What would be different if the Vietnam War had never ocurred?

Johnson reelected. Nixon never returns. Who knows from there.
the 60’s revolution probably wouldn’t have had so much impact.

There would be about 60,000 more American middle-aged men.

the music of the 60s would not mean so much at all.

I wouldn’t have gotten a three day suspension in the 7th grade for participating in a peace march. I didn’t even know what I was participating in, it just sounded cool.

Major world events have a cascade effect which are completely impossible to predict with any accuracy. Any random guess has the same credibility.

There wouldn’t be so many deformed people in Vietnam caused by agent orange.

I wouldn’t get free tuition for having a “combat-related deceased or disabled” family member.

The Hmong would not have been displaced, the Pathet Lao would not have won their war, South Vietnam would have self-destroyed from corruption and rot, Ho Chi Minh would have been the leader of a united and independent Vietnam. Of course this is all bullshit speculation.

Apocalypse Now would not have made sense.

Oh yeah, Full Metal Jacket wouldn’t have been made. One of Kubrick’s finest works.

Not as many Vietnamese people would live in the USA

I wouldn’t have so many battle scares. (which I could do without)

I would not have a purple heart collecting dust with my uniform. (which I could do without)

I would not know the horror of a POW camp. (which I could do without)

I would not have had to watch my friends die (which I could do without)

My husband wouldn’t be able to speak Laotian, my favorite babysitter would be putting his kids through college instead of lying in a grave, and there wouldn’t be restaurants on every corner in South Texas serving pho and bubble tea.

And the Vietnam War actually had its roots in 1947, when Vietnam underwent a surge in nationalist fervor after the Japanese, who had temporarily displaced the French, were defeated. The French fought there for eight years, getting help from the U.S.A., then we and our allies took over from the French, just as we and our allies took over from the Russians in Afghanistan.

And actually, these were a people whose battle for independence began more than 2,000 years ago when the Chinese first invaded the peninsula.

The Soviet Union and/or the PRC and the United States would have turned one or more of the other client wars in Asia, Africa or Latin America into a mega disaster. The big guys were going to play out their pissing match no matter what.