There were more than 57,000 U.S. soldiers killed in the Vietnam War. On January 30, 1968, the North Vietnam army overran Saigon, making a daring predawn attack on the United States Embassy. On November 30, 1969, newspapers reported that U.S. Army troops had massacred up to six hundred men, women, and children in a remote village called my Lai. Opposition to the war grew from many quarters, as the nation began to take a hard look at the United States' involvement in Vietnam. (The Psychedelic '60s) Many young men were being drafted into service for the Vietnam War each year and many did not want to go. Many fled to Canada where refuge was offered.
Some of Mike William's families relatives were killed in the Vietnam War. His father remembers how hard it was to see his friends go off to war knowing that they most likely wouldn't come back the same. Luckily his father never had to fight in the war. Everyday he was worried that he might get drafted into the war. His father and his friends used to sit around and discuss how bad it would be to get drafted. Lucky for his father the draft lottery was enacted before he was drafted. Mike Smith's grandparents saw amnesty to "Conscientious Objectors" who fled the country as unfair. His grandmother expressed though, if it were her son, she's not so sure she would feel the same.
Ryan Owens father had a tumor that he had surgery on in the hospital. This kept him from being drafted into the war. A lot of people tried to think of excuses to get our of fighting in the Vietnam War. Many people look back at the war and feel bitter and angry. Those who fought in Vietnam, dislike talking about it, because they think they failed.
At the time of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, United States military forces in Vietnam numbered less than 15,000. Under President Lyndon Johnson the numbers grew dramatically, and by 1966 more than 500,000 troops were deployed in the area. (The Psychedelic '60's)