Vietnam War

Vietnam War
Part of the	Cold War
Date	1 November 1955 - May 1971
Location	South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, South China Sea, Gulf of Thailand
Result	South Vietnam & USA victory
Deaths	1,326,494–4,249,494

The Vietnam War was a conflict involving the United States, between communist North Vietnam and the US-allied South Vietnam.

History

U.S. troops were sent to fight communism but they complained they were not being really supported by Washington, D.C. remaining undermanned and underfunded. They didn't view it as a real war, as until 1964 neither side engaged in a direct approach. Each side fought for a different reason, with the natives were fighting for their homes. Robert McNamara asked The Comedian to go there as a military advisor and a figurehead to inspire the troops. The Comedian joined Charlie Company and played a major role, ordering the first direct engagement against the Viet Cong. They also employed the help of drug-dealer Sal (one of the Comedian's old acquaintances) to sell drugs in the U.S. and fund the war.

In August, VC gunboats attacked U.S. destroyers such as USS Maddox in international waters. The troops believed that it was the chance they needed to escalate the war, but President Lyndon B. Johnson had no response. Dismayed, the Comedian led a mock attack against their own destroyers two days later, forcing the President to request the Congress to pass a resolution to take all necessary measures, and U.S. airplanes attacked gunboats and facilities in North Vietnam in reply. The war escalated.

The Comedian would continue to serve for an undetermined amount of time working for the government in Vietnam.

Back home, there were many protests against the war.

Footage of Doctor Manhattan in the Vietnam War.

The war has been won by the US, largely due to the deployment of Doctor Manhattan, who was used as a weapon since March 1971; the conflict was ended in only two months. Many of the communist forces express their desire to surrender to Manhattan personally, seeing him as some sort of deity. When Manhattan meets Blake there, he reflects on how "deliberately amoral" the man is, and that the conflict suits him.

It is in Vietnam's capital city, Saigon, in the closing days of the war, that the Comedian kills a young Vietnamese woman whom he had impregnated during a physical relationship. The woman is hurt and offended by Blake's desire to leave the country and her behind with no father for their child. She breaks a bottle and slashes his face; in his extreme anger, Blake shoots her while Manhattan, a witness, does nothing to prevent him.

Vietnam is later mentioned as becoming the 51st US state.

Trivia

• The Vietnam War was a conflict in Southeast Asia, beginning in 1955 and officially ending in 1975. It is generally regarded as a proxy war between the world's communist and capitalist superpowers, North Vietnam being supported by China and the Soviet Union while South Vietnam was supported by the United States. President John F. Kennedy began America's escalation of involvement in the conflict by sending military advisers and aid to South Vietnamese troops. In 1964, the now-debunked Gulf of Tonkin Incident was reported by the NSA, prompting Congress to authorize the deployment of US soldiers to Vietnam. Over 2.5 million American troops were deployed in total. The war was very unpopular with America's citizens, leading to many protests and infamously causing the Kent State massacre, in which four unarmed protesters were killed by United States service members. After repeated escalation by President Richard Nixon, the US withdrew its forces in 1973. South Vietnam's capital Saigon was captured in 1975, marking the end of the war and victory for the communist forces.