Fifty years after Saigon’s collapse, new polls find that the Vietnam War remains the least supported conflict of America’s major wars of the past century.
Emerson College Voting/Nexuster Media polls showed that emotions were felt even stronger among those who fought in the war than among the general public.
Among adults, polls show that the Vietnam War is considered the most legitimate war, with 44% saying it isn’t. Only a quarter said they were unsure.
The result marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, South Vietnam, when the war officially ended on April 30, 1975. The United States completed its withdrawal from the conflict in 1973.
The perception of war became increasingly poor as it continued, and the United States and its allied South Vietnam struggled to defeat the communist troops. This is one of the only wars in US history that the country has not won.
Tensions were particularly engulfed following the publication of the Pentagon Paper in 1971, a Multidecard study that analyzed decision-making across several presidential administrations on Vietnam. It made it clear that several administrations misled the public about the status of the war, particularly the situation of Lyndon Johnson.
World War II is clearly seen as the most legitimate American war of the past century, with two-thirds of respondents saying they support it, with only 10% opposed.
The Korean War is second, with 36% justified and 22% saying it isn’t. The Persian Gulf War is just behind the third Korean War.
Perceptions of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are more complicated. I would say a little bit that the war in Afghanistan was justified, with 41% to 35% justified, but there is almost even division in regards to the Iraq war.
However, the conflict in Vietnam, in which the US supported South Vietnam against Communist North Vietnam in the late 1950s and early 1970s, was clearly the least popular. The majority of 62% of adults said the US should have left the war, with 38% saying that involvement was the right decision.
Pollers also found an age gap in how respondents viewed this question. The older generation, who lived during the war, more clearly said that the United States should have been out there more than the younger generation.
Over 70% of people aged 50-59, 60-69, and over 70 said the US should not be involved. I was saying 60% of these 40-49 the same and the same thing, but 18-29 and 30-39 are divided almost evenly.
The differences are seen based on political ideology, but respondents across the spectrum remained skeptical of war. Seven in ten Democrats, almost two-thirds of independents, and the majority of Republicans said the US should leave the war.
Many Vietnamese veterans faced inadequate treatment by the public about participating in an unpopular war that has sparked national protests over the years. However, polls showed that 78% of veterans feel that they are not being treated well by the US government.
They give veteran jobs a decent mark to support veterans, with 40% saying they do a good job, and 35% rated their performance as fair. Only 13% each said it was good or poor.
Meanwhile, eight in 10 Vietnamese veterans believe PTSD is a major issue among all US veterans, but 20% say it’s a small issue.
The poll was conducted between April 8th and 11th among 1,000 US adults, including 250 Vietnamese veterans.
