Draft dodgers during the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a major conflict in the cold war. Vietnam was divided into two. The north was communist controlled. The government in the south, although ran by a dictatorship than a democracy, was supported by the United States. In 1960, the United States started the war against the north Vietnam. Men as young as eighteen were being drafted for mandatory military service for the Naval and the army. In 1965, the United States increased the number of the United States troops and authorized the bombing of North Vietnam which started a large controversy with the people who did not believe in their countries war and were being drafted. That decision caused the age of the United States draft dodgers. Instead of the United States draft dodgers, some Canadians join the United States military to fight.

There are some reasons that the United States draft dodgers in order to avoid compulsory military service during the war. In fact of that, about 30,000 American draft dodgers fled to Canada. The 60’s was a time of “love not war”. The peace movement was a great factor in the number of draft dodgers.

Many Americans believed that Canada played no part in the Vietnam war. Through the Canadian government tried its best to remain neutral, Canadians themselves become involved. Some Canadians joined because they could get training in areas not available in Canada, for example helicopter flying and trained mechanics. Some joined because they wanted to fight against communism. Others joined for the adventure of personal reasons. And some people joined military because they saw the military as a place to start a great career.

The peace movement of the 60’s and demonstrations of “anti-war” were at their peak. At some demonstrations, American flags and draft cards were burned. Most of draft dodgers were college students. Their goal was to force President Jonson to make peace and bring the soldiers home. Some of these young people thought they were following in the dream and vision of their dead hero “Kennedy”. The irony was that it was Kennedy who initially got the United States into Vietnam. With the untimely death of Martin Luther King, there was finally talk of peace. The slow peace talks resulted in many move dead soldiers in Vietnam. Meantime, the number of dodgers continued to
increase.

As we can expect from all the facts, the 1960’s were a time of controversy and were very difficult times for both Americans soldiers and the Vietnamese. No one expected the Vietnam war to play out as it did. With thousands of young men fighting to the death overseas, another group of American sons fled their homeland and journeyed north to Canada. As the battle raged on and the anti-war movement divided the United States, draft dodgers and deserters struggled to forge new lives for themselves. Seeking sanctuary and the opportunity to make a difference, they changed their adopted country unquestionably.