To some, including Christin Appy, the Vietnam War could be seen as a “working-class war.” This is mainly because of the class make-up of those serving in the Vietnam War. Of the American troops serving in the war, about 80 percent were from working-class and lower income backgrounds with only 20 percent coming from white-collar families (McMahon 251, 258). Considering that 44 percent of the American male population worked white-collar jobs, it’s clear that the troop demographics were imbalanced to favor enlisting more working-class soldiers. Additionally, Appy highlights how the American sentiment towards class pervaded the military in addition to the workforce, with lower classes doing the nation’s “dirty work” in both instances, and their efforts being underappreciated (McMahon 252). Even among the upper-class workers who enlisted or were drafted, many were able to be assigned non-combat jobs (McMahon 260).
Compared to previous wars the U.S. had fought in, troops became significantly demoralized for a multitude of reasons listed by Gerard DeGroot. One of these reasons is the lack of combat training specific to Vietnam combat (McMahon 261). Although American troops were very highly trained, they were mostly trained for war in Eastern Europe, and as the opposition in Vietnam mainly utilized guerilla warfare, the American troops were underprepared. In addition to not being trained for combat in Vietnam, troops also lost morale because their equipment was not made for the climate (McMahon 262). The standard firearms were very susceptible to the climate in Vietnam. Perhaps the most damaging aspect of Vietnam combat to the American military’s morale, however, was the number of traps and the resulting deaths from them (McMahon 263). Due to the imperceptibility of camouflaged stake traps, American troops had a constant fear of falling into one at every step. Back home, support for the war diminished greatly, and it became increasingly difficult for soldiers to fight knowing that the people back home weren’t grateful for their efforts (McMahon 267). The erosion of morale caused friction between soldiers who wanted to stop fighting the war, and those who enjoyed the war or at the very least supported it (McMahon 270).
I’m not very familiar with the modern U.S. military, but I would still say that a class divide likely exists in the military service. The military gets many members through ROTC which pays for college expenses, and many lower income individuals are drawn to this benefit. Many higher income families wouldn’t necessarily consider ROTC for helping pay for college as they have more options in that regard, but ROTC might be one of the few options for working-class and lower income families to pay for higher education. This likely increases the class divide in the military service, but I am unsure by how much. In general, military advertisements are known to target individuals with unstable financial positions, and many of these lower income individuals see military service as a better option than higher income individuals do.
Will Wright 