Entry 9

I chose to read Larry Heinemann’s story because he’s a Vietnam veteran and after completing the project about Vietnam I wanted to hear a veteran’s perspective. Larry said, “I went there scared and came back bitter. Everybody knows it was a waste.” This was interesting because the veteran who talked to our class said he thinks the US was right to be fighting in the war, but Larry disagrees and thinks the war was pointless. Larry went on to say the American people and the soldiers didn’t understand why they were fighting, which also differs from what our class speaker said. When I first heard the speaker’s opinion I thought all soldiers might also feel like the war was worth fighting, but Larry’s disapproval showed me that there were different views among the soldiers. Larry even said that he was sorry he didn’t get involved with any antiwar movement. If a soldier who had seen the war in Vietnam first-hand opposed it, then I think there’s a strong case against the war. Usually war veterans are welcomed home by Americans and are proud to have fought, but Larry came out of the war opposing it. This shows how different the Vietnam War was from other wars fought by America. Larry said, “Vietnam veterans took a lot of shit from World War Two people.” Even past veterans didn’t approve of what Vietnam veterans did. Many Americans, including veterans, didn’t believe in the war or the things the US was fighting for. In the textbook it said that this war started an era of cynicism, and it’s easy to understand why, considering how many people didn’t want the Vietnam War to occur. From what I’ve learned about the Vietnam War, I don’t think the US should have entered it, and a veteran makes me more certain of my opinion.
I read Joseph Lattimore’s story because I wanted to learn the views of an African American person because it’s hard to analyze civil rights issues as a white person. Joseph said when he was young, “I didn’t know one white from another.” This was interesting because when we read about the opinions of white people during the civil rights movement, they all saw people of different races as a group, rather than as individuals. Joseph said that it was the same way for him, so everyone tended to generalize and view other people based solely on their race. Joseph reminded me of Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “Why should I go and fight for something that I don’t have on my own?” MLK also pointed out the irony of the situation in which Americans had to fight for freedom that they couldn’t even enjoy. I disagreed with something else Joseph said, though. He said, “It’s kind of like Jews being made to celebrate Hitler. That’s the way black people have to celebrate slaveowners of our past.” I understand why he might feel some resentment towards slaveowners, but I found this comparison to be untrue and somewhat offensive.