10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Vietnam War
6. US Servicemen During The Vietnam War Were Not Largely From Poor Backgrounds... And Were Actually The Best-Educated American Forces In History
Films such as Forrest Gump have helped to create a stereotypical image of a US serviceman during the Vietnam War as being poor, uneducated and, more-often-than not, African-American - although in reality nothing could really be further from the truth. The proportion of African-Americans in the Armed Forces roughly matched their make-up of the population as a whole, as has already been mentioned, while the majority of soldiers were actually from middle-class backgrounds following the boom years of the 1950s and early-1960s across the USA. And, in terms of education, the forces in Vietnam were actually the best-educated group of men and women the USA had ever sent into war - with 79% having gained a high-school education or better. Quite often, stereotypes and myths can mask the reality of a situation.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
Films such as Forrest Gump have helped to create a stereotypical image of a US serviceman during the Vietnam War as being poor, uneducated and, more-often-than not, African-American - although in reality nothing could really be further from the truth. The proportion of African-Americans in the Armed Forces roughly matched their make-up of the population as a whole, as has already been mentioned, while the majority of soldiers were actually from middle-class backgrounds following the boom years of the 1950s and early-1960s across the USA. And, in terms of education, the forces in Vietnam were actually the best-educated group of men and women the USA had ever sent into war - with 79% having gained a high-school education or better. Quite often, stereotypes and myths can mask the reality of a situation.