Women and the US War in Vietnam

Women on all sides of the US war in Vietnam pushed for an end to the conflict. At a time of renewed feminist fervor, women stepped outside conventional gender roles by publicly speaking out, traveling to a war zone, and entering the male-dominated realm of foreign affairs. Even so, some claimed to stand squarely within the boundaries of womanhood as they undertook such unusual activities. Some American women argued that, as mothers or sisters of soldiers and draft-age men, they held special insight into the war. They spoke of their duty to their families, communities, and nation to act in untraditional, but nevertheless feminine, ways. But women did not act uniformly. Some joined the military as nurses or service personnel to help in the war effort, while others protested the war and served as draft counselors. By the end of the war, some anti-war protestors developed feminist critiques of US involvement in Vietnam that pointed to the war as a symptom of an unjust society that prioritized military dominance over social welfare. As in wars past, the US war in Vietnam created upheavals in gender roles, and as nurses, mothers, lovers, officers, entertainers, and activists, women created new spaces in a changing society.

Facilitated news as controlled information flows: The origins, rationale and dilemmas of ‘embedded’ journalism

Pacific Journalism Review – Te Koakoa ◽

10.24135/pjr.v17i1.374 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 102-118

Author(s):

Paul G Buchanan

Keyword(s):

Public Support ◽

News Coverage ◽

Home Front ◽

Media Access ◽

War Narrative ◽

Us Military ◽

The Us ◽

War Effort ◽

Security Guarantees ◽

The article traces the origins, rationale and some of the dilemmas that have emerged in the practice of ‘embedded’ journalism. It argues that the practice emerged as a post-Vietnam response by the US military to the ‘problem’ of independent news coverage of conflicts in which the US was involved. For the post-Vietnam US military, independent news coverage was problematic because it often contradicts the official war narrative and, if left unhindered, undermines public support for the war effort. Since public support is crucial for success in a foreign war, particularly during lengthy engagements, independent news coverage is seen as a threat to the unity of the home front and therefore a threat to the war effort itself. The lesson learned from Vietnam was to restrict independent media access to battle zones, first by denying all access and withdrawing security guarantees to journalists operating in conflict theaters, and then by providing privileged but controlled access to front line units via the practice of facilitated news-gathering known as ‘embedded journalism’. As it turns out, even that practice has a downside, and there is more to the story than the military desire to control the narrative.

Yugoslav diplomacy and the Greek coup d’État of 1967

Balcanica ◽

10.2298/balc1950397d ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 397-425

Author(s):

Ljubodrag Dimic

Keyword(s):

Relevant Information ◽

Great Powers ◽

Foreign Affairs ◽

Eastern European ◽

Left Wing ◽

Coup D'etat ◽

The Press ◽

The Military ◽

Near Future ◽

Intensive conversations with members of political parties, closely reading the press, talks with other foreign diplomats, analytical evaluations of many individual events and their contextualization in the wider picture of the situation in Greece allowed Yugoslav diplomats to accurately assess the situation in the country, identify the potential of the military junta and the centers of putschist support in Greece and abroad, follow their showdown with left-wing and democratic options, recognize the ambitions of the putschist regime and the nature of their dictatorship, have insight into the situation of the opposition, make out te contours of a possible state-political system, monitor relations with neighboring countries, closely follow the regime?s position to the Macedonian minority, follow the moves of the monarch, assess the permanence of compromises, observe the pressure of the international public and the controversial behavior of the Great Powers, and offer prognoses of the course of events in the near future. Yugoslav diplomats collected some of the relevant information on the situation in Greece in other capitals (London, Ankara, Nicosia, Paris?). This information contributed to a wider evaluation of the existing circumstances and a sharper picture of the developments in Greece. The general opinion was that the Yugoslav diplomats were much better informed and more agile than their counterparts from other Eastern European counties, who were seen as ?slow?, ?unsure?, ??onfused?, ?contradictory? and so on. In the days and months following the coup, the Yugoslav diplomatic mission in Athens was a center where many came to be informed, consult with their peers, verify their assessments and hear Belgrade?s views. Besides the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, collected information was sent to Josip Broz Tito, Edvard Kardelj, Koca Popovic, Mijalko Todorovic, Marko Nikezic, Ivan Gosnjak, Petar Stambolic and Ivan Miskovic.

African Americans

Kentucky and the Great War ◽

10.5810/kentucky/9780813168012.003.0010 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

David J. Bettez

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Civil Rights ◽

Federal Food ◽

The Us ◽

War Effort ◽

American Resident ◽

Right To Vote ◽

The Right ◽

This chapter discusses the dilemma of African Americans: whether to support a war to make America safe for democracy, even though they were often denied civil rights and democratic freedoms such as the right to vote. Louisville African American resident and newspaperman Roscoe Conklin Simmons supported the US entry into the war and tried to rally Kentucky blacks to the war effort. Black newspaper publisher Phil Brown of Hopkinsville was also active in this endeavor. He initially assisted federal food administrator Fred Sackett in food conservation efforts and then turned his attention to garnering and organizing black support for other war-support activities. This included African Americans who joined the military, many of whom trained at Camp Taylor. The chapter includes the experiences of Austin Kinnaird, a white officer from Louisville who commanded black troops, and Charles Lewis, a black soldier still in uniform when he was lynched in Fulton County a month after the armistice.

Contestation and Politicization of Security and Defence Policy

The Democratic Politics of Military Interventions ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198846796.003.0003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 37-63

Author(s):

Wolfgang Wagner

Keyword(s):

Vietnam War ◽

Foreign Affairs ◽

Democratic Politics ◽

Military Interventions ◽

Congressional Voting ◽

Us Congress ◽

The Us ◽

The Government ◽

The Cold War ◽

Votes in parliament reveal the degree to which foreign affairs are contested and politicized. Data from the US Congress since its first session in 1789 confirm the established narrative that foreign affairs have become politicized since the Vietnam War but also qualify the politicization narrative by showing that post-Vietnam levels of contestation are far from unusual if compared to the first 150 years of Congressional voting. While levels of contestation vary, foreign affairs have never been fully exempted from democratic politics. An analysis of voting behaviour in the German and the Dutch parliament confirm that democratic politics does indeed not stop at the water’s edge. A new dataset of deployment votes in eleven countries shows that dissent is also common in votes on military interventions but also highlights differences across countries. In many countries, the government is successful in building a broad coalition in support of the military intervention in question. The rising numbers of deployment votes indicate that military interventions have gained in saliency since the end of the Cold War.

Portrayal of Nurses in the Lyrics of the Music During World War I

International Journal of Studies in Nursing ◽

10.20849/ijsn.v6i3.924 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 33

Author(s):

Kelley H. Pattison

Keyword(s):

World War I ◽

Point Of View ◽

Red Cross ◽

World War ◽

Us Army ◽

The Public ◽

The Us ◽

War Effort ◽

Music Lyrics ◽

Purpose: The study explores the description of nurses serving with the US Army and the American Red Cross during World War I as described in a collection of sheet music. The purpose was to identify themes within the lyrics which describe how the nurse was viewed at the time.Background: Analyzing the description of nurses who served during World War I allows the present-day reader insight into how they were perceived by the soldiers they cared for and the public. The contrast between the two types of songs; those written from the point of view of the soldiers and songs written from the point of view of the public, provides an insight into the depiction of the nurses.Method: Thematic analysis was used to review a collection of songs (N=29) for themes and examples of how nurses were described in the music lyrics of World War I music. Library of Congress music archives is the repository of the music reviewed.Findings and conclusions: The song lyrics from the soldiers' point of view describe these women as beautiful, selfless angels, and much like their mothers back home. The lyrics from the public's point of view describe the nurses as one who does her part for the war effort, one who doesn't get enough praise, and a woman of courage. Many songs ask God to save the nurse. Looking back 100 years later, it is interesting to see how the nurse was a revered member of the US war effort during World War I.

The Traditions and Travails of Career Diplomacy in the United States

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy ◽

10.1163/187119111x583978 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (3-4) ◽

pp. 433-450

Author(s):

Thomas Hanson

Keyword(s):

The United States ◽

Us Foreign Policy ◽

Foreign Affairs ◽

Global Trends ◽

Department Of State ◽

Us Military ◽

Historical Factors ◽

The Us ◽

The Face ◽

The US Department of State has embarked on a significant expansion of personnel, yet still grapples with the consequences of severe cutbacks in the 1990s that now hamper its ability to fulfill more expeditionary tasks in the wake of 9/11. Historical factors slowed the development of career diplomacy in the US up to 1924, and in recent decades the State Department has been impacted by greater Congressional assertiveness in foreign affairs, an expanded role for other US agencies and the military, and increased security restrictions in the face of terrorist threats. Numerous studies have called for a greater emphasis on civilian diplomacy amid US military involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan. Current US strategy documents evoke a ‘whole of government’ approach to nation-building as the primary context for devoting more resources to diplomacy and development. Over time, however, global trends toward multi-polarity and US fiscal limitations may require a more fundamental re-evaluation of the role and importance of career diplomacy in US foreign policy.

Disorder and Discipline

Shades of Green ◽

10.5422/fordham/9780823276592.003.0006 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Ryan W. Keating

Keyword(s):

Political Issues ◽

Military Justice ◽

Citizen Soldiers ◽

War Effort ◽

Mass Organization ◽

The Military ◽

This chapter supports the broader argument against relying on an ethnic-specific narrative to analyze Irish American service. The politics and discipline within these regiments reflected the realities of the mass organization of men into citizen soldiers. Understanding military justice in Irish regiments shows how these units operated on the day-to-day basis. This focus allows the experiences of these soldiers to be contextualized as part of the broader war effort. Their experiences in maneuvering the systems of rank and military courts transcends ethnicity and yields fascinating insight into how these men behaved under wartime conditions. All three regiments in this study suffered, to some degree, from disorder. But this was typical within the larger context of the military justice, especially where circumstances promoted such behavior. Volunteers often understood their relationships with fellow soldiers personally rather than within the context of the broader social or political issues of the period.

International inclusiveness

International Social Work ◽

10.1177/002087280004300403 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 43 (4) ◽

pp. 435-451 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

AnaMaria Goicoechea-Balbona ◽

Enrique Conill-Mendoza

Keyword(s):

Cold War ◽

Civil Society ◽

Social Work ◽

Social Welfare ◽

Human Services ◽

Social Work Students ◽

Social Events ◽

The Us ◽

The Cold War ◽

This article looks at past and present relations between the US and Cuba. Social work students, practitioners and faculty will gain insight into the historical and social events that have led to present-day confrontations. After the end of the cold war, Cuba implemented substantial changes to build civil society. The authors believe that these freedoms are irreversible and will lead Cuba to a greater acceptance of US contributions in the fields of human services, social welfare and social work. The traveler to Cuba should benefit from this succinct account, full of keen personal observations of Cuba today.

Plowshares to Swords and Back

Mechanical Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.2005-jul-3 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 127 (07) ◽

pp. 34-36

Author(s):

Harry Hutchinson

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Automotive Industry ◽

Air Transportation ◽

World War ◽

Love Affair ◽

The Great Depression ◽

The Us ◽

War Effort ◽

The Military ◽

Indirect Route

This article reviews the military buildup of World War II that led to victory and, by an indirect route, to a richer world. The creation of the US armaments industry is breathtaking for the speed with which it developed. After the surprise attack at the close of 1941, it did not take much time for the country to respond. Shocked by a sneak attack, Americans were able to put their love affair with the car on hold to make war machines. The entire US automotive industry converted its plants to the war effort, and much of that industrial might was devoted to building airplanes. Technologies developed for the war were quickly given civilian uses. After years of rationing and the Great Depression before that, there was plenty of demand stored up. GPS today keeps watch on truck fleets, tracks stolen cars, and serves a multitude of other civilian uses that save lives, property, and money. The Predator and other unpiloted aerial vehicles are believed to represent the future of commercial air transportation.

Tactical Tactility: Warfare, Gender, and Cultural Intelligence

Catalyst Feminism Theory Technoscience ◽

10.28968/cftt.v2i1.28831 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Isra Ali

Keyword(s):

Cultural Intelligence ◽

Gender Segregation ◽

Cultural Practice ◽

Public And Private ◽

Women In The Military ◽

Engagement Strategies ◽

War Zone ◽

The Us ◽

Gendered Roles ◽

The participation of women in the landscape of warfare is increasingly visible; nowhere is this more evident than in the US military’s global endeavors. The US military’s reliance on cultural intelligence in its conceptualization of engagement strategies has resulted in the articulation of specific gendered roles in warfare. Women are thought to be particularly well suited to non-violent tactile engagements with civilians in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan because of gender segregation in public and private spaces. Women in the military have consequently been able to argue for recognition of their combat service by framing this work in the war zone as work only women can do. Women reporters have been able to develop profiles as media producers, commentators, and experts on foreign policy, women, and the military by producing intimate stories about the lives of civilians only they can access. The work soldiers and reporters do is located in the warzone, but in the realms of the domestic and social, in the periods between bursts of violent engagement. These women are deployed as mediators between civilian populations in Afghanistan and Iraq and occupying forces for different but related purposes. Soldiers do the auxiliary work of combat in these encounters, reporters produce knowledge that undergirds the military project. Their work in combat zones emphasizes the interpersonal and relational as forms of tactile engagement. In these roles, they are also often mediating between the “temporary” infrastructure of the war zone and occupation, and the “permanent” infrastructure of nation state, local government, and community. The work women do as soldiers and reporters operates effectively with the narrative of militarism as a means for liberating women, reinforcing the perception of the military as an institution that is increasingly progressive in its attitudes towards membership, and in its military strategies. When US military strategy focuses on cultural practice in Arab and Muslim societies, commanders operationalize women soldiers in the tactics of militarism, the liberation of Muslim women becomes central in news and governmental discourses alike, and the notion of “feminism” is drawn into the project of US militarism in Afghanistan and Iraq in complex ways that elucidate how gender, equality, and difference, can be deployed in service of warfare.