Myths & Lies

Myths, lies, and propaganda There are a number of myths and falsehoods that exist in the public understanding of the Vietnam War. Many of these were promoted and continue to be advanced by the "anti-war" crowd, a number of whom now hold positions in academia. The following is not an exhaustive list but consists of the main issues that we have identified. Each myth is linked to a documented response.

Articles
Title	Hits
Myth 11: "Anti-war" protests shortened the war and saved lives	3125
Myth 12: The war was fought by victims of US society, and the lasting effects on survivors were much worse than for other wars	2953
Myth 13: The South Vietnamese never really fought well, they weren't really committed to the fight	3088
Myth 14: American POWs and other prisoners of the communists were treated humanely by their North Vietnamese captors	2792
Myth 15: The determination of the North to carry the war on was never affected by any military setbacks or US actions	2990
Myth 16: The United States fought and lost a war in Viet Nam (which was unwinnable in any case).	5376
Myth 17: After North Vietnam "liberated" the South, everything went well and suffering ended.	2848
Myth 18: The Domino Theory was a silly invention, and nothing remotely positive resulted from US involvement in Viet Nam	3525
Myth 19: Most U.S. troops were poor soldiers: they lacked discipline, were poorly led, were usually stoned (and older ones/lifers were usually drunk).	3276
Myth 20: Almost all US troops committed atrocities against civilians.	3516

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