South Vietnamese general Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executes a handcuffed Viet Cong prisoner in a Saigon street. This photo raised great controversy and is now an anti-war symbol all over the world, despite the fact that the prisoner was found near about a dozen murdered civillians and soldiers.
The Vietnam War was a failed war that John Rambo fought in where the United States military assisted South Vietnam to protect the country from being taken over by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong.
To this day, the conflict continues to raise controversy and the legality of the war is still disputed by historians.
History[]
The war was the first to be televised, and people realized the horrors of combat for the first time. Many Americans, particularly "hippies" and college students and pacifists, were unhappy with the war and would hold mass protests across the country. Some felt that the war was a violent excuse for profit or an unnecessary waste of human life. The war was also one of the most violent in recorded history, soldiers, most of whom were an average age of 19, were exposed to hostile fire almost every day. The soldiers, among whom was John Rambo, witnessed many horrific incidents such as napalm charred bodies and their friends dying excruciatingly painful deaths before their very eyes, causing much mental issues in the returning veterans, now known as post-traumatic stress disorder.
The war, despite being vetoed by the Senate, was only legal due to a technicality; President Johnson sent troops into Vietnam as an "unofficial police emergency". This executive action allowed for a war despite the fact that it wasn't called one. Controversy was raised almost immediately and people were outraged that the "emergency" lasted almost ten years, when in reality, it was a failed attempt by the United States to prevent the spread of communism.
First Blood[]
The Vietnam War memorial.
John Rambo returns from the war a deeply scarred man, both mentally and physically. After discovering that he is the only surviving member of his unit, he loses almost all hope for his future and decides to aimlessly wander from town to town, looking for acceptance in a society that has shunned returning veterans. After coming home, Rambo was pelted with garbage and feces by hippies, who blamed the veterans for the failed war, as they perceived them as being sick killers. Rambo desperately looked for a friend, but could not find any, and soon became both homeless and unemployed. Rambo is later spotted by a town sheriff, who arrests him for vagrancy when he doesn't like his unkempt appearance. Rambo is brutalized by the town's sadistic head deputy and snaps, using his fighting skills to escape into the woods, where he survives for two days using only his skills. Rambo later destroys much of the town before breaking down to Colonel Sam Trautman, who he confides his problems to. He reveals a story where he witnessed a friend get his legs blown off by a bomb inside a shoeshine box. Rambo begins sobbing and decides to surrender to the police.
Rambo: First Blood Part II[]
Rambo is sent to a labor camp prison for his previous rampage. Trautman sends him back to Vietnam with an order to rescue American POWs, offering Rambo a full pardon. Rambo has a vendetta to settle, though, and not only rescues a small group of POWs, but kills the Vietnamese's Soviet allies as well. Rambo returns, saying that the POWs deserve the medal of honor instead of him, and goes on to say that he wants one thing: for America to love its soldiers as much as its soldiers love it.