The Vietnam War

What You Need to Know

The Vietnam War and The Outsiders. How do they relate? Oh, yes, both took place in the Sixties—we know that. (Unless you’re one of those ficcers who decided it would be ‘cool’ to stick a cell phone in 1966 America. Then you’ve obviously been living under a rock since you read the book. Or you just did not read the book, period. I’ll go with the latter.) But how do they relate, really? Though S.E. Hinton did not write a sequel to The Outsiders, she did have a few brief plans in mind for some of the characters following the book. One of them involved Sodapop being drafted to fight in Vietnam. That little piece of information right there is your capillary to the artery and vein. It is revealed that not only was he drafted, but he also died there just before his nineteenth birthday. We do not know how, we just know that he died, the most logical assumption being that he was probably killed in action. Rob Lowe himself discusses this in the extended version DVD; he was informed of this idea as a means of bettering his connection with the character he was portraying.

So, let’s cut to the chase. Luckily, the topic of Vietnam in this fandom has not yet been overdone, and the writers who have covered it so far, in one way or another, have done a fairly fine job with it. However, as with anything in this fandom, you are going to get those ‘writers’ who just don’t care about what they’re writing, especially involving historical accuracy. Obviously, if you’re going to write something that involves Vietnam, you’re going to have to do a bit of research. I know, it’s not the most scintillating thing in the world, but it will benefit you—you’ll get better reviews, you’ll feel more confident about your story, and you’ll be a little bit smarter.

And lucky for you, I am nice and am about to provide you with free information, plus links to where you’ll have access to even more information, and movie recommendations—movies that are about Vietnam, anyway, and will hopefully better your understanding if you’re a visual learner. So, you really won’t have to Google anything, unless you want to, and the most this will cost you is a couple bucks at Blockbuster to pick up those movies I recommend at the end. No harm done, right? Right.

Now that I’ve finished with my tangent, let’s get to the actual information. Most of this will be basic information that will, if anything, get you started, if you’re only in the planning stages of writing a Vietnam fic, or provide you with real information if you already have written a Vietnam fic that I … wasn’t impressed with.

If you’ve written, want to write, or have read something where Sodapop does not die and returns from the war, that’s all great and fine—although it does contradict the original plan—but there are a few things you must take into account. First, the war does not randomly and automatically end the minute Soda sets foot on that plane and jet sets it back to America. Marauder and I have established that the writers who have done that have no understanding whatsoever about when the Vietnam War began and when it finally ended. Well, I will tell you. And then you will know, and you can thank me, and we will both feel pleased with ourselves.

The beginning and end of the war is a bit confusing. First, let me just say this—the Vietnam War was never a declared war. Now that that’s out of the way, I can say that the actual fighting didn’t even start until early 1965. The ‘Vietnam Conflict,’ as it’s been referred to, in terms of American involvement, had been going on since 1959. Prior to that, in the early Fifties, the French had invaded Indochina, as it was called then—this area of the country included tiny Vietnam, and its two small bordering countries, Laos and Cambodia. The main objective for Americans in Vietnam was to stop Communism and the ‘domino effect’ they feared it would have on the rest of the world—Vietnam was divided and, if South Vietnam fell to Communism, then the rest of Asia would fall, and so on. As far as Americans were concerned because of the McCarthy era of the Fifties, Communism was an evil form of government and should have been extinguished at all costs.

So, President Kennedy ‘escalated’ America’s involvement in the early Sixties and following his assassination, President Johnson took over. I won’t go into detail with this, but in August of 1964, Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which allowed Johnson to organize military operations in Vietnam without declaring war. So there’s your beginning of the war in a rather large nutshell. The end of the war is quite a bit less confusing but kind of weird just the same. After Johnson resigned in 1968 and Nixon became president, he started a policy in 1969 known as “Vietnamization,” or the gradual pullout of American troops. After 1969, the fighting died down significantly as troops were pulled out by the thousands, and the last of America’s military did not leave until 1973 or early 1974 (it’s debatable). Some stayed until 1975, the year of the Fall of Saigon (South Vietnam’s capital, now known as Ho Chi Minh City). The Fall of Saigon took place during April of 1975—the city was evacuated with the help of the remaining U.S. military as North Vietnamese troops invaded. Thus, Saigon fell, and South Vietnam became Communist. So, in retrospect, the Vietnam War really did not accomplish anything, as South Vietnam did fall to Communism—although, Vietnam is now one single country today; it is no longer divided.

Also, if you’re going to write a story where Soda returns from Vietnam (alive), please, please, oh please, don’t state the obvious—of course he’s going to be changed after coming home from war. That just goes without saying. If you, right in your summary, state that, “Soda goes to Vietnam, and when he comes back, he has changed,” or something thereabouts, Marauder and I will just shake our heads—and possibly our fists, if we’re feeling decidedly predatory—at you. That means we disapprove and you should know better. Stating the obvious is unnecessary. Which brings me to my next topic, which I will try and keep short, sweet, and to the point. Yes, anybody who goes to war will be ‘changed’ significantly. It doesn’t matter who and it doesn’t matter which war. Yes, they might not ever be the same again. If somebody is wounded physically in a war, of course it’s going to make them think differently about life and what’s happened to them; if you knew that you had narrowly escaped death, yeah, it would throw you for a bit of a loop. But physical wounds heal, thus physical wounds never compare to the emotional wounds that soldiers sustain while fighting a war. You must consider the fact that, in Vietnam, Soda would have been exposed to a lot of death and, at times, intense carnage, something he’d only been very mildly exposed to in The Outsiders, and it would be an ongoing, every day thing, something he wouldn’t be able to escape until his tour was up—and even then, he wouldn’t really escape it. Just … make sure you don’t state the obvious, but if you must, at least follow up on it, make it real, and for Lord’s sakes, read a novel about Vietnam. Might I suggest Tim O’Brien? You won’t look at the war the same way again, that’s for sure.

Next: the draft (also known as the selective service). Lots of people seem to have an issue with this. First of all, let’s get one thing straight: the military draft had been going on since World War II (and possibly World War I, as well, but don’t quote me); it went on all through Vietnam and was discontinued in 1973. The draft age was 18-26. Being enrolled in college exempted you from the draft. There were also numerous other exemptions: if you were an only child, you were exempted. If you were the oldest in the family, you were exempted. There were also marriage deferments, religious-related deferments, occupational deferments, and health-related deferments. Going back to the only or oldest child exemption, I must establish something right now about some of the characters: Two-Bit would not have been drafted. He was the oldest, and how do we know that? The book mentions that he has a younger sister. The only way he would be able to get into the military would be to enlist—but I can’t see him doing that, anyway. Darry wouldn’t have been drafted either, also because he was the oldest, but especially because he was his brothers’ legal guardian. Steve is debatable in this situation. Traditionally, we just assume that he is an only child, because his family is really not embellished upon at all—we only know that he has a father and a cousin in Kansas. But because the book does not specify, it could go either way. If he was, in fact, an only child, or if he had a younger sibling, no, he would not have been drafted. (Although Marauder pointed out to me a while ago that, he could have been drafted, but given his experience and skill with auto mechanics, he would have been drafted into a position in the rear—and most likely stateside—probably working on Army vehicles, but he would have not been put on the front lines.) We could also assume that he has an older sibling and thus he could very well be drafted upon turning eighteen. Marauder and I are both guilty of drafting him in our stories, and nobody has complained or corrected us about that, so obviously it’s probably okay to go either way here. As for the other characters—had they lived, Dally and Johnny probably would not have been drafted as we’re fairly certain that they were single children in their families. Ponyboy could have been drafted, but if he was fourteen in 1966, he wouldn’t have turned eighteen until 1970, so you should take that into consideration.

Also, about the draft—the United States Army was the ONLY branch of the military that had the draft. The Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and National Guard were strictly voluntary. I cannot stress that fact enough. (And on that note, every branch of the military should be capitalized. What I mean is, Army vs. army, Navy vs. navy. That kinda thing. CAPITALIZE THEM. Or I will be on your ass about it.)

And while we’re at it, it’s Vietnam, not Viet Nam. Don’t write it the wrong way, or you’ll surely hear about it.

Last couple of things Marauder encouraged me to point out: not everybody went to Vietnam. Air strikes and bombing missions were conducted in Vietnam’s neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia, which means some American pilots were probably deployed there at some point. Neither of us are completely sure about who was deployed and when, so don’t quote us. Also, to go along with the Steve situation, it’s entirely possible that men were drafted and never saw any combat. Some draftees remained stateside and worked with the Army there—one of my uncles, for example, who at the time lived in Philadelphia (and still does, now that I think about it), was drafted, and the furthest he traveled in order to do any actual work for the Army was ten minutes into New Jersey. See what I mean?

Also, if you’re going the Marine Corps route with your story, I highly suggest you read some books/watch some movies where a Marine Corps boot camp like Parris Island is involved. With the exception of the Navy SEALs, the Marine Corps are possibly the toughest branch of the American military. Not just simply in training, but in the way they treat recruits, as well. Here, let me give you an example—my dad graduated from high school in 1963 and joined up with the Marines almost immediately afterward. He never went to Vietnam, but he did work with the president’s squadron helicopter, HMX-1, and got out of the service in 1966. While he was in boot camp, he made the unfortunate mistake of addressing the drill sergeant as “you,” instead of “sir,” the way you’re required to, and as a result, said drill sergeant made him drink a cap full of bleach or laundry detergent (I forget which), which he proceeded to regurgitate almost immediately upon swallowing. Again, see what I mean?

So, I think I’ve just about covered the basics, and the things that people seem to have the most trouble with. Trust me, I know much more, but I’ll leave the rest up to the additional links I promised I’d provide.