Doves and Hawks

Why this Theme?

Despite the physical conclusion of this great tragedy, the Vietnam War is still being fought in the hearts and minds of those who were actual participants and those who are present observers.   This is evident when studying the viewpoints of Hawks and Doves.   By illustrating various positions, we hope to foster appreciation of diversity and encourage tolerance and empathy.

Introduction

In any situation requiring the use of force, Americans have always been divided into two camps. Those who favor the less aggressive approach are called Doves. Others who advocate a greater show of military might are labeled Hawks. These definitions if applied to the Viet-NAM War would render any further discussions moot. A closer look however at some personal insights from the war may tell a different story.   There are variations in the labels themselves, therefore the symbols of Hawks and Doves may not be as apparent as the creatures they represent.

Journal Entries

Polar Opposites
By Kevin J. Suess, Normal Community High School

D esire for non-violence;
O pposition to military action;
V oice in the wilderness;
E yes set on peace.

H orror of community control;
A nswered the call of duty;
W ar is the answer;
K nights of democracy.

FOUR PILLARS
By Larry Neitzert, Webberville High School

Four pillars stood today.
Four corners supporting liberty.
Army, Navy, women, and dissent
Each defending America
At a dissident and divisive time.
Now they teach tolerance
With that long ago vigor
That made America
Hatred is its own prison
That they do not live in.

H A W K S
By Kandy Bauer, Dansville High School

What makes a person want to support and serve their country?   Is it simply a matter of patriotic duty?   Is it the values they hold regarding individual freedoms?   Was it a greater fear of communism and the toppling of the domino theory?   Was it hatred toward the Asian race following WWII?   Was it loyalty to our WWII ally, France?   The answer is yes, yes, and yes.   For some it is one of these, for others it may be all of these, and for others still it may be a combination of these reasons.   Yet the answer is probably not quite this simple.   Just because you claim to be a hawk doesn't mean you fit into a particular mold.

Take the story of the nurse.   She was inspired by JFK's quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."  She decided to make her contribution to the war effort by using her training as a nurse.   But did she realize at the time that she would receive a thank you from the Selective Service thanking her for saving someone, a dove perhaps, from being drafted?   And did she understand the empathy she would feel when the war was over yet she continued to use her nursing skills to care for the ill and aging vets?   Individual stories can get pretty complex.   Despite the complexity of her experience, she feels the United States gave Vietnam a chance—a chance for self-determination.

In reflection, it is the hawk's voice that often gets drowned out.   Hindsight is 20-20.   Let's hope that the government acted in the best interests of its people at the time and that nearly 600,000 soldiers did not die without a just cause.

D O V E S
By Kandy Bauer, Dansville High School

The individuals who opposed the war, the doves, took on many faces and many walks of life.   If you relied on the textbook for your sole source of information, you would think that the people who opposed the war were hippies or part of the counterculture movement.   Or perhaps they were liberal professors leading teach-ins?   Maybe they were too busy dodging to Canada or conscientiously objecting?   In truth, people who opposed the war did so for many reasons and let their voices be heard from the inner cities to the rural countryside and through every possible medium.

The common response against the war was that the United States had no business being in Vietnam.   However, the list of reasons why we had no business over there can get mighty long.   We were baby killers.   We had no right to decide Vietnam's future.   The government was acting as imperialists.   The war was not working.   The U.S. government and policy makers were not telling the American people the truth.   It was a war of aggression.   We didn't "know thy enemy."  Then there were events such as Kent State University, the My Lai massacre, and the peace demonstration by former Vietnam vets held in Washington, DC.   These and many other stories continually reinforced these emotional opinions with the strong influence, and often times inaccurate reporting, of the media.

I, myself, learned a lesson of understanding when we heard from the draft "resistor."  Growing up, a draft resistor and a draft dodger were basically the same thing—a radical who was disloyal to their country.   It was someone who would rather burn a flag or flee to Canada rather than serve their country in return for their country's service.   It was someone who takes their freedom for granted and who does not understand the need to help others around the world enjoy these same freedoms.    It was someone taking the coward's way out by taking advantage of a conscientious objector's position in order to escape the draft.   Instead, I found myself empathizing and developing a sense of respect for someone who decided to use his voice—his freedom of speech—to try and change misguided policies.   He used the approach of non-violent cooperation, as Gandhi used to free India of an unwanted guest.   His reasoning was very logical:   "What would you say to an abolitionist who went around protesting slavery but who owned slaves?"  He chose not to run but to fight his own battle and for that I give him credit.   Hearing and really listening to other voices can surely be a powerful thing.

Patriots
By James Toby   Everett High School

I sat with a group of fellow high-school teachers in a designated room at Brown University, listening intently, enthralled by a panel of four speakers. The subject, the legacy of the Viet Nam War. Speaker after speaker shared their experiences from their point of view in earnest fashion. Each painted a compelling picture of the effect of their involvement, and its impact on their lives and possibly others.

From the draft-resister I heard an eloquent defense of the question of why one did not serve. "Sometimes one has to disobey the law of the land in order to obey a higher law." Immediately the profiles of the great advocates of passive resistance came to mind. Thoreau, Ghandi and King echoed from the distant past. I recalled their impassionate pleas for vigilance on issues of injustice.

The naval-flight officer and ex-POW outlined his harrowing days of hell in the ill-famous Hanoi Hilton prison. His personal experience with a fellow prisoner from a different ethnic background conveyed to us that the human spirit is resilient, especially during wartime. Ironically his closing quote summed up the futility the conflict. "Hatred is a prison of itself."

Viewed from the field of combat, the ex-army officer reminded us that the war had different meanings to participants. For him, it was the camaraderie of his men. This point was personally emphasized by his naming his child in honor of such a friendship. "One moment can change your life, a bullet or an explosion,'' he intoned, his cryptic remark punctuating the pregnant silence.

The last of the panel, a former army nurse put a human face to the struggle. Her heart wrenching tales of being an eyewitness to war's horror was a very moving and compelling one. Her reminder of the role of women is often overlooked was duly noted. Looking at her audience, she patiently injected that "the human side of war is defined by each individual experience."

At the conclusion of the panel, one realization of the Viet Nam War was painfully apparent. Despite the physical conclusion of this great tragedy, the Viet Nam War is still being fought in the hearts and minds of those who were actual participants and those who are present observers. One legacy of Viet Nam is that it changed many views of a past America.

RED BARNS
By Larry Neitzert, Webberville High School

Red barns dot my green landscape
Like ancient stone castles,
Guarding a safe America.
They house cows and hay
And ancient Americana.

They nurtured my green youth,
Providing fantasy lands
Of play and aggression,
Where we built forts and waged wars
Against brothers, cats, and pigeons.

We did not have real Germans
Or real Japs – like our fathers did.
Only red barns to play in.
We fought in Germany and in France
And someday I might get my chance .

But we had a red tide that was coming
To our red barns and we will make the world
Safe for democracy – Finally!
Johnny get your gun, get your gun, get your gun.
Kill those Reds on the run, on the run, on the run.

Red barns dot the American landscape.
They are wood castles
That produce new knights.
Red barns will incubate red boys
To fight Red communists.

IDEALISM OF THE 1950s
By Larry Neitzert, Webberville High School

There were three factions to the idealism of Americans who were entering the 1960s.   These were ideas that were so much a part of who we were that we did not even question them and probably, for most of us, were not even aware that they were part of our "intellectual skin".

The first was the religious view of anti-communism.   We were raised during the early stages of the Cold War in the 1950s when we were indoctrinated with the evils of communism and how Americans must be ever vigilant to the insidious nature of that work of Satan.   There were plenty of examples that were used to instruct us of how communism was spreading through the world like a giant oil spill and we must be ever ready to stop that evil from touching the shores of our land.

We also possessed a belief in the efficacy and goodness of our own institutions and practices.   Anglo-Saxon, Christian, democracy was the best and only way to obtain the ideal life of happiness and security.   How could anyone doubt the purity and efficacy of those American institutions?

The last component was a missionary zeal to make the world a better place.   Woodrow Wilson's generation had not made the world "safe for democracy", but this generation would make the necessary effort to improve the world and fulfill that promise from 1919.   John Kennedy's "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" did not fall on deaf ears.   We were a "Peace Corps" generation that was going to make the world a better place—and that certainly meant stopping the dreadful spread of godless, oppressive communism.

The Dove: Norman Morrison
By Kevin J. Suess, Normal Community High School

Vietnam,
Soldiers dying,
Seated on the sidewalk,
A baby crying,
Dowsed in gasoline,
A man is dying,
In his arms,
A baby crying,
The strike of a match,
The smell of sulfur,
Engulfed in flames,
A nation dying,
The war continues,
A baby crying.

 

Hawks and Doves
By James Toby   Everett High School

How can two of nature's aerial creatures become symbolic of a nation's division over its foreign policy? To arrive at a possible answer one can look at the Viet-Nam War. This conflict that divided the country into Hawks and Doves is still being debated with no apparent end in sight. Unlike the Civil War with its clearly defined mandate, that of Viet-Nam is filled with the shrieks and chirps of confusion. An analytical look at these four participants' involvement in this major controversial issue highlights that very point.

Robert S. McNamara, the ex-Secretary of Defense, was at one time the main architect of how to fight the war. His opinion and advice was instrumental in shaping presidential policies that impacted the war's outcome. Today, his warrior voice no longer advocates the use of force, but promotes empathy between opponents. He consistently traverses the globe, conducting post-mortems on conflicts in an effort to prevent their re-occurrence.

Jerry Elmer is an attorney and former draft-resister during the Viet-Nam War.

Mr. Elmer has the dubious or distinct honor of being a felon for burglarizing draft offices and destroying draft cards. An avowed activist, he holds the strong belief that the Viet-Nam Conflict was morally wrong.

Peter Halyburton is an ex-naval flight officer, ex-POW and today a professor at the Naval War College in Newport. A veteran of 75 combat missions and the 40 th American prisoner taken in Viet-Nam, he felt it was his duty to serve. This highly decorated individual continuously testifies that he bears no ill will towards his former enemies. He issues the following cautions: "Hatred is a cage of its own."

The caption read "Not all women wore beads in the sixties.'' This is justifiably true as one listens to retired Air force Major Linda Schwartz of the Nurse Corps. Presently the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs in the state of Connecticut, she can attest to the ugly face of war seen close up as a care provider. Her entry into the war was a voluntary one. She believes firmly that the war was the right thing to do then and now. As a result of the war, she sees Viet-Nam as being better off than before.

Labels are supposed to make identification easy. In dealing with Americans and the Viet-Nam War one may find that it is not that simple. Both Hawks and Doves wanted the same thing, an end to the conflict. In that respect they both share one branch, that of love for their country.

Taking Sides in War
By Kevin J. Suess, Normal Community High School

How does someone come to take sides in war?   Although there are a multitude of sources for how someone might form their perspective, the media and one's family seems to be a major factor.   The media appears to have a significant role in shaping one's view.   Whether you are a Dove or Hawk, the news media can impact or reinforce preexisting thoughts or opinions one might hold.   From watching the nightly news to reading articles from the daily newspaper, the information obtained about a particular attack or mission, failure or success, can contribute to your viewpoint.   A reported military failure might convince a dove that the war is unsuccessful and must be ended, whereas it might persuade a hawk to feel that the U.S. needs to increase attacks and troops overseas. Another factor that contributes to the varying perspectives on war is an individual's family.   Conversations at the dinner table about relatives' fight in the war to comments made while watching a news program all influence one's understanding of conflict and war.   Whether one's parent(s) were involved in prior conflicts/wars also can weigh heavily on one's perspective.   If an individual had a family member in the military, this may influence the person to be somewhat 'hawkish'.  

Impressions of a Tragedy
By James Toby, Everett High School

They came across the ocean in cargo-like containers. Sailing on a sea of tranquility, disposable humans bound for captivity. The above refers to the plight of people of the African Diaspora during the Atlantic slave trade.

I was an eyewitness to the modern day re-enactment of history as I watched an exhibition by a transplanted Vietnamese art student. In her five large black and white paintings, the artist tries to depict aspects of her father's life in a communist re-education camp in Viet-Nam at the end of the war.

The exhibit entitled "Impressions of My Father" offers yet again another way to look at the Viet-Nam War and its effects. For me, it was an opportunity to see the similarities of human degradation between the institution of slavery and the re-education camps. As the paintings electronically illuminated the screen, African voices could be heard drawing comparisons.

Jungle: How fitting a name for the portrayal of the emaciated figure yoked to a monotonous and dreary task. Step backwards to the rice paddies of South Carolina and the sugar cane and cotton plantations of the West Indies. The commonality is the same, bent backs, bruised and blistered hands, and dark sockets with hopeless eyes.

Hunger: The lack of adequate nourishment for her father was akin to that prescribed for the slaves. Inadequate to satisfy the caloric intake needed for toiling, many would, like her father, resort to foraging.

Sardines: Of all the paintings, this undoubtedly was the most vivid. The transplanted scene is being aboard a slaver, crammed and shackled in a stinking cargo hold in corpse-like fashion. Both images evoke the impressions of skeletal creatures awaiting death's merciful embrace or life's cruel uncertainty.

Comrades in Arms: The shameful beatings by young prison guards contrasted with the brutal whippings inflicted upon slaves. Many of them, like the artist's father, held positions of honor and respect in their former land. Ironically the same treatment was done during the Civil Rights marches.

Nightmares: One can only imagine the torment induced by the lack of medical care that the re-education subjects endured. So too did blacks within the plantation system. Yet despite these inhumane conditions, both groups in many cases displayed the bonds of brotherhood that served as a comfort during those dismal and desperate times.

Unknowingly, in her portrayal of one man's injustice, the artist has revealed the injustices done to all.

VIETNAM
By James Toby, Everett High School

I can hear the bombs falling on Hanoi below.
Even though that was thirty years ago.
Then why is my voice one of many to demand?
An explanation for the war in Viet Nam.
It started with Roosevelt after WWII.
And became Truman's issue because he was new.
Eisenhower followed with aid to the French.
Kennedy continued to deepen the trench.
Johnson was next with not much of a plan.
With advice from Bundy and McNamara he used an iron hand.
Under Ho Chi Minh's lead the North fired back.
More arms and men on the "Trail" to the South to attack.
The Maddox incident opened the door.
Congress's Gulf of Tonkin Incident authorized more.
Operation Rolling Thunder was the answer to Pleiku.
A sign to both sides that the war would not soon be through.
The South undergoes a political change.
As heads of state are re-arranged.
The Battle of Khe Sanh started 1968.
Next the Tet Offensive began to accelerate.
Mai Lai Massacre brought condemnation and shame.
When US. Forces were the ones to blame.
Johnson ends his presidential story.
Followed by Ho Chi Minh's death in communist glory.
Nixon assumes command.
And resumes the bombing trend.
Cambodia and Laos tremble beneath marching feet.
Still neither side is willing to retreat.
Finally, after many years of slaughter, blood and strife.
And the millions lost in human lives.
Two men, Kissinger and Le Duc Tho.
Negotiated the war's end with a mighty blow.
The Paris Peace Accords offered the two
A chance to begin anew.
And to not let anger, greed, ignorance and pride.
Dishonor all those who died.

APPLICATION IN THE CLASSROOM
By Kandy Bauer, Dansville High School

Now for the big question:   How do you apply these thoughts into the classroom?   You do it through music, poetry, literature, letters, art, primary documents, films, and activities that draw students into the experience.   There are as many techniques as there are viewpoints.   Multiple perspectives can and should be shared.   Ultimately, students will decide what stand to take concerning the Vietnam War.   Until then, let all the voices be heard.

Reflective writing prepared by:
Kandy Bauer—Dansville High School, Dansville, MI
Larry Neitzert—Webberville High School, Webberville, MI
Kevin Suess—Normal Community High School, Normal, IL
James Toby—Everett High School, Lansing, MI