The Cold War was a significant period in global history and has massively shaped the current state of affairs in the world. Before this class, I had blurry ideas about the conflict and how this period has shaped the balance of power in the world, and how it influences current conflicts. The knowledge I had before this class was mostly acquired in high school and was only a brief overview of the military conflicts that defined the Cold War era. Without a deeper understanding of the cause, course, and effects of the Cold War, I had a limited appreciation of what the conflict meant to the people living in the countries involved. I have acknowledged that while the Cold War was unpopular in the US, it did, in fact, help the citizens of Vietnam, including my grandmother, by providing them with greater independence and opportunities for self-determination, as well as a better quality of life.
‘Cold War: A very short introduction’ by Robert McMahon has necessitated a better understanding of my family’s account of the Cold War better. My grandmother was born in Vietnam, and her account of the war has become better understood through the lens of history and politics upon reading and processing the book. I now understand why my grandmother shared few details about her experiences during the war in Vietnam, during a period when she was growing up. I now understand that the scanty details are due to the trauma she experienced during this part of her life and the potential damage it had on her. The reasons why the US spent so much time and resources in Vietnam are additional clarifications that have helped broaden my understanding of global politics. My understanding of the war was, additionally, previously grounded in the many movies I watched during that period. These films only focused on the fighting but offered minimal insights into the politics behind some of the fatal decisions made in Vietnam.
My grandmother was born in Binh Dinh Province but does not remember her exact year of birth owing to the turbulent times and tension in Vietnam then. Her family quickly disintegrated with the death of her mother and the decision to remarry by her father. Her childhood was filled with unimaginable atrocities, from siblings perishing in the rice famine without enough food to sustain themselves, to extreme poverty, to working in the rice fields as a young girl without the opportunity for education. Her father subsequently died when she was only five or six years old, and my grandmother was left with her stepmother, who showed minimal regard for her welfare and who quickly remarried soon after. My grandmother underwent abuse at the hands of her stepfather for years before her stepmother assisted her in escaping Binh Dinh Province. When she was only twelve or thirteen years old, she walked for three days to Saigon, where she first hand experienced the intrigues and effects of the Cold War. She tells me how she knocked on doors looking for work as a servant in exchange for room and board. She worked for many different families through her formative years, and many that treated her poorly. As she was entering adulthood at eighteen, a pastor’s family offered my grandmother accommodation to care for their young children. For the first time, she finally found a sense of belonging and family.
My grandmother and the pastor’s family would often have to go to the city for food and necessities. From Saigon, the city was only accessible by bus, and this route proved dangerous for everybody, including my grandmother. The Viet Cong would stop the buses and check the occupants, in addition to setting mines on the roads, which endangered the travelers. There were many times my grandmother said she escaped near certain death simply in an effort to reach the market for provisions for the family.
The United States made deliberate efforts to protect the city of Saigon because it was a strategic center for their victory in the war. McMahon notes that “The defense of Saigon, Secretary of State Dean Rusk frequently stressed, was just as important to the security of the ‘Free World’ as the defence of West Berlin” (McMahon 102). Saigon is the last city in South Vietnam, and losing the city meant the US would be pushed back into the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. My grandmother was caught in the middle of the efforts by both the Viet Cong and the US to conquer the city. McMahon notes that, “permitted those advisers to participate in combat operations against Viet Cong insurgents”. Her trips to the city were characterized by massive danger and experiences that may have traumatized her to the point of sharing minimal details to avoid reliving the experience. The potential of being stopped and murdered by the Viet Cong when the buses were stopped or being blown to pieces if they encountered the mines made the journey to the town more treacherous.
The involvement of the US in the Vietnam War was seen in contrasting ways by North and South Vietnam. The people of South Vietnam viewed the US as a protector against the aggression of the North and Viet Cong, with many of them receiving free supplies from the US troops and taking advantage of the opportunities it presented. Moreover, in McMahon’s book, it is argued that the US presence in Vietnam was beneficial to the overall position of the west in the Cold War and further helped ensure that communism did not infiltrate the South. This has widened my understanding of the US’s efforts to help the people of South Vietnam, and although the war was costly in terms of resources and personnel, the US was ultimately successful in providing the people with a safe and secure environment.
My grandmother, who lived in the southern city of Saigon, was one of these people and through the US involvement she was able to meet my grandfather and start a family. My grandmother’s story serves as an example of the opportunities that arose due to the US’s involvement in Vietnam. Through her, I can see the positive impact of the war on the lives of the South Vietnamese people, as it allowed them to gain greater independence and the chance to make decisions for themselves.
Previously, I viewed the involvement of the US in the war through the lens of personal familial evolution and the origin of my grandmother’s love story. The book has increased my scope so that as I personalize my grandmother’s experience during the war, I am additionally capable of appreciating the reasons for the actions. I realize that without the involvement of the US in the Cold War, my grandmother’s life would have been entirely different. Aunt Kim was born in Saigon in 1967, and her story is another experience close to my family. She was hidden in the floorboards of the church as she had green eyes during an era when light-eyed babies were seen as children of the enemy. McMahon highlights that “Between 1965 and 1968, the Johnson administration poured resources and men into South Vietnam” (McMahon 103). This action was aimed at protecting its people in the South from increased aggression, including my aunt. While the Cold War’s grandeur and its effects on global politics are highlighted, the experiences of the victims and survivors must be emphasized.
In conclusion, the Cold War had a major impact on global politics and, through my grandmother’s story, I can appreciate the positive effects the US involvement in the conflict had on the lives of the South Vietnamese people. It gave them the opportunity to gain greater independence and the chance to make decisions for themselves, as well as providing a more secure environment for them to live in. My understanding of the conflict has been broadened through literature, and I have come to realize that the US was ultimately successful in protecting the people of South Vietnam.
Works Cited
McMahon, Robert J. The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford; New York, Oxford University Press, 2003.
Schindler, Seth, and Jessica DiCarlo. “Towards a Critical Geopolitics of China‐US Rivalry: Pericentricity, Regional Conflicts and Transnational Connections.” Area, vol. 54, no. 4, 2022, pp. 638–645, Web.