Vietnam- A Striking Campaign of Colonialism

This is the Vietnamese flag present day and was adopted in 1955 and was the north Vietnamese sides flag only for a certain period of time but now for the whole country.

The Vietnamese actually have a president present day and had one in the past

HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE PRESENT PRESIDENT OF VIETNAM TO THE LEFT

The Vietnamese had a very large and powerful army and currently they still do

Below is a timeline of events of what was happening in Vietnam in that particular time period

BELOW

The French Foreign Legion arrive to explore Vietnam.

Personal Narrative

CAMOUFLAGED GUN

Luis Valdez

World Studies

12/3/12

CAMOUFLAGED GUN

This fictional story is going to take place in south Vietnam with a man named anh dung and tells a story through his eyes during the Vietnam war period 1959-1975. I was born before the Vietnam war or in vietnam we called it the “american war” and I was born on august first 1945. I was raised in south Vietnam and was born into a family of farmers that harvested rice. As a young boy I always wanted to be a soldier whenever dad would take me to go farm I would always play soldier with a stick, dad always saw that I wasn't a farmer but rather a soldier. So it was 1960 I grew into a teenager I was 15 going on 16 and wanted to be a soldier and enlist to be a private and I anh dung would always argue with father about being one but father would always reply I need you on the farm to help its hard enough with your mother death plus you're too young to be a soldier. One day I was picking lettuce in the fields far away and saw some soldiers and high ranking ones coming on our land and one came up to me and said “May I please to speak to your father”? and I responded and said “ certainly I will go fetch him” so I went into our little house and called out “father some men or soldiers are looking for you” and he said “where are they”? I responded saying “in the front” then my father started to go towards the soldiers and told me “Go back to the fields and continue working I will join you soon”. So I went back to the fields and watched my father negotiate or talk to the soldiers then suddenly they started screaming saying “YOU HAVE TO GIVE US THIS LAND OR YOU'LL PAY”!! So father kept arguing with the soldiers then finally one of the soldiers brought out his camouflaged pistol and pointed it at father and said “THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE LEAVE OR DIE”!!!!! At this point I ran toward my father and begged father to leave but he just stood there not saying a word I always knew my father was honorable but not this honorable! My father finally spoke and told me “ Back away anh dung this is not your fight” So I backed off and then father told the soldiers “ this land has been in my family for generations and generations my father owned it his father and the father before I do not intend for it to be taken from you scum and be turned into a base for your personal use” !!!! So the soldier once again lifted his green and brown camouflaged pistol and fired it right at my fathers stomach three times and with the other soldiers walked away like if nothing had happened I yelled FATHERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ran to his side and he said very silently like if he had a very sore throat “I love you” and that was the last word I had ever heard from my father. Some men came the next morning and took fathers body away and buried him, I cried for days and days and even when I was supposed to be asleep I cried it took about a month before I could finally sleep without crying. Finally the men came and took the land and I gathered as much possessions as I could and left but before leaving the soldier that killed my father smiled at me and gave me the gun he used and did not say a word. I now homeless and no other choice but try to enlist and fake my age and say I was at least eighteen so I enlisted and was now in the south Vietnamese army and an ally of the united states. As I sat in my bunk I was remembering things that have happened and I slowly remembered everything like were it all started: say it all started when he United States established diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the 1950s following its limited independence within the French Union France continued to oversee Vietnam's defense and foreign policy. In 1975 the U.S closed its Embassy and evacuated all Embassy personnel just prior to South Vietnam's surrender to North Vietnamese forces Or so they say I thought. finally After being in the military for over twenty years I still remember that day because of one thing, that green brownish camouflaged gun and how they murdered my father, and I catch myself sometimes just sitting there and staring into it remembering...........

Vocabulary Terms

Domino Theory -

The domino theory was a theory during the 1950s to 1980s, promoted at times by the government of the united states that speculated that if one state in a region came under the influence of communism

Five-Year Plan -

In 1961 the government launched the first Five-Year Plan to develop heavy industry. By the middle of the decade war with the United States diverted resources from industrial development and stalled these efforts. The agricultural sector required immediate attention since food was in chronically short supply. This, as well as the need to win over the rural population, seemed to demand land reform. In 1955 the government launched a program to confiscate land from wealthy landlords for redistribution.

Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution -

On August 4, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced that two days earlier, U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin had been attacked by the North Vietnamese. Johnson dispatched U.S. planes against the attackers and asked Congress to pass a resolution to support his actions. The joint resolution “to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast

Ngo Dinh Diem -

The first president of the republic was ngo dinh diem and hes involved in the ousting of the emperor and who adopted an authoritarian approach to ruling the country. President Kennedy was planning to remove him out of office but Diem was suddenly assassinated without order.

Paris Peace Accords -

Despite the massive outlay of lives and materiél to resist the North Vietnamese, after the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 1973 as a result of the Paris Accord, the capture of Saigon in 1975 seems to have been inevitable.In January 1973, after several rounds of peace talks, the Paris Peace Accords ended U.S. involvement.

Critical Thinking Questions

Compare and contrast Vietnam (present day) with Nipomo Ca.

Can you write in your own words if you think the Vietnam war was worth for the United States to get involved? And why?

Click here for more info on Vietnam

Click here for just the facts

Click here for more info on the government of Vietnam.

Click here for even more info on the Vietnam government and relations with the U.S

Vietnam- A Striking Campaign of Colonization: Government