The Vietnam War was a Cold War Era "military conflict". The war was originally waged between Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. The United States became involved as a preventive measure to combat communism. The official date of the military conflict is November 1, 1955 and ending in April 1975. The date of the war has been disputed, but a study in 1998 by the Department of Defense definitively put the start of the Vietnam War as November 1, 1955. The first combat military troops 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade didn't arrive until 1965. With the arrival of the combat troops came the first traditional battles of combat fighting in the war. During the Vietnam War, not only did American military go into battle with and for South Vietnam, the military also trained members of South Vietnam to fight alongside during the war. Peace talks were attempted, with France moderating, beginning on May 10, 1968. These talks were unsuccessful and lasted over three years. The longest battle of the Vietnam War began on January 21, 1968 and didn't end until the U.S. reclaimed Route 9 on April 8, 1968, seventy-seven days later. While the military conflict ended in 1975, it was a long process towards reunification and redevelopment as a country. The conflict left Vietnam in both political and economical ruins.

While the U.S. military was fighting overseas, Many American citizens protested the war at home. Demonstrations took place across the country with the most famous one being at Kent State University in Ohio. While this is the most well known demonstration it was not the first. Americans questioned the U.S. involvement in the war throughout.]]>
0:50 Family
2:40 Enlistment
4:06 Basic training
7:25 Navigator training
11:25 Advanced training
14:15 Planes flown
16:15 Bliville
19:30 Simulations/alerts
21:00 Macabre sense of humor
23:00 Thailand
27:20 Cambodian planes landing at Thailand base
29:30 After Thailand back to Bliville
30:20 Job promotion to Louisiana (4/5 years)
33:00 2 years in Nebraska/ SAC HQ
36:00 7th Air Division in Germany
38:00 Travel in Europe
42:08 post-Vietnam morale Air Force
45:24 length in Germany
46:00 Return to Florida flew around world still
49:52 General Schwarzkopf
51:00 General Hoar
52:28 Duties during Desert Storm
56:00 Working at UCF]]>
Hite, Charles Lewis. Interviewed by Edmund Kallina. UCF Community Veterans History Project, D0010465. October 12, 2010. Audio/video record available. UCF Community Veterans History Project, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.]]> Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries]]> RICHES of Central Florida]]> http://www.loc.gov/vets/.]]> UCF Community Veterans History Project, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.]]> Vietnam War Collection, UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> QuickTime.]]> Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries.]]> http://library.ucf.edu.specialcollections/.]]>