Vietnam War Turning Points

1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet Offensive was a turning point for the war becasue it was a disaster for the communist becasue they hoped the people of Souh Vietnam would rise up and join them, but they didnt. It was a turning point for the war because "it raised hard questions about the war in the USA." There were almost 500,000 Vietnam and the USA was spending $20 billion a year on the war. The US took back towns but becasue they were using lots of bombs and guns, in the process lots of civilians were killed, and the ancient city of Hue was destroyed.
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Source 51 is shpwing how innocent boys from the US were taken and
used to kill thousands of people (a whole villiage.) The boys refer to their actions as Nazi, Killing just to kill. THe boys didnt want to go to Vietnam to be NAzis they wanted to get away from home and serve their country becasue it was the American Ideal.
Source 52 shows how the killings were "justified" as killing to get rid of an idea. But you cannot defeat an idea with guns. This source is making up excuses for the killings such as destroying communism, and they were there to kill "blobs pieces of flesh" which shows that the fact that they were killing meant nothing to them.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think that it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre because the commanding officer lied about the event and the unit was praised. But later (1 year) the men who fought were problay shiped home and were able to tell their stories, which was then collected and made into the case by Ronald Ridenhour.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?
The massacre was shocking to the American public because they could not believe that the Americans would killing innocent people like that. They thought that America was winning and was able to stop raiding as much. They saw the horrors inflicted apon the villagers by the US and were horrified that they could do such a thing.