The American War in Vietnam is one of the most divisive conflicts is one of the most divisive conflicts in American history as it divided American society into two sections one for the war and one against the war, and its repercussions are still being felt today in Vietnam and its neighboring countries. The Human cost of the Vietnam War was enormous with 50,000 American troops dying and 150,000 injured, over 1.1 million North Vietnamese troops dying and 200,000 South Vietnamese dying taking the total death of Vietnamese soldiers to over 2 million. A high percentage of American Vietnam War veterans suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) with many resorting to substance abuse and suicide as they were not able to readjust to civilian life after the war was over. Overall the repercussions of the war was felt on both sides with America losing the war and Vietnam suffering from ecological damage, psychological damage, and human cost.
Consequences of the Vietnam War
Environmental Impact: Vietnam suffered heavy environmental damage due to America’s usage of toxic chemicals, Napalm, and Agent Orange against North Vietnamese soldiers which led to vast areas of forest and croplands being permanently poisoned and barren, also due to the poisoning of the soil because of Agent Orange many people who were exposed to it suffer from horrific deformities and health effects.
Agent Orange was sprayed by US forces to destroy jungles and uncover the enemy’s hiding places
Economic Impact: The Vietnam War had a tremendous economic burden on both countries, The US spent trillions of Dollars in the war leading to economic woes in the country and Vietnam suffered from a lack of economic growth pushing much of the country into poverty due to the destruction of infrastructure, over the years the American economy has recovered from the war but the Vietnamese Economy till date remains poor depending on tourism and foreign aid to sustain itself.
Dangerous Environment: In the Vietnam War America dropped more bombs on Vietnam and its neighboring countries than the entire WW2 combined and among those almost 300,000 tons of bombs and 35 million landmines to date are buried in Vietnam and Laos, still active. Vietnam and Laos still suffer from UXO-related deaths and some estimates state that it will take another 100 years to clear all the UXOs in Vietnam and Laos. The deaths caused by UXO are mainly of Children who by no fault of there’s pick up unexploded cluster bombs or step on them which then explode killing them or maiming them, The United States has not been contributing enough to clean up this mess and has contributed next nothing especially since all this was America’s fault in the first place, Currently with the number of UXOs scattered all over Vietnam and Laos the fields and forest are a death trap to those villagers who livelihood depends on them
A boy stands in front of a house built on bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xiengkhouang province, Laos. Jorge Silva/REUTERS
Political Legacy: after the Vietnam War the people of The United States of America lost trust in their government due to the high casualty count and America lost its credibility abroad whereas Vietnam was reunified under one communist government, the debate is still on as some people believe that the war was a necessary evil to contain the spread of Communism in South-East Asia while others believe that it was a pointless war which led to unnecessary death and suffering.
In the end, due to the war, the consequences were felt on both sides, on one hand, America was reeling from the psychological impact the war had on its veterans and Vietnam was heavily dependent on foreign aid and the rising tensions the war created between the communist government and the ethnic Chinese Minorities. The Vietnam War was a defining moment in both the country’s history and continues to influence it to date It is important to remember the cost of war and countries should work towards not committing the same mistakes and prevent conflicts in the future for the benefit of their people.
