Vietnam War Turning Points

1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet offensive was a turning point because it raised a lot of questions about the war in the United states. The United states had nearly 500,000 troops in Vietnam and they were spending nearly 20 billion dollars a year on the war, so people wondered how the communists were able to pull off a major offensive that took the U.S. forces by surprise. Also, the United states and South Vietnamese used heavy artillery and air power, that resulted in many Vietnamese civilian deaths, and the ancient city of Hue being destroyed. It was a turning point because the U.S.A. realized that what they were doing was against what they believed in and they were not being fair or they did not know what they were fighting for anymore.


2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
No, source 51 and source 52 are very different in their points about the My Lai massacre. Source 51 was written by Ronald Ridenhour, who was appalled with what had gone on at My Lai, he compared it to the work of Nazis, and how innocent women and children were slaughtered. Ridenhour claimed that young American men went to Vietnam to serve as soldiers and to be courageous, not to take away innocent lives. In source 52, Lieutenant Calley claims that he was in My Lai to fight communism, and not to kill humans. The two sources vary greatly because one is stating how the My Lai massacre was a disaster in the war, while the other is stating that the My Lai massacre was a part of the war and it led to the effort of trying to end communism.



3. Why do you think it took 12 months for
anyone to do anything about the massacre?
In my opinion, I believed that the My Lai massacre was covered up by Calley and some other members of the Charlie company. Nobody came forward before twelve months because they were instructed and ordered not to by their generals and lieutenants. I believe that it got covered up because Calley knew that he committed a serious crime and the military would pay greatly for having murdered innocent people. Calley did not want the My Lai massacre to be exploited so he covered it up and made his soldiers believe they did well, until one soldier got a hold off the news and realized what the Americans were doing was very wrong.


4. Why was the massacre so shocking to
the American public?
The American people were so shocked by the massacre because they thought the U.S. military was in Vietnam to strictly try and end communism and fight the Viet Cong. The public believed that the only ones dieing were those who opposed the U.S. army and fought against them. The people of the United states were shocked because they realized innocent people were dieing at the cost of the U.S. and the U.S. was killing people that did not deserve to be killed and it was appalling to them.