The Price for Glory: Was Their Sacrifice for Honor or Just Another Tale of Shame?

Why has military service been normalized as a one-way ticket for a lifetime supply of security and glory? Or, was this all a recruiting tactic? The Vietnam War is still a war in the U.S. that is glossed over and vaguely discussed in the capacity of its failures. More than that, the demographic of who fought in this war is sometimes not addressed in depth, almost like they are trying to bury the shame and devastation that links the U.S. to Vietnam. According to Christian Appy, the Vietnam War should really be considered a “working-class war” because serving was most promoted to individuals who were of the working/lower class in the U.S. Appy even discusses how this narrative was pushed by certain institutions who “directed working-class children to the armed forces and their wealthier peers toward college” (Appy 252). The war unfairly affected men from lower-income families, particularly those who lacked the financial means or educational access to defer service. The draft was not an equal call to arms; it was a system that ensured the burden of war was carried by those with the least power to resist it. Some of these enlistees were minorities, yet the extent of their service remains under-documented. If their sacrifices were real, why weren’t their numbers accurately recorded? The war demanded everything from them, but history has failed to fully acknowledge their role. 

By the late 1960s, U.S. troops in Vietnam were exhausted—not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Gerard DeGroot explains that morale collapsed because the war offered no clear victories—even saying that, “The majority of American infantrymen who lost their lives in Vietnam were killed by enemy ambushes, booby traps, and mines” (262). They were told they were fighting to stop the spread of communism, but their enemy was always dictating where their battles were fought. Many Vietnamese civilians even viewed the U.S. military as intruders rather than protectors. When winning seemed impossible and survival was the only real goal, the war lost any meaning to fight for. 

This collapse in morale didn’t just break soldiers down individually, it also drove deep wedges between the soldiers. With no sense of purpose and no faith in leadership, many turned to drugs just to make it through the day; and “By 1971, it was estimated that one in four American soldiers in Vietnam was a heroin addict” (DeGroot 262). Others took their frustration out on their own officers, even engaging in an act called “fragging”—an intentional act of violence—often explosive—towards other soldiers or officers (DeGroot 267). But even deeper than the rage against leadership were the racial tensions that had always existed, now brought to the battlefield. Black and Hispanic soldiers, already treated as second-class citizens back home, were expected to fight for freedoms abroad that they weren’t granted themselves. How could there be unity when some soldiers were seen as more expendable than others? How could they be asked to die for a nation that refused to see their worth? The Vietnam War was more than a military disaster—it was proof that America’s divisions could not be ignored, even in war.

Class division still exists within U.S. military service today, it never went away. Before enrolling in college, I seriously considered enlisting in the United States Marine Corps, since I thought there was a chance it could provide me opportunities and stability for after I served the four-year term. Like many who fall within the working/lower-class economic bracket in the U.S., I was taught to believe this was one of the only options available to people in the same circumstances I was in. Reading these essays really put into perspective how misleading and manipulative this information was—and still is. In fact, look no further than the disregard being shown to U.S. veterans today, especially with the federal funding and employee cuts happening. “Thank you for your service” but now we won’t provide the same service to you. “Thank you for protecting our rights,” but don’t think this protection applies to you. I guess this goes to show the way society continues to perpetuate a system that exploits those at the bottom while offering empty praise. No one is safe, not even “America’s Bravest.”