What do you know about the Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War was the first major conflict the

US got involved in after the Cold War.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

False. The Vietnam War is part of the Cold War. The US got involved in the war to contain communism.

Before the United States got involved in Vietnam, it was a colony of France.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

True. Vietnam has a long history of being controlled by foreign powers. China conquered Vietnam about a thousand years ago before the French occupied it.

The Vietnam War is similar to the Korean War in that both nations were divided between a democratic south and a communist north.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

True. These wars have very different outcomes, but have similar starting situations.

The draft was used for the first time in

American history during the Vietnam War.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

False. The Vietnam was the last time the draft was used. The “draft”, or conscription, was used in the Civil War, World War One, World War Two, The Korean War and several others.

The United States fought both the army of North Vietnam known as the Viet Minh and the rebels in South Vietnam called the Vietcong.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

True. This was an unconventional war, especially in the case of fighting the Vietcong who seemed to materialize out of the population suddenly to attack and then disappear. Historians call this “guerilla” warfare.

The Vietnam War was America’s longest war.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Depending on what you count for start and end dates, some sources will tell you the Vietnam War lasted as long 19 years. So for decades it was America's longest conflict. However in 2021 the war in Afghanistan became the longest war, reaching nearly 20 years.

More American soldiers died in Vietnam than in any other war.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

False. Measuring strictly military deaths…

Civil War = 620,000; WWII = 405,000; WWI = 117,000 & Vietnam = 58,000

However the media attention that soldier casualties received during the Vietnam War changed American perspectives on war itself.

America lost the Vietnam War.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Mostly true. US leaders tried to frame America’s exit from Vietnam as “peace with honor” in a 1973 treaty. But the reality was that North Vietnam broke the treaty (and US leaders knew they would) and conquered the south by 1975.

American veterans returning home from Vietnam were honored for their service with parades and government and community support programs that made their transition back to civilian life easy.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Mostly false. Soldiers did not return all at once and for many of them it was difficult to readjust after traumatic experiences in the war. The huge parades that greeted returning soldiers after World War II were not typical during the Vietnam War.

As a result of the Vietnam War millions of people in Southeast Asia were displaced. Many immigrated to the United States as an indirect result.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

True. While certainly not the only cause of migration to the US, the Vietnam War marks a turning point, in that most immigrants were not from Europe, but Asia and Latin America.