10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Vietnam War
You weren't there, man - you weren't there.
The Vietnam War is one of the most-controversial military conflicts in American history and has inspired countless books, televisions series and, most-famously, cinema as a result. Films such as Forrest Gump, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, The Deer Hunter and We Were Soldiers - as well as the Rambo movies - have portrayed the warfare experienced during the Vietnam War, the fierce resistance and anti-war protests back on US soil, as well as the traumatic effects many soldiers suffered from the sickening conflict. Yet, just like all popular culture, these films have been inspired by the general myths and perceptions that exist about the Vietnam War - created by the media and via other ways in which the war has been portrayed. But it is dangerous to just take the stereotypes that have been linked to the Vietnam War as gospel - because in many cases they simply do not bear up to close scrutiny. Notwithstanding all the moral reasons as to why the US should never have gotten involved in the conflict, many misconceptions about it still exist. Common myths associated with this conflict that are simply untrue include that the majority of soldiers who died were African-American, that returning veterans were spat on by the American public, or that the US carried out the napalm atrocity that gave birth to one of the most-iconic and infamous images of the entire Vietnam War. Well, here are 10 reasons why you are wrong about the Vietnam War - even if you do believe it was a totally unjust and ridiculous conflict.