Vietnam War Turning Points

1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.

The Tet Offensive proved to be a turning point in the war because it raised questions about the war in the US, involving troops and money and how the Offensive took the US by surprise, as well as destruction and the murder of many civilians in towns.

2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?

Sources 51 and 52, in my opinion, are most certainly not making the same point about the My Lai Massacre, because Source 51 is talking about how the murder of so many civilians was a disaster and a "Nazi thing to do", while in Source 52, Calley is arguing that it was basically part of their overall objective to destroy Communism.

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 when the Massacre has first taken place, it was recorded as there only being 20 non-combatant deaths and the rest were Viet Cong, but after being looked into and published in magazines, it was proven that much more civilians were killed than Viet Cong.

4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?

The revelations about My Lai so deeply shocked the American public because of all of the innocent murders and it expressed the idea that the war had gone wrong.