Vietnam War Turning Points

Using your knowledge gained from previous readings in the Vietnam War reading, answer the following questions.

Title: Vietnam War Turning Points Labels: Vietnam_War, Vietcong, Tet_Offensive, My_Lai_Massacre

The assignment is due by 3:10 on Wednesday.

1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet Offensive was a turning point because after it, the American side began losing support for the war.


2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
No, source 51 emphasizes the horror of the soldiers involved the the My Lai Massacre and compares the actions of it to the actions of Nazis. Source 51 defends the massacre saying that the objective was not to kill the people and that the massacre was just another way to kill the ideology of communism.


3. Why do you think it took 12 months for
anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think that people were probably afraid to report Calley. Also, many soldiers may to have wanted to come to terms with what had actually happened at My Lai, preferring to forget what had happened.


4. Why was the massacre so shocking to
the American public?
The massacre was so shocking to the american public because it was very clear evidence that the war in vietnam had gone horribly wrong. Before the massacre, it still seemed like maybe everything the US was doing was for the bigger cause of defeating communism, but the massacre seemed to prove that this was not the case; civilians including women child and old men were all killed at the massacre for no reason except viciousness and that shocked the american public deeply.