the Soviet Union in the 30s and China in the 50s, and pick capitalism. Which is apparently the side communists love to say Ho Chi Minh TRIED to pick, but because he refused to stop being communist, Truman refused his request. Kind of a weird decision for someone who apparently loved the country (that he invaded twice) more than communism, but so is supporting communism.
My neighbor in Spanaway, WA asked me to help him find some of his war records. Being in the Army I said sure. Turns out he didn’t have US war records. I found out this man was a Commando during the war. He lost his jaw when he was hit in the face with a rocket, and spent 3 years in a reeducation camp after Saigon fell. He was awarded a US Bronze Star, and the National Archives have his records. I’ve fought in 2 wars on 4 different occasions over my 20 years of service. I’ve never felt more inadequate than I did when I found out the caliber of man who was asking me for help.
His experience wasn't unusual. During the Nixon Administration the V.A. decided to save money by refusing to acknowledge that several groups of men who had fought with (or in) the U.S. military were not "veterans" within the meaning of U.S. veteran benefit laws.
My grandfather fought in the war as a radio operator. Luckily I still have him around, he is 75. He cares about our country a huge deal but is not shy to talk about all the areas we have messed up in this war. Thank you Mr Beat for your continued service in education for everyone. I truly believe you try and stick to the facts of everything and not get to much into personal opinion
3:27 FDR was very anti-colonialism, definitely ashame he died in 1945 and didn’t live out his term because US forgein policy would have been so different.
@@daltongalloway there is no reason to believe he would. You may say “Roosevelt gave half of Europe to Stalin” not really. The USSR had millions of troops all the way up to Berlin. The west can’t just say to the USSR to leave, they defy us. FDR had no choice too.
Thank you so much for this fair and comprehensive video that exposes political lies and human capacity for senseless violence. I am a lifelong educator and boatperson who is a victim of this war. My father presumably perished in Pleiku April if 1975, six months after I was born. The trauma of this war persists for my family and me and for many other families. Prayers to all still suffering from this war or any war-may they find healing and peace.
I'm currently writing a research paper that analyzes US involvement in foreign conflicts and checked out this video to gain a full understanding of the Vietnam War. This has been the clearest explanation I've watched, thank you for making this!
I'm sorry your videos are getting demonetized, I find your content easy to watch and incredibly informative. I always come away knowing that I've learned something new. We support you fully
My grandfather served in the Navy and fought in the Vietnam War. Afterwards, he struggled greatly with PTSD and substance abuse. He was a great man and I wonder what he would be like now. He passed away yesterday, May 9 of 2006, when I was 2yo. Thank you for the great video Mr. Beat
I want to shout out my grandfather, who was drafted into the Vietnam War. Not only was he a fighter in the jungles, but he was also a mechanic at base. Came back home scarred, but had a few stories. He is 78 y/o and is still going strong! Thank you for serving, gramps.
My Grandpa joined the Vietnam war with the other Aussies. He’s never spoken about it, ever. My boyfriend has moved onto their property and is staying in a little flat down the back of their land. When i’m over we try to have dinner with my Grandpa and Babica, and ever since my boyfriend has joined my family, i’ve finally started hearing stories. I’ll always love my boyfriend for somehow bringing this side out of my Grandpa, I really love connecting with him.
I went to Afghanistan. You didnt miss much. I came away jaded, angry and with a nasty case of PTSD, which took me years to stabilize. Watching the widraw from Afghanistan on TV was heartbreaking, to say the least since i knew we should have been out of there at least a decade prior. Im an 02 grad btw but didnt commission until 07, through ROTC.
People appreciate your sacrifice, even though that random TH-cam comment means nothing of course. Yeah, we should have never been there in the first place, but the withdrawal should have happened in 2009. It’s a shame that it didn’t happen. Us finally pulling out was the most alpha, total BOSS move that a president has taken in foreign policy in decades, and my life time. Uncle Joe totally defeated the military industrial complex, and the mainstream media, even the so-called “liberal media” (that doesn’t actually exist) freaking out and criticizing him because he pulled out and ended the war like an absolute fucking legendary boss was hilarious to watch. They were totally disappointed. The total collapse of Afghanistan was the most predictable thing in the entire world. We could have stayed in Afghanistan for literally another 7 decades and the exact same outcome would have happened regardless in the exact same way. Ripping the band aid off was worth it both short and long term. Like I said, it was the biggest and most impressive foreign policy move a president has made in at least 50 years, if not longer. Uncle Joe deserves an ice cream for not allowing the mainstream media faux pearl clutching and pro-war propaganda to get him to reverse his decision. It was legendary, honestly.
I believe that if the Iraq War never happened, the US mission in Afghanistan would have been more successful and the war would have ended earlier than in our timeline.
My grandfather ended up passing way before his years after suffering for almost his entire adult life because of agent orange. The VA refused him benefits even though he was nearly physically incapable of working and he never had a time in his life where he wasn’t sick or in the hospital. I hold a lot of animosity on his behalf. Miss ya Dad
That tik tok ban comment really hits the nail on the head. Everything infront of our eyes yet our government is gaslighting us into thinking none of it’s true
Thank you so much for your work on this video (and all of your others). I sometimes find that videos like this will assume the viewers know what every word means, know who each figure is, etc and I really really appreciate how you include quick little definitions. It makes such a huge difference !!
Mr. Beat, thanks for a great video. As the grand-niece of a Vietnam vet who is unable to speak about his time there due to trauma, I have respect for your balanced, factual approach to the war. I know how I personally feel about the war after seeing an excellent exhibit covering the war at the WWI museum in KC, but ultimately, your approach is one that makes clear the issues of the American government and the killing of innocent Vietnamese/soldiers without being an insulting video. There's a ton of controversy surrounding war in general and plenty to condemn. It's a reflection on our current world situation and how we want our world to be today. But by reporting the facts, you leave the opinions to be formed by viewer. As a fellow history nerd (and former Kansan--Rock Chalk!), I really enjoy your videos.
My uncle was sent to Vietnam in 1968, being called up as a result of dropping out of UCLA. He briefly served outside Saigon, where he was shot in the ass and almost immediately got a transfer to Berlin, where he spent the remainder of his service and which he apparently loved. He didn't tell anyone in the family that he'd ever been in Vietnam to begin with until 2000.
I work at a steel plant in PA an hour outside Philly. 75% of the old timers fought in Vietnam , most are retired now but they are exactly what you expect, biker/rocker dudes with tattoos and huge beards . The draft was not evenly applied , fortunate son is a great song from that era calling that out. I believe the largest group of draftees actually came from PA, near Quakertown and Lehigh valley.
@@SandfordSmytheThats what my dad did, signed a deferment to complete school and went off to the Navy, spent 3 years off the coast of vietnam on a ship completely removed from any fighting. Came back and served 20 more years in the navy reserve and retired an O-6 captain.
@Ataraxia_Atom HS Class of 65. We mostly got deferments for college, then joined the Air Force. I took my chances and got experiences without danger. Used the GI Bill for a Masters degree. Rigjt after HS graduation, I saw a classmate,who had been bullied in school, at the Marine recruiting office. He acted a show-off when he saw me. Good for him.
Thank you so much for this. My father was a veteran of Omaha beach where he received a bronze star for valor. He retired a full colonel and turned white as a sheet when I told him I was enlisting in the Marine Corps. He begged me not to go and explained that this was some half-cocked CIA war that made no sense. If I had any critique about this production, I would say you erred on the side of kid-gloving it. The video and stills of these conflicts should be seen by all citizens before they agree to sending soldiers into these pointless conflicts. Thanks again. Great work.
Your father was completely right, he knew when a war was worth fighting for and the true story of the Vietnam war has always been concealed from the public despite the fact that is there open for everyone to see: The last thing Ho wanted was to have a war with the U.S. He had worked as an asset for US intelligence, for the OSS in ww2 and that he expected that as payback for his service Washington would back him in obtaining Independence from the French and that he had even offered to open an independent Vietnam wide for the U.S. to install as many military bases and they wished BECAUSE HIS MAIN CONCERN AFTER HE DROVE OFF THE FRENCH WERE THE CHINESE...? Ho HAD OFFERED DA NANG TO THE US MILITARY FOR FREE...! Despite being a Communist Ho thought that his best friend could be the U.S. and expected a deal like the West had with the Communist leader of Yugoslavia, Tito, but the U.S. didn't want any of it. Racism...? In any case, the Chinese had been for many centuries the main enemy of Vietnam, they still are, and Ho wanted the protection of the U.S. military to prevent them from invading his country, but instead Washington preferred wage war against him. A big Amerrican war at a cost of 58.000 dead for absolutely nothing. Nowadays Vietnam is still Communist and still willing to become a U.S,. ally as protection from the Chinese. By the way, I learnt about all this during a Larry King interview of a man who he presented as the most decorated U.S. veteran in Vietnam who had done his research after the war and even wrote a book on the subject.
I graduated from college in June of 1968. I immediately became 1-A or eligible for the draft. I was drafted into the US Army in October, 1968. I opposed the war from its escalation by LBJ after he lied about the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Despite my opposition to Johnson and the war, I didn’t resist the draft because my options, going to jail or Canada didn’t seem like workable alternatives . I was sent to Vietnam in March, 1969 and I was scheduled for a year deployment. However, in May, 1969 my elderly father became very sick. The Army sent me home to be with him on a temporary leave. I thought they would send me back to Vietnam when my father passed but I applied for “compassionate reassignment “ which I was granted in June, 1969. I was granted this reassignment to Ft. Monmouth, NJ about 75 miles from my home where I remained until my discharge from the Army in August, 1970 to begin what would become my 42 year career as a High School US History teacher. In conclusion, I always believed Vietnam was both an illegal and immoral war. I still despise LBJ despite his great work domestically. I survived thankfully but the Vietnam War will always remain a horrible event which killed, wounded and disrupted the lives of countless Americans including myself.
There's other stuff he didn't mention. For example, the role of Australia, New Zealand and other US/Sout Vietnamese allies. It mostly just focuses on an overview of the US involvement in the war itself.
thank you for making this video. in fact, during the 1000 years since gaining independence from China, Vietnam has gone through many wars. including the Mongol Empire, they were defeated by us 3 times, although Mongols ruled China for 300 years. to the modern era France, Japan, America, China, Pol Pot... We are not a warlike people, or like war. Vietnam's geography turns it into a battlefield. the US-Vietnam war, I wish it had not happened. my grandfather said that the war with America was the most terrible and difficult, there were many crimes in the war because many sides participated, only innocent people were victims. every war, no matter which side wins, is a crime. America now understands the Vietnamese people, we are not easily manipulated by China, do not participate in any military organization or support war, we love peace and want to be friends with all countries. We used to have many enemies and were hated because we were communist, in fact Vietnam is not exactly like a communist country just because history forced us to choose that. Thank you for supporting an independent Vietnam. We love you all. Greetings from Vietnam. My forever favorite song: “Heal The World” by the legendary singer MJ
@@iammrbeat actually my project and presentation was so bad 😞, the teacher told me to do it again and I had to a reenactment of an interview with Bruce Lee. But thanks anyway Mr. Beat!
I had a teacher, Col. Robert Guy. Awesome dude did two tours. He gave a really good Vietnam presentation for the whole 8th grade. He said he did in fact get spit on at the airport coming back and he almost killed the guy who did it. Like most soldiers he didn’t return with his platoon. So the random other soldiers that didn’t know him luckily saw what happened and cooled him off in time.
It's theorized that one of the reasons Vietnam vets had such a higher rate of PTSD than WW2 vets is that WW2 vets were demobilized with their unit, and returned on ships, giving them a few weeks with their comrades decompressing on the way back to America, but Vietnam vets returned home alone over the course of a few days.
Agent Orange exposure can cause genetic mutations that can potentially make descendants more susceptible to cancer. Your parent and/or you may be eligible for specific benefits from the US government, which you may already be aware. Contact your local Veteran’s Affairs offices.
My dad and uncle were in during Vietnam. They have very different views on it. My uncle feels like we lost a war we shouldn't have been fighting. My dad is the type to tell you that we never lost an actual battle so we didnt lose the war (he's not technically wrong, but there weren't many of those to begin with). My uncle saw combat, but my dad never did. Its an interesting dichotomy.
Well he's technically wrong, the US lost at Khe Sanh for example, even though they'd say they withdrew. The US could not invade North Vietnam so they've already lost to begin with, so your uncle was right.
I'm British and know the reasons for it, but do any American viewers know why British and Japanese troops fought in Vietnam in 1945, on the same side? Also I find it ironic that the man probably most responsible for the Vietnam war, Charles de Gaulle, advised Kennedy to keep away after the French withdrew. De Gaulle, despite being out of government during the Indo China war, was so influential that he was able to bring down French governments that were unwilling to maintain the colony. In 1945 the British advised de Gaulle to prepare Indo China for independence in cooperation with the Viet Mihn, but he wasn't our greatest fan and ignored our rather sensible advice.
It was only for a brief part of 1945. Japan was there first during the war, Britain came in afterward after the Japanese defeat. So really they weren't on the "same side." I should have made this more clear.
My great uncle was SEAL team member during Nam. He died of leukemia. He and 4 other team mates of his had the same Leukemia. He said as he was dying it was from exposure to Agent Orange. And the military tried to cover it up. RIP uncle Don.
_I am Vietnamese, my uncle died in 1968, my grandmother is recognized as a "heroic Vietnamese mother". My mother was also a soldier, so were some of my other uncles and aunts, and my father was an army commander in the fight against the Pol pot genocide in Cambodia. _My family is just one of hundreds of thousands, millions of families in the heroic country of Vietnam who can sacrifice for national freedom.in the history of Vietnam's anti-foreign aggression, we have defeated many great powers. We can make our own freedom, we don't have to follow anyone. National self-reliance plan. _As Uncle Ho said: "There is nothing more precious than independence, freedom, and happiness." _And now, after all the past has passed, we put aside our mutual enmity and friendship. Welcome to Vietnam xD
Thank you Mr. Beat. I really appreciate how simple this video is to navigate, and I’ve learned far more honest information from your channel than the private school I went to. ☺️
Hi Mr Beat, I’d just like to thank you for making such amazing content. Your videos are incredibly informative and i love your personality. Keep making great content !
10:26 the reason why the communist party seized farm land and execute people was because they want to distribute land to farmers (the same thing the Xoviet Union did) and getting rid of land owners, which at the time, were mostly rich, powerful individual who served French. They quickly realize that a lot of those land owners supported the revolution (my great grandfather luckily escaped the execution), which later lead to Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh) to publicly apologize and cry in front of interviewers. 34:50 - 35:00 While North Vietnam did violate the Accords, they did because South Vietnam did it first. The thing is, the four party Accords was signed by, well, four parties: The US, North Vietnam (aka. Democratic Republic of Vietnam), South Vietnam (a name to refer to Republic of Vietnam) and Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG, for short). So, South Vietnam violated the Accords by: -Article 3 of the Accords requires both party, South Vietnam and PRG, to ceasefire and establish peace, in which both side's military force must remain immobilized and cannot commit any violence. Well, the South Vietnam broke this by using police and people's self defense force as their true military force instead -Article 6 requires The US and allies to remove all military bases in Southern Vietnam. They, however, gave control of all of these to South Vietnam, meaning Article 6 had no effect. Moreover, due to the US's pressure on South East Asia, with Fleet 7, US Navy and military bases around Thailand, Korea, Philippines present, the communist party of China and Xoviet couldn't support Vietnam. The US provided South Vietnam with aircrafts, tanks, and military advisors, effectively violating Article 4. International Commission of Control and Supervision, comprised of Canada, Hungary, Indonesia, and Poland, are all neutral, but they definitely were afraid of making enemies with the US. -In the year 1973, South Vietnam launched military operations to gain advantage at the General Election, as the Accords mentioned the ceasefire of both party will lead to an election to form a one, new government governing South Vietnam (and subsequently the reunification of Vietnam). Those includes "Chiến dịch Tràn ngập lãnh thổ" (Operation Flooding Territory-1973), Hùng Vương, Lý Thường Kiệt (Operation Hung Vuong, Operation Ly Thuong Kiet-1973-1974). Operation Tangocyti was initiated by South Vietnam 2 minutes before Paris Peace Accords went into effect, attacking the base of PRG at Cửa Việt, a port. This is of course a violation from South Vietnam side. -The government of South Vietnam did not respect the Accords by distorting it to the general public and hiding its details, keeping Article 4 on hold despite PRG's demand, dodging ceasefire and always put the General Election on discussion, openly stating that the Accords means nothing to Republic of Vietnam and oppose General Election. Despite constantly saying that North Vietnam wants to invade South Vietnam, in reality what they really talked about was how to get rid of communism (PRG). As people pointed it out, the Vietnamese did not fight for communism, we fought for ourselves and our wish to become independent. It just so happens that the sense of community and our love for the country had lead us to follow the path of communism.
My grandfather served in Vietnam as Infantry, his rank was SGT. He was eighteen at the time he was drafted. He was 25th Infantry Division, 1st Regiment, his first deployment was in Cu Chi in 1968, he's from Hartford and he's still kicking!!!
My parents are Khmer (Cambodian) refugees who fled the Khmer Rouge when the Vietnam War spilled over to Cambodia. It often feels like the regimes and wars that happened in Laos and Cambodia caused in part by the spillover of the Vietnam War, especially with US involvement, are always talked in passing and glossed over. People should really know the full impact that French colonization of Indochina had on all countries involved, not just Vietnam, and the same goes for the Vietnam war's impact on Cambodia and Laos too. Of course this is not to take away from the focus at hand in the topic of the Vietnam war and Im glad you acknowledged the bombings on Cambodia. I just wish we truly acknowledge the full impact on the area of Indochina as a whole, especially since the US was as involved with Cambodian (and Lao) affairs as they were in Vietnam ones.
My former father-in-law just passed last month from COPD. Likely from exposure to Agent Orange. He was drafted for Vietnam and served as the person who dumped agent orange on the unsuspecting Vietnamese people. He also served as a helicopter gunner. When he wasnt in the helicopter he would be stirring burning barrels of human waste. He did what he was made to do. It was *never* something he wanted to do. Ever. It took decades for him to even speak of what he went through and even then it was basically a Cliff Notes version of it. His wife forced him into getting VA benefits, so when he did he barely spoke of what he was made to do and got very little compensation from the VA. Over the decades since, he downright refused to ask for a higher percentage of VA benefits because he knew it would mean talking about what he had to do and would mean drudging up all the things he never would talk about...whether it was recorded on paper or not, he didnt know. He passed last month from end stage COPD. He suffered immensely for years. He was the kindest, quietest and most gentle man I've ever met in my life. Rest in peace, Stan. ❤❤❤
I know but I think Stan had sufferred all his life after that. I don't think Stan had other choices. Hope that someday this world will be a better place and normal citizen can live in peace.
A mostly American perspective on the vietnam war, disappointed it didnt go more into a inner politics of South Vietnam and North Vietnam leading up to the vietnam war and amidst the Vietnam war. My Grandpa was an ARVN captain who fought the Binh Xuyen in 1955 and later owned a farm Xuan Loc before moving to america after the suspicious death of his eldest son who at this point had joined the new Communist government’s armt
Man, you're a great storyteller! As someone outside of the US, and not the most educated in major history events; thank you, for bringing some transparency that is easily digestible. Also I like your humble nature; casually celebrating *one million subscribers* as a quick mention at the end of a video, earns my resect at least.
Thank you so much for covering this war. This war isn’t really explained much in school well since it’s hard to talk about such heavy losses but you did a great job and explain this objectively and fairly. And know its history that happened. If only George W. Bush knew this history…to learn from. Congratulations on 1 million subscribers! One of the best history TH-cam channels. Thanks for being fair and telling difference of opinion and bias and objection and bringing clarity to subjects. I know people of many different political views that enjoy this channel for it’s objectivity :) Congratulations 🎊 it’s helped me get into many new things 🙌
Hello from Hue where I'm holidaying. A beautiful country and people. Thankyou Mr Beat for this excellent history production and heartfelt sentiment. The locals old enough to remember are not keen to talk about the war. I suspect war fatigue and a desire to move on. Christopher Hitchens' The trial of Henry Kissinger goes into more detail about K's role in extending the war by sabotaging Johnson's 1968 peace talks.
Yes the first war and the first country that American completely lost. Proud to be a Vietnamese citizen who are never afraid of any enemy, we accept to fight back and sacrifice rather than letting enemies steal our own motherland. Thank you for making the video and saying the truth of the 🇻🇳 war’s history.
The video is correct about Vietnamese history. I am a Vietnamese who is always proud of the generation of brave ancestors who were not afraid of sacrifice and stood up to fight against the enemy so that their children and grandchildren could live in peace. Through this video, I can see from the perspective of both Vietnam and the United States, thank you
My Uncle was in Vietnam. When we were reading The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan in English my sophomore year in high scjool my teacher assigned us a family interview project. I did my mine on my uncle in Vietnam. It was something very interesting to hear about cuz I never really heard him talk about it before. It was nice too cuz he had old photos that I could use. Also I remember when the Ken Burns documentary came out on PBS around the same time.
my great uncle fought in Vietnam in 1965-1966, he volunteered in the Australian army, he died when i was very young, nan told me he bought into the domino theory. He was injured by a grenade during an ambush which saw his whole platoon aside from him and 2 others killed, once home he suffered from ptsd and was looked down upon by civilians. he had many stories from nam friends falling onto punji sticks, ambushes, villages being burned to the ground ect but one in particular stuck with me, on a search and destroy mission the lead man (his friend since 7th grade who signed up with my uncle) stepped on a land mine but not a Vietnamese land mine but a old French land mine, his friends whole torso was gone as everyone rushed to help he asked for water my uncle went to get water from a stream and once he was back his friend was sadly gone. He was 19 and my uncle would have daily nightmares about it till his death. (he did denounce the war later saying he was lied to my nan said he once told her he is being punished by god for the sins committed in Vietnam.)
Thank you for releasing this at such a important time. History is so important but so neglected, the past few months (and years) have once again proven this to be the case.
Even as a Canadian, the Vietnam war and the Iraq war are the reasons why I never considered joining the military. As a 18 yo kid, should you really trust your government not to use you to fight an unjust war?
I applaud you for posting this video, despite some of the uglier parts of it and the demonetization. Educators should always have the ability to present history in as factual manner as possible. Great job on this!!
This video is demonetized and might be age-restricted, but the heck with it.
I released it, anyway. I have censored it so much already.
The less censored version can be found here: th-cam.com/video/GLB6qbJ4jb0/w-d-xo.html
I think I'm done covering wars for awhile.
Support the sponsor to make up for the fact that I won't make much from ads on this one, eh?
It's Henson razors this time.Try out Henson and get 100 free blades with purchase of a razor. Use code "mrbeat." Go here: hensonshaving.com/mrbeat For real
Would you say that it could be interesting if a "Presidents, and how many people died because of the president's actions and (miss)handlings" comes someday?
PS: Congratulations to 1M!
Thank you Mr. Beat. I'm 19 and when I see a vet I thank them, but I really thank them if they were in Vietnam sometimes you can tell they want to tear up, some ask not to be thanked. It was so hard for them, so psychologically taxing. My neighbor is a Vietnam vet and since I love history I've always wanted to ask him about it, but I know he was sent home on injuries, and to this day he has bad PTSD. This was one of the toughest and most controversial wars that our country has been into (that really didn't need to happen).
Congrats on 1M Mr. Beat!!
i understand how frustrating this must be and i havent watched the vietnam one yet (cant wait), but know that the iraq war one was amazing and so important. thank you for your work. i hope that youll continue doing long form videos like this in the future. all the best from germany
You’re a real trooper Mr. Beat, excellent work
I really don’t understand why YT censors history channels but not channels that actually spread disinformation. Smh
Thank you for telling the truth. I'm from Vietnam and what you doing means a lot to Vietnamese people. I really hate the way people distort history. The American War in Vietnam caused so much pain and Vietnamese soldiers had to shed so much blood and bones to gain independence. Not only in America, but in Korea, the Korean mercenaries who committed the crimes in 1968 are honored as national heroes for the benefit of the country. And a lot of Koreans think so too, they have no idea what really happened in Vietnam. They killed many innocent people, including women and children. Women were even sexually assaulted. Fun fact, they even made movies of those korean soldiers as heroes. What a blatant distortion of history! That's really piss me off. But anyway, it is not the fault of the Korean people but the fault of the government. People should know what really happened.
Thousands of respects for what you doing.
Bà mình bảo, lính Hàn là bọn ác nhất.
Nhưng hiện nay VN lại thân thiết với Hàn Quốc
I mean the Korean soldiers fought bravely, bring in American aids to South Korea which laid the foundation to the country become a powerhouse today. They deserve to be called heroes to their nation.
On the other hand, Vietnam treat their war heroes extremely bad. Vo Nguyen Giap, their most decorated general, was put in charge of family planning ministry. Other vets have their houses taken away or their benefits embezzled by the government.
@@npcjay916 It’s strange that South Koreans are always whining about Japan not apologizing for war crimes, yet they don’t apologize and are even proud of what they did in Vietnam.
Americans never mention that half a million koreans were sent to the front lines. America never mentions that it tried to litrally starve the country to death by dropping chemicals on on their farms. They dropped more twice as many bombs on vietnam then every nation that dropped a bomb in WW2, america also had apart in installing pol pot. and just like now they are spreading hell fire all over the planet with their industrial war complex. I have been to vietnam your country is beautiful and the people have alot to be proud about. it was estimated that the damage left from america took vietnam back 100 years, the fact that it has one of the fastest ecomemies in the world and modern cities would not have been thought possible at one point. its an impressive country
Mày ko đại diện cho người VN.... Cút
“It’s kind of like the government telling you that there’s no war crimes, and then you get on TikTok and see the war crimes. And then the government bans TikTok.”
So much respect for saying this, Mr. Beat. Thank you.
But CHINA, your supposed to be afraid of CHINA and other buzzwords.
Tiktok should still be banned because it corrupts the minds of the youth. Of course certain horrific crimes are happening, but the app still ought to be banned.
Wat war crimes is he referencing I seriously don’t know can someone enlighten me?
@@bobfind9151 99% sure he’s referring to Palestine
@@bobfind9151 it’s implied he’s talking about Israel and Palestine. Mitt Romney recently admitted that a major reason for the TikTok ban happening now is the prevalence of TikToks that are pro-Palestine or criticize Israel.
Nothing screams "fight for freedom" more than not having the freedom to choose if you want to fight
Freedom ain’t free
@@HMS-Pogueyeah cause some can pay to not fight
So like WW2?
@@chadthundercock4806 WW2 is a direct consequence of Woodrow Wilson breaking America's indifference to European affairs in WW1, drafting "free" men (poor people & minorities) to make a beaten Germany even more bitter with the Treaty of Versailles.
So depends on how you look at it, military industrial complex is a pain.
@@bearlogg7974 So because germany starts a war where 15 million people die, loses, and whats done to every country that has lost war since people began making war on each its the US's fault?
Back to Vietnam: During WWII, the Viet Minh, rescued American pilots and worked with the precursor of the CIA or the OSS in operations against the Japanese. Ho Chi Minh wrote letters to Roosevelt in admiration stating that he wanted to model the Vietnamese Constitution on the American one. Ho Chi Minh also wrote to President Truman, and Ho never received a response to his letters. A window closed when the Americans decided to support the French in taking back their colony so as to re-victimize the Vietnamese people who suffered terribly under French colonial rule. This action supporting the French made the Americans the enemy of Vietnamese National Liberation Front.
During what Americans call the Vietnam War (and what Vietnamese call the American War), the country was laid waste with more bombs dropped on little Vietnam, than had been dropped in all theaters of war during WWII. Millions of Vietnamese people were killed who were often innocent civilians and the Americans kept ratcheting up the level of violence thinking that this would make people forget their desire for freedom. They should have known better. The Vietnamese would have paid any price for their freedom as much as American patriotic brothers would have if they had been colonized. American defense contractors made out very well, and 58,000 Americans gave their lives on the basis of several public lies.
It is the Vietnamese, who have the incredible magnanimity to forgive the US for the murder of around two million of their citizens, laying waste their country, destroying its beauty, and leaving a generation of unexploded ordinance which is still killing people in 2016. This is not to say that the Vietnamese government is perfect, as it is not, and needs to go further to improve human rights. Having visited Vietnam seven times, I am well aware of the current realities, but it is also a young country at peace, and with gradually increasing prosperity.
Before Americans complain to the Vietnamese about human rights, they should offer to provide prosthetics to all those in Vietnam who still need them and medical care for those suffering the effects of Agent Orange. Is it not a human right to have legs and a chance for normal children? Additionally, instead of having squandered almost seven trillion in unnecessary and stupid wars in the middle-east, we could have spent a much more modest sum in helping to rebuild Vietnam, and the return on investment would have been much higher than expenditures for war in the middle-east where 90% of the Iraqi people see the United States as an enemy after having occupied them against their will for almost ten years.
It is not that Americans can't learn from history, it is that our political class of the Democrats and Republicans are completely corrupt and have to raise money from interests in favor of endless war in order to be elected.
ily
I'm not sure how true that is to be honest, you've got to take the wider cold war in too context, the Americans freed the french from nazi occupation during ww2 france around that time was weak militarily and France itself has been subject to revolution throughout history. During ww2 they was the break up of empire amongst the British as well. There's enough sources out there that indicate ho chi minh was influenced by Marxism/leninism. The Americans backed the south Vietnamese leader diem who was assassinated by the cia led by the general van minh. The Vietnamese fell back on the peace agreements at the end of the war with the amount of American prisoner of wars they had they always had an ulterior motive.
@@kimhuynh8530 rất cảm ơn bạn đã thấu hiểu. Gia đình người thân tôi có con cái bị chất độc màu da cam. Cuộc sống khó khắn với gánh nặng nhiều chi phí . Tôi chỉ ước những người bị ảnh hưởng bởi thứ độc hại đó xảy ra trên con cái của những người tạo ra nó và những chính phủ quyết định rải trên đầu người khác . Ngày nay nếu nước Mỹ đòi hỏi nhân quyền thì nước Mỹ hãy im miệng lại.
My dad and his cousin were both drafted. His cousin was killed and my dad came back messed up mentally and physically. Thank you for bringing up how the rich got out of going.
They made your family ruin to enrich the rich.
I went to Vietnam a few years ago and visited their war museums covering WWII against the Japanese, the War of Resistance against French Occupation, and the War of Resistance against American Aggression. Was really gripping and sobering. I got to go into part of the one of Viet Cong tunnels, which was so interest and quite claustrophobic. The Vietnamese people I met were amazing and very welcoming.
I watched several videos of folks going into those tunnels! I don't know if I could do that.
Check out Luna OI. She's from vietnamese and both her grandfathers served in the war.
@@Nick-o-time yes, I really like her channel.
Maybe you did not know: that tunnel has been expanded to double its size to serve tourists, and of course, at that time, there was no concrete for reinforcement or to deal with the tunnel's surface.
@@112ks8 Bạn đã nói dối hoặc là bạn thiếu hiểu biết. Là người Việt Nam, tôi khẳng định các đường hầm đó (Củ Chi) đã có trong thời kỳ chiến tranh, nhân dân Việt Nam chống lại sự xâm lược của Đế quốc Mỹ.
When I was in 9th grade, I chose to write an essay about the Vietnam War, as I didn’t know much about it and wanted to know more. The further I got into my research the more appalled and disgusted I was. The things people experienced were truly horrific. Thank you Mr. Beat for educating people about this very important subject. I feel that not enough people understand the horrors that happened during the war.
Thanks for watching and sharing that!
Sure hope you're talking about the terrorism the north did and how the north started the war and surrendered to America and failed their objective of conquering south vietnam.
@@Robert-hy3vv Cope
@@Robert-hy3vv do you bring your hatefulness with you everywhere you go?
All wars are horrible!!!!
Former Vietnam war protester who enlisted in the USAF because WWII vets said I didn’t know what I was talking about saying the government was covering up what was actually going on. Good to see your video. Thanks!
How was it back then? I recently interacted with a viet war vet and he said the protestors were "cowards" it was honesty shocking..
What we’re they saying if you don’t mind me asking? Usually you don’t hear that perspective from WWII vets, it’s interesting. My grandfather served in WWII and my uncle in Vietnam, but by my grandpa never spoke about it and my uncle passed away during the fighting. I keep researching and listening to veteran’s stories trying to learn and understand what they went through.
Lots of people were dying and I guess young people didn’t want to lose their lives for a cause they couldn’t get behind. To this day, I feel it was a needless war, but many of my peers don’t agree with me and would consider protesters, cowards. I think the protests helped show the coverage of the war and shape public opinion against it…so, a win there.
@anon2427 he was father of my history teacher and was around 60 but pretty much he said "I did not do anything I would regret and I tried to help" responding to the mai lae massacre questions as he condemned the unit that did it. He also admitted that the reason for the beginning of the war "may have been a lie" I don't remember much of everything else as he started talking about recent events defending the U.S involvement in other nation affairs and politics of today
Thanks for sharing that. You were right. You were bloody right.
Hi im a Vietnamese person and im want to clarify some information at 3:11 . Ho Chi Minh was not exiled, he was actually travel to other country to find and learn a way that can help VietNam become independent
19:17 the HoChiMinh Trail at the time was actually being fix every minute after the bomb was drop by woman volunteers to help in the war. There even a memorial at Nga Ba Dong Loc where US bomb was drop making the tunnel collapsed leading to the dead of 10 woman when they was on their mission to fix the road.
Our grandfather just passed away last weekend after 28 years of fighting cancer and exposure to Agent Orange. He was the whistle blower of the NZ Army upon seeing transcripts being thrown out and realizing that our government was actively going to hide the affects of the exposure to not only soldiers and medics, but the generations that would follow too. You can receive funding, medical care and all sorts of support through the V.A thanks to Doc Mountain ❤ he also said it was not the war itself that caused PTSD, but witnessing the assault on children by American soldiers, so that's...interesting.
Your grandfather is a good man, may he rest in peace
@@samanthamountain9764 Yes, it is true. Countless incidents in which American soldiers raped and killed children in fields and villages. Vietnamese parents just wanted to live to kill American soldiers. For sure you cannot win a war and a country over when you do such kinds of acts.
That man is a true hero. May he Rest In Peace now and forever. 🌹🙏🏽
Why was he even there in the first place?
@keifer7813 he was a medic, and the medics volunteered to go to provide health care.
I’m in a relationship with a Hmong woman and she taught me the whole reason why that ethnic group is now here in America. During the Vietnam War, there was also the Secret War in which the CIA used the Hmong people to fight against the Viet Cong. In payment of fighting against them, the CIA helped the Hmong people immigrate to America. I’d love to see you make a video on this proxy war within the whole Vietnam War. Or how other groups were paid into fighting.
The CIA doing illegal secret wars? No way, they would never.😂
@@thebeermaster34 Do you think they're in charge?
Can confirm this story being near Castle AFB in the late 80s and my Neighbors being Hmong…. I was very little but remember all of these stories first hand.
There's a whole rabbit hole regarding the hmong involvement in the Vietnam War. If you just look up Vietnam War and add hmong to the search, you'll find a lot of things about them. Every single hmong household has a story regarding the Vietnam War and is truly amazing to learn about. An video example would be Hmong Story 40: Documentary on Galen Beery
@@Echo32xWhat happened at Castle Air Force base in the 80s? I live about 30 miles south of Merced.
I am an American currently living my best life in vietnam since 2016. Beautiful country, beautiful people and delicious food.
Thks for your compliment
@@ongongcutea1026 Một - Hai - Ba - dzô, 🍻
thx im glad that u like it there
@HistoryResonate-vnm I am married to a Vietnamese woman. Fortunately 😎
@HistoryResonate-vnm 100% Most of th older Vietnamese women are hardworking. You'll often see them doing manly jobs western woman normally don't do, like construction, etc
My FIL fought in Vietnam and we talk about every now and then. He definitely has suffered with PTSD. He still can't handle being in crowds, especially airports. He's almost 80 now. It's crazy how long reaching the effects of trauma can go. He's done well for himself at least considering all that. He's one tough dude. Thanks for making this Mr Beats.
I'm glad he's done well considering all of the trauma. Thanks for sharing that and thanks for watching!
How many children did he kill
@@eamonnkeenan3771 very insightful comment
@@eamonnkeenan3771I bet he didn't went there on his own will. Blame the ones who sent them there.
THAT is where the PTSD comes from, when soldiers are put in situations where they are/may be killing non-combatants. It's disgusting that still-adolescents are brainwashed into killers by old men in expensive suits. Why Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan generated so much more PTSD than WW2
When I was 18 and thinking about enlisting or going to college, I had a conversation with my Uncle (mom's brother) about it. He was a Vietnam vet and he told me "every man in your family on both sides has fought in every war since the founding of this country and somehow returned home. I'm not sure how much luck is left in our blood." That simple statement helped me make the decision to go to college.
Later on, in doing my own genealogical research and talking with my Aunt (dad's sister), I came to understand that he was at least partially correct, at least for my dad's side of the family. The men on my dad's side had fought in the Revolutionary War (US), The Civil War (North), and both World Wars. This is further corroborated by the fact that the men on my dad's side all had children in their 40's or older, so I would not have been born if any of them had died in combat.
Additionally, my dad told me he had almost been drafted to Vietnam but the war ended before that happened. However, my dad was born in July 1956 which would make him 16 when the final draft of the Vietnam War occurred in June of 1973, so I wonder about the veracity of his claim (he's dead now so I can't ask him).
My generation of siblings and cousins on both sides was the first in many generations to have no males join the military. I think this is probably due to Vietnam Syndrome spurred on by the access to information which became so widespread in our youth. In fact, to my knowledge, we are all decidedly anti-war. Sorry grandpa!
I’m sure your grandpa would be glad you’re alive.
I sure your grandpa is glad you weren’t sent to war to fight for oil or “speed democracy”
@@KarenHayes-fi5fu For sure. He was not a fan of war after returning from what I understand. I've seen pictures of him before and after the war and it most definitely took a physical toll on him. He was a mechanic for B17's in England but according to my Aunt, he was also part of a "reclamation squad" that would glide into enemy territory when a downed but salvageable bomber had been identified. My dad told me he refused to do anything in the snow and would say he spent "too many cold nights in France."
My mom's dad was part of a mortar team and was in Bastogne, France during the Battle of the Bulge. I never really knew him because my mom kept us away from him (for reasons outside the scope of this conversation). But I have heard that he said he could go from foxhole to foxhole on the front line and find nothing but frozen corpses. Apparently he had a mental breakdown and started shooting his sidearm wildly on the frontline so the Germans would shoot him but they never did, ostensibly to save ammunition and let the freezing temperatures kill the Americans. He was taken to a psychiatric facility and that's the last thing I know about his time in the war.
I was very young when I started hearing these stories so I imagine that also colored my view of military service and war.
Like, im a Vietnamsese person and i must say that personally, i don't like when other Vietnamese ppl call our revolution "Vietnam war" since when one of my lecturers said a thing which made i remember 'till now. Once we used "Vietnam war" as Western ppl, he said that "They call our revolution "Vietnam war" because they dont know our history and how hard we were to have our own liberty. So as a Vietnamese person, you must never use that term, instead, please always using "The Vietnamese Revolution." We call that in Vietnamese "Kháng chiến chống Mỹ cứu nước," which is translated word-by-word "The Revolution against America to save our country." I dont mean to criticise anything or force anyone to do like us, this is just a story which always pops up in my mind whenever seeing somebody using "Vietnam War".
As a young American reading history I appreciate you voicing your perspective
"The one thing they don't prepare you for in war is the incessant use of Fortunate Son"
"I'd hear that song whenever i was in a helicopter."
some folks r born made to wave the flag they r red white and blue
Just wait until they get you with ‘The End’ and T.S. Eliot.
This may be the first Vietnam War video to not feature that song...
“The one thing they don’t prepare you for with Vietnam content is the incessant use of this same joke”
1-2-3-4, What are we fighting for? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Next stop is Vietnam.
“Hey hey LBJ how many kids did you kill today?”
Next stop is Ukraine.
Land of the free, amirite?
@@lukejolley8354 At least that wouldn't be the silly containment policy
Country Joe and the Fish…..love it!
This afternoon, I took the AP US History exam. To relax, I went on TH-cam and despite not really having an appetite for anything history at the moment, I put on this video because why not. I'm glad I did, Mr. Beat never fails to present multiple perspectives on every issue he discusses. Thanks for all you do, Mr. Beat!
Heh! I was worried I would literally get no APUSH kids watching this, especially I expected y'all to be sick of learning about American history at this point. Thanks for sharing this. It meant a lot.
@@iammrbeat as an apush kid i feel like a lot of us just want to learn about america more!! all my classmates are saying they’ve never felt so patriotic 🫡🇺🇸🦅
@@iammrbeat i am about to take my apush exam next week and this video really helped me reinforce a lot of what i learned in my class (key phrases emphasized, broader ideas contextualized, overall attitudes of the era etc.) i feel like these types of videos are a lot more beneficial and engaging to students, as compared to having to pore over textbooks and pages of dense notes, so thank you.
Hello, I am Vietnamese. Thank you for writing about a topic about Vietnamese people. As a person born and raised in peace, we only heard stories about the war in a few lines, the severity of which was something I could not fully understand. However, the Vietnamese soldiers in the war that day left behind many lines of writing and accounts, through which I really understand that what you are saying is completely true.
This is NOT "The Vietnam War Explained".
This is the American's understanding the war in Vietnam, American's involvement in Vietnam and their involvement's impact on America/Americans.
Well yeah this is predominantly a US based channel.
@@Hai-xg6uy true
so true bro
Mr Beat doesn’t run a history channel. He runs an American political and American history channel.
My pop-pop was a soldier in the Army during Vietnam, he never fought in the war itself because he was honorably discharged due to an injury. He died three years ago at 72. Rip, 9/11/49-1/9/21.
Respect to your pop-pop
@@iammrbeat Thank you
R.I.P for your grandpa🙏
Crazy to think that some baby boomers are dying...respect to your pops but wow. Man...72 is too young.
My dad said his uncle fought the only reason he knows is because of the “trophy’s” he has from the war aka EARS
It is honestly insane to me the frequency with which I still run into people in real life and online that say "America was the good guys!" or "America won the Vietnam War!" when like pretty much any reading that doesn't come directly from the government will tell you otherwise in both cases. I enjoyed this video.
Good guys is a matter of opinion but "won" seems pretty ignorant.
North Vietnam had to wait for the US to end their involvement.
Even the North’s biggest military action the Tet Offensive was a huge blunder resulting is massive casualties. The difference is that the North did not have to answer to the people they govern. They could throw bodies away aimlessly without repercussions. You don’t hear about the atrocities committed by the Northern government compared to My Lai which was a rare unique and horrifying incident. You hear the constant propaganda that Uncle Ho wasn’t really a communist and wanted to be like American revolutionaries. So compared to the northern communist government I’d say yes, the US was way better. And I’d say the US didn’t lose the way so much as it lost interest.
@@PLandericus What the US did to Laos is 50x worse than anything that the North Vietnamese did to anyone. I will never understand why Americans just see the word "communism" and immediately lose their minds and all reason goes out the window.
@@PLandericus they lost interest because they weren’t winning easily. So I guess it’s just a way for the US to save face by saying they lost interest.
My mom's side of the family was a big army and military family. I have ancestors that have fought in every war from 1812 up until Vietnam. Vietnam changed everything.
My mom's oldest brother fought in Korea and in Vietnam. After his second tour, he told my grandparents everything that happened. My grandparents did everything possible to make sure their two younger sons didn't get drafted. One spent a long time in medical school, the other lucked out that Saigon fell a few days before his 18th birthday.
Your family history is very important. Thank you for sharing.
The thing I like about Mr. Beat is that even though there is a level of sarcasm and jokes about the subject, you can still tell he deeply cares about the situations at hand.
There was no Vietnam war at all, just the American bring the war to Vietnam.
I am a 20 man from Texas. And most of my later academic journey was ruined due to covid 19 and other aspects in life. I appreciate your video essays and lovely style of teaching. Thank you @mrbeat
I wish all 20 of you the best of luck
I'm glad the videos help you learn some history. Thanks for the kind words!
@@NonTwinBrothers what?
3 days before my exam on the Vietnam War and this comes out, all hope is not lost
YASSS
And unfortunately, oversimplified doesn't have a video on the Vietnam war, so it's good Mr. Beat uploaded this
@@noodle5283 We are still waiting for that Oversimplified Vietnam video. He has us waiting more than One Piece fans.
25:00 good timing with this video. So many americans are ignorant to the fact that we are seeing a repeat of the vietnam war protests on college campuses and create a laundry list of reasons why their money must be spent on suffering.
:)
Today's American college students shouldn't have to worry about being drafted into a war in Gaza. A lot of people aren't protesting for their life, they are just protesting misguidedly for an Islamic theocratic deathcult that has killed as much Palestinians or Arabs as they did Israelis.
The timing is not a coincidence. Mr. Beat rocks!!
The suffering started way before US involvement
Genuinely what do those protests help with besides just angering people?
i just wanted to say thank you. i never got educated on matters like this in school and now that im getting older (18) i feel this stuff is important to know. it helps me be not so naive and u explain it clearly and slowly enough to make perfect sense. i hope you’re having a nice day :)
As a Vietnamese who subscribed to your chanel for a long time, thank you for making this video
Us Vietnamese, we don't care about communism or capitalism, America, China or Russia, we just wanted freedom. Even today, we might be a " communism " country, but we are different compare with China and Russia
As an American I hope Vietnam has long lasting freedom. And I apologize for what my country did. ❤️🇺🇸🇻🇳
@@PremierCCGuyMMXVI No need for that mate. War happened. We fought so many nations before to protect our country. We can't held a grudge on everyone haha. Right now Vietnam and America relationship is pretty good, which is nice to see
@@datbui6009 Greetings from the United States of America to Vietnam! 🇺🇸❤️🇻🇳
Đúng vậy 💯
I’m an American history teacher and something that’s always fascinated me about Vietnam was how much influence our founding fathers had on Ho Chi Minh. My uncle served in Vietnam and he said that was the biggest waste of time ever. Several of my relatives have suffered from the side effects from agent orange exposure.
I actually went to the Vietnam memorial recently on a school trip to D.C. By far one of the best memorials ive ever been to and nearly cried seeing all the notes from parents and children alike to remember their family members lost in the war. Its awful to see so many young people drafted and dying when they had their whole life ahead of them. Amazing video as always! (These are better than my school at explaining things most of the time lol)
Exactly. Ask it to your criminal politics.
@@Datboi8989 in the National Museumn of the USAF they have a small part of a hanger dedicated to POW, and it talks about Vietnam POW’s because they have the most artifacts from there. Eye opening stuff, and I learned a lot visiting that museum.
Vietnamese are still poor and Americans are buying their land 😂
My Grandpa fought in it. I wish I could still talk about it with him.
My grand uncle Roger served in Vietnam, all I know is he smoked weed, survived an explosion, and got herpes. Pretty badass. Sorry for your loss.
Forever greatful my grandpa let me pick his brain and ask questions even though they were very painful experiences. One thing to read about it, another thing to talk to someone who was there. I love him dearly for sharing those experiences wifh me.
Respect to your Grandpa
Same scenario here; I feel you.
I've got a few Australian mates who fought in Vietnam and they very rarely talk about their experiences there. Only recently has my friend Gordon opened up about his two tours of duty. It has shaped and informed his life. Veterans deserve our respect and compassion 🙏.
The Viet Minh (Namely Ho Chi Minh himself) were not "straight up communists" which provoked the US into fighting them, they wanted help from the US, Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist who wanted independence, he was not a communist. But the US was staunchly against liberating them from the French so he turned to China for aid, which thus brought about communist rule and sentiment after-the-fact. The US pushed them into communism by fighting against them out of their own fear that they might fall to communism. Ironically the US could have more effectively fought against communism if it had been them who sided with the Viet Cong to help take over South Vietnam instead of China. If that were so, Vietnam today would likely be much more like modern Philippines in being an independent western ally on the South China Sea. Or South Korea and Japan to a lesser extent.
Ho Chi Minh was such a nationalist who just wanted independence for Vietnam that he attacked the independent State of Vietnam to set up a communist dictatorship. Yeah, no, Ho Chi Minh was such a communist that he was a founding member of not just the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930, but also the French Communist Party in 1920. Dude had been a communist for ~25 years before America could even find Vietnam on a map.
The reason why the US refused to help Ho Chi Minh liberate Vietnam from the French is BECAUSE he was a communist, and there was no point in freeing a country from their imperial overlords just to hand them over to communist overlords.
Well I agree with you. BUT I’d like to add one more viewpoint. Ho Chi Minh said that “It was not communism but my love for my country that inspired me.” (Briefly translated, it sounds better in Vietnamese). As there were only 2 sides to choose, one is capitalism (literally colonized his country), one is communism, if you are not dumb, you know what to pick.
@@missh9560 Yes, communists love to lie to make themselves look better and more appealing to non-communists, what's your point? You're acting as if it's impossible to have a non-communist nationalist movement.
If you're not dumb, you'd see what happened to the Soviet Union in the 30s and China in the 50s, and pick capitalism.
Which is apparently the side communists love to say Ho Chi Minh TRIED to pick, but because he refused to stop being communist, Truman refused his request. Kind of a weird decision for someone who apparently loved the country (that he invaded twice) more than communism, but so is supporting communism.
bạn lấy thông tin đó ở đâu thật vớ vẩn ,bạn chả biết cái quái gì về VIetNam chúng tôi cả ,trước khi viết bình luận thì nên tìm hiểu kĩ rồi hãy gõ bàn phím đừng để người khác gọi bạn là kẻ ngu ngốc
How stup1d being 😂 Việt mean "Việt Nam", Minh mean "Liên Minh" - League. Who said that Việt Nam ask US for help?
Pls cover the Korean war next!! It’s rarely ever covered and a video this comprehensive would be a godsend
My neighbor in Spanaway, WA asked me to help him find some of his war records. Being in the Army I said sure. Turns out he didn’t have US war records. I found out this man was a Commando during the war. He lost his jaw when he was hit in the face with a rocket, and spent 3 years in a reeducation camp after Saigon fell. He was awarded a US Bronze Star, and the National Archives have his records. I’ve fought in 2 wars on 4 different occasions over my 20 years of service. I’ve never felt more inadequate than I did when I found out the caliber of man who was asking me for help.
His experience wasn't unusual. During the Nixon Administration the V.A. decided to save money by refusing to acknowledge that several groups of men who had fought with (or in) the U.S. military were not "veterans" within the meaning of U.S. veteran benefit laws.
Thanks for sharing that and thanks for your service to our country.
My grandfather fought in the war as a radio operator. Luckily I still have him around, he is 75. He cares about our country a huge deal but is not shy to talk about all the areas we have messed up in this war.
Thank you Mr Beat for your continued service in education for everyone. I truly believe you try and stick to the facts of everything and not get to much into personal opinion
3:27 FDR was very anti-colonialism, definitely ashame he died in 1945 and didn’t live out his term because US forgein policy would have been so different.
Yeah he would have let Kremlin Joe have the whole world
FDR being good is a presentist trap my friend
@@daltongalloway Maybe not that much, but he was very naive with regards to the Soviets. Truman was the man we needed at the right time.
@@daltongalloway there is no reason to believe he would. You may say “Roosevelt gave half of Europe to Stalin” not really. The USSR had millions of troops all the way up to Berlin. The west can’t just say to the USSR to leave, they defy us. FDR had no choice too.
@@JimmyMon666 Roosevelt really wasn’t, he began to take a stand against Stalin a few weeks before his death
Thank you so much for this fair and comprehensive video that exposes political lies and human capacity for senseless violence. I am a lifelong educator and boatperson who is a victim of this war. My father presumably perished in Pleiku April if 1975, six months after I was born. The trauma of this war persists for my family and me and for many other families. Prayers to all still suffering from this war or any war-may they find healing and peace.
I'm currently writing a research paper that analyzes US involvement in foreign conflicts and checked out this video to gain a full understanding of the Vietnam War. This has been the clearest explanation I've watched, thank you for making this!
I'm sorry your videos are getting demonetized, I find your content easy to watch and incredibly informative. I always come away knowing that I've learned something new. We support you fully
majin blob
gb
Getting demonetized is how you know you're making good educational content these days, sadly.
My grandfather served in the Navy and fought in the Vietnam War. Afterwards, he struggled greatly with PTSD and substance abuse. He was a great man and I wonder what he would be like now. He passed away yesterday, May 9 of 2006, when I was 2yo.
Thank you for the great video Mr. Beat
Congrats on 1 mil!
Thank you!
I want to shout out my grandfather, who was drafted into the Vietnam War. Not only was he a fighter in the jungles, but he was also a mechanic at base. Came back home scarred, but had a few stories.
He is 78 y/o and is still going strong! Thank you for serving, gramps.
My Grandpa joined the Vietnam war with the other Aussies. He’s never spoken about it, ever. My boyfriend has moved onto their property and is staying in a little flat down the back of their land. When i’m over we try to have dinner with my Grandpa and Babica, and ever since my boyfriend has joined my family, i’ve finally started hearing stories. I’ll always love my boyfriend for somehow bringing this side out of my Grandpa, I really love connecting with him.
I went to Afghanistan. You didnt miss much. I came away jaded, angry and with a nasty case of PTSD, which took me years to stabilize.
Watching the widraw from Afghanistan on TV was heartbreaking, to say the least since i knew we should have been out of there at least a decade prior.
Im an 02 grad btw but didnt commission until 07, through ROTC.
I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I appreciate your service.
It's now happening with Ukraine and Russia.
People appreciate your sacrifice, even though that random TH-cam comment means nothing of course. Yeah, we should have never been there in the first place, but the withdrawal should have happened in 2009. It’s a shame that it didn’t happen. Us finally pulling out was the most alpha, total BOSS move that a president has taken in foreign policy in decades, and my life time. Uncle Joe totally defeated the military industrial complex, and the mainstream media, even the so-called “liberal media” (that doesn’t actually exist) freaking out and criticizing him because he pulled out and ended the war like an absolute fucking legendary boss was hilarious to watch. They were totally disappointed.
The total collapse of Afghanistan was the most predictable thing in the entire world. We could have stayed in Afghanistan for literally another 7 decades and the exact same outcome would have happened regardless in the exact same way. Ripping the band aid off was worth it both short and long term. Like I said, it was the biggest and most impressive foreign policy move a president has made in at least 50 years, if not longer. Uncle Joe deserves an ice cream for not allowing the mainstream media faux pearl clutching and pro-war propaganda to get him to reverse his decision. It was legendary, honestly.
Thank you for your service sir 🫡 hope the best for you
I believe that if the Iraq War never happened, the US mission in Afghanistan would have been more successful and the war would have ended earlier than in our timeline.
My grandfather ended up passing
way before his years after suffering for almost his entire adult life because of agent orange. The VA refused him benefits even though he was nearly physically incapable of working and he never had a time in his life where he wasn’t sick or in the hospital. I hold a lot of animosity on his behalf.
Miss ya Dad
Insane if you can't monetize this! So helpful, clear, and unbiased. Love what you do! Will support you as I can!
Thanks!
My history EOC was yesterday, impeccable timing.
I wanted to release this last Friday actually!
@@iammrbeat nah you good passed with flying colors
That’s why my present responsibilities have me where I belong in the rear with the gear
That tik tok ban comment really hits the nail on the head. Everything infront of our eyes yet our government is gaslighting us into thinking none of it’s true
fr, crazy its always been this way
I'm all for a ban on tik Tok itself but that bill gives the government some suspicious amount of power...
@@Baconcatboyexactly only the American company’s should be stealing our data not the Chinese company’s
@@BaconcatboyPatriot Act 2.0
Tiktok should still be banned regardless
Thank you so much for your work on this video (and all of your others). I sometimes find that videos like this will assume the viewers know what every word means, know who each figure is, etc and I really really appreciate how you include quick little definitions. It makes such a huge difference !!
Mr. Beat, thanks for a great video. As the grand-niece of a Vietnam vet who is unable to speak about his time there due to trauma, I have respect for your balanced, factual approach to the war. I know how I personally feel about the war after seeing an excellent exhibit covering the war at the WWI museum in KC, but ultimately, your approach is one that makes clear the issues of the American government and the killing of innocent Vietnamese/soldiers without being an insulting video. There's a ton of controversy surrounding war in general and plenty to condemn. It's a reflection on our current world situation and how we want our world to be today. But by reporting the facts, you leave the opinions to be formed by viewer. As a fellow history nerd (and former Kansan--Rock Chalk!), I really enjoy your videos.
My uncle was sent to Vietnam in 1968, being called up as a result of dropping out of UCLA. He briefly served outside Saigon, where he was shot in the ass and almost immediately got a transfer to Berlin, where he spent the remainder of his service and which he apparently loved. He didn't tell anyone in the family that he'd ever been in Vietnam to begin with until 2000.
Thanks for sharing that, Sam. I had an uncle (on my wife's side actually but I call him an uncle) who served during the Vietnam War but out at sea.
My brother was stationed in Germany during the Vietnam war. He loved Germany, too. He got to visit Austria and Paris.
My Grandpa was a Vietcong troop, he is always proud of protecting his nation from foreign invaders
Thanks for sharing that
Your grandpa was a hero!
His services will never be forgotten!
Hell yeah man.
His service will not go forgotten.
I work at a steel plant in PA an hour outside Philly. 75% of the old timers fought in Vietnam , most are retired now but they are exactly what you expect, biker/rocker dudes with tattoos and huge beards . The draft was not evenly applied , fortunate son is a great song from that era calling that out. I believe the largest group of draftees actually came from PA, near Quakertown and Lehigh valley.
Drafts have never been equal. Wealthy families can buy their way out
Join the Air Force or Navy
@@SandfordSmytheThats what my dad did, signed a deferment to complete school and went off to the Navy, spent 3 years off the coast of vietnam on a ship completely removed from any fighting. Came back and served 20 more years in the navy reserve and retired an O-6 captain.
@Ataraxia_Atom HS Class of 65. We mostly got deferments for college, then joined the Air Force. I took my chances and got experiences without danger. Used the GI Bill for a Masters degree.
Rigjt after HS graduation, I saw a classmate,who had been bullied in school, at the Marine recruiting office. He acted a show-off when he saw me. Good for him.
@@SandfordSmythe dang that's awesome! Sounds like you made a smart decision for yourself and your family
Thank you so much for this. My father was a veteran of Omaha beach where he received a bronze star for valor. He retired a full colonel and turned white as a sheet when I told him I was enlisting in the Marine Corps. He begged me not to go and explained that this was some half-cocked CIA war that made no sense. If I had any critique about this production, I would say you erred on the side of kid-gloving it. The video and stills of these conflicts should be seen by all citizens before they agree to sending soldiers into these pointless conflicts. Thanks again. Great work.
Your father was completely right, he knew when a war was worth fighting for and the true story of the Vietnam war has always been concealed from the public despite the fact that is there open for everyone to see:
The last thing Ho wanted was to have a war with the U.S. He had worked as an asset for US intelligence, for the OSS in ww2 and that he expected that as payback for his service Washington would back him in obtaining Independence from the French and that he had even offered to open an independent Vietnam wide for the U.S. to install as many military bases and they wished BECAUSE HIS MAIN CONCERN AFTER HE DROVE OFF THE FRENCH WERE THE CHINESE...? Ho HAD OFFERED DA NANG TO THE US MILITARY FOR FREE...!
Despite being a Communist Ho thought that his best friend could be the U.S. and expected a deal like the West had with the Communist leader of Yugoslavia, Tito, but the U.S. didn't want any of it. Racism...? In any case, the Chinese had been for many centuries the main enemy of Vietnam, they still are, and Ho wanted the protection of the U.S. military to prevent them from invading his country, but instead Washington preferred wage war against him. A big Amerrican war at a cost of 58.000 dead for absolutely nothing. Nowadays Vietnam is still Communist and still willing to become a U.S,. ally as protection from the Chinese.
By the way, I learnt about all this during a Larry King interview of a man who he presented as the most decorated U.S. veteran in Vietnam who had done his research after the war and even wrote a book on the subject.
I graduated from college in June of 1968. I immediately became 1-A or eligible for the draft. I was drafted into the US Army in October, 1968. I opposed the war from its escalation by LBJ after he lied about the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Despite my opposition to Johnson and the war, I didn’t resist the draft because my options, going to jail or Canada didn’t seem like workable alternatives . I was sent to Vietnam in March, 1969 and I was scheduled for a year deployment. However, in May, 1969 my elderly father became very sick. The Army sent me home to be with him on a temporary leave. I thought they would send me back to Vietnam when my father passed but I applied for “compassionate reassignment “ which I was granted in June, 1969. I was granted this reassignment to Ft. Monmouth, NJ about 75 miles from my home where I remained until my discharge from the Army in August, 1970 to begin what would become my 42 year career as a High School US History teacher. In conclusion, I always believed Vietnam was both an illegal and immoral war. I still despise LBJ despite his great work domestically. I survived thankfully but the Vietnam War will always remain a horrible event which killed, wounded and disrupted the lives of countless Americans including myself.
Disappointed you didn't mention the millions of Vietnamese refugees who fled, many of whom settled in the USA.
Millions fleeing 50+ years of straight war should be obvious
Well the US left them at the end of the war anyways, so it's not worth mentioning
There's other stuff he didn't mention. For example, the role of Australia, New Zealand and other US/Sout Vietnamese allies. It mostly just focuses on an overview of the US involvement in the war itself.
Millions ?
@@leaveme3559 look up “boat people.”
It's a tragedy that your content gets demonetized. Thank you for uploading both versions.
My dad was a marine in Vietnam, only a teenager. His experience there caused him to pretty much forbid me and my brothers from joining the military.
thank you for making this video. in fact, during the 1000 years since gaining independence from China, Vietnam has gone through many wars. including the Mongol Empire, they were defeated by us 3 times, although Mongols ruled China for 300 years. to the modern era France, Japan, America, China, Pol Pot... We are not a warlike people, or like war. Vietnam's geography turns it into a battlefield. the US-Vietnam war, I wish it had not happened. my grandfather said that the war with America was the most terrible and difficult, there were many crimes in the war because many sides participated, only innocent people were victims. every war, no matter which side wins, is a crime. America now understands the Vietnamese people, we are not easily manipulated by China, do not participate in any military organization or support war, we love peace and want to be friends with all countries. We used to have many enemies and were hated because we were communist, in fact Vietnam is not exactly like a communist country just because history forced us to choose that. Thank you for supporting an independent Vietnam. We love you all. Greetings from Vietnam. My forever favorite song: “Heal The World” by the legendary singer MJ
My 12th grade project was on this war. Would've loved to have this video back then
Go back and do the project again. :)
@@iammrbeat actually my project and presentation was so bad 😞, the teacher told me to do it again and I had to a reenactment of an interview with Bruce Lee. But thanks anyway Mr. Beat!
I had a teacher, Col. Robert Guy. Awesome dude did two tours. He gave a really good Vietnam presentation for the whole 8th grade. He said he did in fact get spit on at the airport coming back and he almost killed the guy who did it. Like most soldiers he didn’t return with his platoon. So the random other soldiers that didn’t know him luckily saw what happened and cooled him off in time.
It's theorized that one of the reasons Vietnam vets had such a higher rate of PTSD than WW2 vets is that WW2 vets were demobilized with their unit, and returned on ships, giving them a few weeks with their comrades decompressing on the way back to America, but Vietnam vets returned home alone over the course of a few days.
White people boo hoo 🙄
My papa got a direct spray from agent Orange in Vietnam.
My uncle has lung damage from it.
what did it taste like
@@DonG-1949 my papa passed in 2018 and never talked about his time in Vietnam and I was to young to understand at the time
Agent Orange exposure can cause genetic mutations that can potentially make descendants more susceptible to cancer. Your parent and/or you may be eligible for specific benefits from the US government, which you may already be aware. Contact your local Veteran’s Affairs offices.
holy crap mr beat you are on a roll lately, i love the longer documentary format
Right on...I shall keep making more videos like this, then. :)
My dad and uncle were in during Vietnam. They have very different views on it. My uncle feels like we lost a war we shouldn't have been fighting. My dad is the type to tell you that we never lost an actual battle so we didnt lose the war (he's not technically wrong, but there weren't many of those to begin with). My uncle saw combat, but my dad never did. Its an interesting dichotomy.
Well he's technically wrong, the US lost at Khe Sanh for example, even though they'd say they withdrew. The US could not invade North Vietnam so they've already lost to begin with, so your uncle was right.
I am currently studying for a history exam and this is helping me so so so much thank you guy
I am a Vietnamese and really give a respect to you for sharing the story about the VN War in your own perspective
25 years and I finally learned about the Vietnam war thank you for being the best real history teacher I could ask for
I'm British and know the reasons for it, but do any American viewers know why British and Japanese troops fought in Vietnam in 1945, on the same side?
Also I find it ironic that the man probably most responsible for the Vietnam war, Charles de Gaulle, advised Kennedy to keep away after the French withdrew. De Gaulle, despite being out of government during the Indo China war, was so influential that he was able to bring down French governments that were unwilling to maintain the colony. In 1945 the British advised de Gaulle to prepare Indo China for independence in cooperation with the Viet Mihn, but he wasn't our greatest fan and ignored our rather sensible advice.
It was only for a brief part of 1945. Japan was there first during the war, Britain came in afterward after the Japanese defeat. So really they weren't on the "same side." I should have made this more clear.
I did. I know Mark Felton did a video on it.
Funny to see how the British can make good policies regarding imperialist matters. I guess it's easier when the colonies are yours.
I really respect you for sharing the the truth of history despite it being an unpopular topic it’s why I have watched so many of these for a while now
My great uncle was SEAL team member during Nam. He died of leukemia. He and 4 other team mates of his had the same Leukemia. He said as he was dying it was from exposure to Agent Orange. And the military tried to cover it up. RIP uncle Don.
_I am Vietnamese, my uncle died in 1968, my grandmother is recognized as a "heroic Vietnamese mother". My mother was also a soldier, so were some of my other uncles and aunts, and my father was an army commander in the fight against the Pol pot genocide in Cambodia.
_My family is just one of hundreds of thousands, millions of families in the heroic country of Vietnam who can sacrifice for national freedom.in the history of Vietnam's anti-foreign aggression, we have defeated many great powers. We can make our own freedom, we don't have to follow anyone. National self-reliance plan.
_As Uncle Ho said: "There is nothing more precious than independence, freedom, and happiness."
_And now, after all the past has passed, we put aside our mutual enmity and friendship. Welcome to Vietnam xD
Thank you Mr. Beat. I really appreciate how simple this video is to navigate, and I’ve learned far more honest information from your channel than the private school I went to. ☺️
Hi Mr Beat, I’d just like to thank you for making such amazing content. Your videos are incredibly informative and i love your personality. Keep making great content !
I appreciate the kind words!
10:26 the reason why the communist party seized farm land and execute people was because they want to distribute land to farmers (the same thing the Xoviet Union did) and getting rid of land owners, which at the time, were mostly rich, powerful individual who served French. They quickly realize that a lot of those land owners supported the revolution (my great grandfather luckily escaped the execution), which later lead to Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh) to publicly apologize and cry in front of interviewers.
34:50 - 35:00 While North Vietnam did violate the Accords, they did because South Vietnam did it first. The thing is, the four party Accords was signed by, well, four parties: The US, North Vietnam (aka. Democratic Republic of Vietnam), South Vietnam (a name to refer to Republic of Vietnam) and Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG, for short). So, South Vietnam violated the Accords by:
-Article 3 of the Accords requires both party, South Vietnam and PRG, to ceasefire and establish peace, in which both side's military force must remain immobilized and cannot commit any violence. Well, the South Vietnam broke this by using police and people's self defense force as their true military force instead
-Article 6 requires The US and allies to remove all military bases in Southern Vietnam. They, however, gave control of all of these to South Vietnam, meaning Article 6 had no effect. Moreover, due to the US's pressure on South East Asia, with Fleet 7, US Navy and military bases around Thailand, Korea, Philippines present, the communist party of China and Xoviet couldn't support Vietnam. The US provided South Vietnam with aircrafts, tanks, and military advisors, effectively violating Article 4. International Commission of Control and Supervision, comprised of Canada, Hungary, Indonesia, and Poland, are all neutral, but they definitely were afraid of making enemies with the US.
-In the year 1973, South Vietnam launched military operations to gain advantage at the General Election, as the Accords mentioned the ceasefire of both party will lead to an election to form a one, new government governing South Vietnam (and subsequently the reunification of Vietnam). Those includes "Chiến dịch Tràn ngập lãnh thổ" (Operation Flooding Territory-1973), Hùng Vương, Lý Thường Kiệt (Operation Hung Vuong, Operation Ly Thuong Kiet-1973-1974). Operation Tangocyti was initiated by South Vietnam 2 minutes before Paris Peace Accords went into effect, attacking the base of PRG at Cửa Việt, a port. This is of course a violation from South Vietnam side.
-The government of South Vietnam did not respect the Accords by distorting it to the general public and hiding its details, keeping Article 4 on hold despite PRG's demand, dodging ceasefire and always put the General Election on discussion, openly stating that the Accords means nothing to Republic of Vietnam and oppose General Election. Despite constantly saying that North Vietnam wants to invade South Vietnam, in reality what they really talked about was how to get rid of communism (PRG).
As people pointed it out, the Vietnamese did not fight for communism, we fought for ourselves and our wish to become independent. It just so happens that the sense of community and our love for the country had lead us to follow the path of communism.
Congrats on one million subs, Mr. Beat! Please keep the great videos coming!
My grandfather served in Vietnam as Infantry, his rank was SGT. He was eighteen at the time he was drafted. He was 25th Infantry Division, 1st Regiment, his first deployment was in Cu Chi in 1968, he's from Hartford and he's still kicking!!!
My parents are Khmer (Cambodian) refugees who fled the Khmer Rouge when the Vietnam War spilled over to Cambodia. It often feels like the regimes and wars that happened in Laos and Cambodia caused in part by the spillover of the Vietnam War, especially with US involvement, are always talked in passing and glossed over. People should really know the full impact that French colonization of Indochina had on all countries involved, not just Vietnam, and the same goes for the Vietnam war's impact on Cambodia and Laos too.
Of course this is not to take away from the focus at hand in the topic of the Vietnam war and Im glad you acknowledged the bombings on Cambodia. I just wish we truly acknowledge the full impact on the area of Indochina as a whole, especially since the US was as involved with Cambodian (and Lao) affairs as they were in Vietnam ones.
@@Skeliana agreed
My former father-in-law just passed last month from COPD. Likely from exposure to Agent Orange. He was drafted for Vietnam and served as the person who dumped agent orange on the unsuspecting Vietnamese people. He also served as a helicopter gunner. When he wasnt in the helicopter he would be stirring burning barrels of human waste. He did what he was made to do. It was *never* something he wanted to do. Ever. It took decades for him to even speak of what he went through and even then it was basically a Cliff Notes version of it. His wife forced him into getting VA benefits, so when he did he barely spoke of what he was made to do and got very little compensation from the VA. Over the decades since, he downright refused to ask for a higher percentage of VA benefits because he knew it would mean talking about what he had to do and would mean drudging up all the things he never would talk about...whether it was recorded on paper or not, he didnt know. He passed last month from end stage COPD. He suffered immensely for years.
He was the kindest, quietest and most gentle man I've ever met in my life.
Rest in peace, Stan. ❤❤❤
nah, Stan was definitely in hell right now as a punishment for what he did, even he did not want to do it, but he still did
I know but I think Stan had sufferred all his life after that. I don't think Stan had other choices. Hope that someday this world will be a better place and normal citizen can live in peace.
Very glad this channel has reached 1 million. Has always been my favorite channel. ❤️✌️
I appreciate you!
A mostly American perspective on the vietnam war, disappointed it didnt go more into a inner politics of South Vietnam and North Vietnam leading up to the vietnam war and amidst the Vietnam war.
My Grandpa was an ARVN captain who fought the Binh Xuyen in 1955 and later owned a farm Xuan Loc before moving to america after the suspicious death of his eldest son who at this point had joined the new Communist government’s armt
Man, you're a great storyteller! As someone outside of the US, and not the most educated in major history events; thank you, for bringing some transparency that is easily digestible.
Also I like your humble nature; casually celebrating *one million subscribers* as a quick mention at the end of a video, earns my resect at least.
My Uncle spoke of the atrocities here, he was sprayed with Agent Orange himself. Luckiest guy in his unit he only got Diabetes from it.
Thank you so much for covering this war. This war isn’t really explained much in school well since it’s hard to talk about such heavy losses but you did a great job and explain this objectively and fairly. And know its history that happened. If only George W. Bush knew this history…to learn from.
Congratulations on 1 million subscribers! One of the best history TH-cam channels. Thanks for being fair and telling difference of opinion and bias and objection and bringing clarity to subjects. I know people of many different political views that enjoy this channel for it’s objectivity :)
Congratulations 🎊 it’s helped me get into many new things 🙌
All the respect in the world to the Vietnamese people and Ho Chi Minh ❤
Hello from Hue where I'm holidaying. A beautiful country and people. Thankyou Mr Beat for this excellent history production and heartfelt sentiment. The locals old enough to remember are not keen to talk about the war. I suspect war fatigue and a desire to move on. Christopher Hitchens' The trial of Henry Kissinger goes into more detail about K's role in extending the war by sabotaging Johnson's 1968 peace talks.
Apparently Kissinger was even selecting the targets to be bombed toward the end.
Yes the first war and the first country that American completely lost. Proud to be a Vietnamese citizen who are never afraid of any enemy, we accept to fight back and sacrifice rather than letting enemies steal our own motherland. Thank you for making the video and saying the truth of the 🇻🇳 war’s history.
The video is correct about Vietnamese history. I am a Vietnamese who is always proud of the generation of brave ancestors who were not afraid of sacrifice and stood up to fight against the enemy so that their children and grandchildren could live in peace. Through this video, I can see from the perspective of both Vietnam and the United States, thank you
My great uncle was one of those 58,220 lost I can’t forgive the government for sending him overseas to die for nothing
Lying in bed at 11 am with mcdonalds breakfast, watching Mr Beat describe one of my most interested historical events. Life's good
For now
true American Dream!
Hopefully it's a McMuffin
Congrats on 1 Million Subscribers!!!!!
Well thank you so much!
My Uncle was in Vietnam. When we were reading The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan in English my sophomore year in high scjool my teacher assigned us a family interview project. I did my mine on my uncle in Vietnam. It was something very interesting to hear about cuz I never really heard him talk about it before. It was nice too cuz he had old photos that I could use. Also I remember when the Ken Burns documentary came out on PBS around the same time.
my great uncle fought in Vietnam in 1965-1966, he volunteered in the Australian army, he died when i was very young, nan told me he bought into the domino theory. He was injured by a grenade during an ambush which saw his whole platoon aside from him and 2 others killed, once home he suffered from ptsd and was looked down upon by civilians. he had many stories from nam friends falling onto punji sticks, ambushes, villages being burned to the ground ect but one in particular stuck with me, on a search and destroy mission the lead man (his friend since 7th grade who signed up with my uncle) stepped on a land mine but not a Vietnamese land mine but a old French land mine, his friends whole torso was gone as everyone rushed to help he asked for water my uncle went to get water from a stream and once he was back his friend was sadly gone. He was 19 and my uncle would have daily nightmares about it till his death. (he did denounce the war later saying he was lied to my nan said he once told her he is being punished by god for the sins committed in Vietnam.)
Thank you for releasing this at such a important time. History is so important but so neglected, the past few months (and years) have once again proven this to be the case.
Hi Mr. Beat!!
Even as a Canadian, the Vietnam war and the Iraq war are the reasons why I never considered joining the military. As a 18 yo kid, should you really trust your government not to use you to fight an unjust war?
You can always trust your government to send you to fight an unjust war .
If you don’t go, someone else goes when it’s required.
I applaud you for posting this video, despite some of the uglier parts of it and the demonetization. Educators should always have the ability to present history in as factual manner as possible. Great job on this!!