It is not a surprise that animals provide great aid to human living, and it was most evident during the Vietnam War. Both parties (the north and south of Vietnam) utilized these animals for jobs that humans and machines were not capable of doing. One particular animal that helped them traverse rivers and carry extremely heavy ammunition and supplies was the magnificent elephant.
In a strategic operation named “Operation Bathroom,” the U.S. Army Special Forces dropped two elephants to help a South Vietnamese village survive. It was such an iconic event that there was a movie adaptation entitled “Operation Dumbo Drop.”
The Great A-1 Sky-raider
Here is a photo of the A-1 Skyraider that was used by the U.S. Military during the Korean War a decade later, and it was deployed again for the Vietnam War as part of the operations in North Vietnam.
In the photo shown above, the A-1 Skyraider is seen in action as it drops two 500 lbs Napalm bombs on a pocket of Viet Cong troops. The U.S. troops lent the remaining Skyraiders for the South Vietnamese Airforce to use in battle. It was a single-seat, powerful aircraft that could pulverize cities in a matter of minutes.
The Active Marches
This image is of a female activist marching on the streets on December 26, 1966. She has a bandage on her mouth with the writing Vietnam on it. The protests against the war started on the streets and very fast escalated to other layers of society.
The street protests began with peace activists, then onto college campuses, and eventually achieved national prominence after the big 1965 bombing.
Live Entertainment
To provide much-needed distraction and entertainment to the war-torn soldiers, the government would invite U.S. military troops to concerts and other events by local performers. It was an effort to help these soldiers deal with the loss of their comrades and friends and the many other atrocities of war.
As the U.S. soldiers mingled with Vietnamese locals during these occasions, most of them started intimate relationships with Vietnamese women and went on to father children. Unfortunately, as some died in the war, and the U.S. government sent the others back to their country, these American/Vietnamese children never had the chance to meet their fathers.
When Two Ideologies Collide
As seen in the photo above, this is what happens when two equally strong forces collide. There was a big fight going on in this photo. While the U.S. military tactics included a massive amount of aerial bombardment attacks, the North Vietnamese Army commanded an air force from the Soviet Union, along with some Chinese planes.
All we can see here is the desolation of one country. There is a fire consuming everything in its wake, a used-to-be village now in ashes, and inhabitants that have either fled or met their demise at the hands of two opposing powers.