War: What is it good for?
War can have many effects on a country. It can change how they view other countries. It can make people turn against their leaders. War can also make people feel more patriotic and motivate them to enlist. That in turn may lead them to their deaths. If those soldiers do make it back, they may have to deal with post traumatic stress disorder causing painful memories to come back. While war can bring change for the better, the negative impact it has on both people and countries makes it not worth pursuing.
World War II was started on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. On September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany (USHMM). The US got involved on December 7, 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Hitler declared war on the US four days later. World War II is one of the deadliest wars with 20,858,800 total military causalities (War Chronicle). On the Axis side Germany had the highest loss with an estimated 3,500,000 military lost. Japan was second with an estimated 2,000,000 and 6,582,000 total military lost on the Axis side. On the Allied side the Soviet Union was at the top with an estimated 10,000,000 military lost. Second was China with 2,500,000 and the total Allied fatalities was 14,276,800. Perhaps even worst of all, an estimated 27,372,900 civilians were lost bringing it to a total of 48,231,700 casualties. All across Europe many countries involved were left in ruins from the war. Japan was especially devastated from the Little Boy and Fat Man nuclear bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were placed under US military rule which eventually lead to the “Americanization” of Japan. That can be seen to this day with American brands like McDonalds being prominent fixtures in major cities. Germany lost the war hard. Many of its leaders were tried for Nazi propaganda distribution at Nuremberg. Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker to escape conviction at the end of the war. Germany was also in ruins from bombing and was divided into 4 zones of occupation by the winning Allies (sunysuffolk). Other European countries like England and the Soviet Union were also demolished by the war. The Soviet Union had built up a massive army over the course of the war, making them one of the biggest military powers in the world. The war sparked an industrial revolution in the US, causing advances in electronics like radar and advances in nuclear weapons would further revolutionize war. The economy was stimulated by the war, bringing the depression to an end. All in all the war was positive in some aspects but for most of Europe it was catastrophic.
The Vietnam War was one of the lengthiest wars the US was involved with. Vietnam was a colony of France in Southeast Asia. After World War II France tried to get its southeastern colonies, including Vietnam, back from the control of Ho Chi Minh and his communist forces. The US started to send forces to help out the effort as a part of their plan to “contain” the communist threat. France pulled out of Vietnam in 1955 and a peace accord was signed that split Vietnam in half. The US started sending military advisors to assist the South Vietnamese army in 1955. Over the next ten years the communist rebels began taking more and more of the country side in the South. In 1965 the US finally started sending combat troops into Vietnam. 40,934 soldiers were killed in action during the Vietnam War. The total amount of military personnel lost was 58,220 from hostiles and other causes (CRS). President Johnson was found to be lying about military actions in Vietnam in 1966, losing major favor from the American public. The media that exposed Johnson’s lies brought about a major distrust of the government to the American people for the first time (Cyberlearning). The US and North Vietnam reached a cease fire agreement on January 23, 1973. Vietnam was the first time the US as a country lost a war. Due to the reports that the media brought out, the public had a very negative reaction to the returning military. This was also the first war where Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, was common. PTSD causes someone, in this case a soldier in Vietnam, to recall painful or traumatic memories as well as heightening their levels of arousal, including anger. The loss also brought about change in our foreign policy, basically adopting a more hands off policy on other countries. Vietnam was a major learning experience for the US, but the number of people lost and the dishonorable tactics of Johnson left a bad taste in the mouth on the public.
Comparing the stats of WWII and Vietnam, both wars were very brutal. On both sides many good people lost their lives fighting, and many innocent people were lost as well. Lessons were learned at the expense of other countries. The losses overshadow the gains in many aspects. War may bring change but it also destroys lives and nations.
