John Kerry
Kristina Barsketis
Background
John Kerry served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy. He served as a Lieutenant from 1966 to 1970. Kerry served in the Vietnam War for four months. Fighting in the war made him feel wrong about fighting in it About 540,000 troops were sent to the Vietnam War. When he returned home, an approximate 33,400 soldiers were killed. Kerry returned home in 1969. He became active in a group called Vietnam War Veterans Against the War. When he said his speeches, he did not wear his uniform, and did not speak of the events.
"But the crimes which we are commiting that threaten it, we have to speak out."
John Kerry said this in 1971. Kerry felt like it was wrong to kill people. He didn't feel right being in the war, and didn't feel happy about what he has done- killing people. In this quote, he is trying to tell people that if you have done a crime, speak out, because the crime will haunt you, or people will figure it out someday.
"This country doesn't know it yet, but it was created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men who have been taught to deal and trade with violence."
This is a very strong quote that Kerry has said in his speech. I think that Kerry was trying to explain that we go to violence, we accept it. That is why there are a lot of wars and protests, and millions of people get hurt. As we watch and listen to the news, we hear a lot of shootings, and we accept it. But, if it is about something else, besides violence, we're not interested. Kerry wants us to know that not everything is supposed to be violence, it can be happiness.
"How do you ask for a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
Kerry wanted to know the answer to his question. As I know, no one has answered it. I am guessing he wanted an answer, and I think you can't tell a man to die for a mistake. When someone dies, they are done, their life is over. When you kill someone in a war, you can't apologize, you just have to live with what you have done.
Reactions (Veterans & Mine)
People reacted very negatively. A lot of the Vietnamese veterans thought that they did a very honorable job, but to Kerry, it was just a mess. They were confused, hurt, humiliated by Kerry, when he spoke about nothing, but protested against war.
I thought it was very interesting how people reacted to his speeches and how he protested. I thought that Kerry did a very memorable amount of work that he took to change the society. I believe that people should know what John Kerry did, and what he wanted other people do in the future about wars.
I thought it was very interesting how people reacted to his speeches and how he protested. I thought that Kerry did a very memorable amount of work that he took to change the society. I believe that people should know what John Kerry did, and what he wanted other people do in the future about wars.