13 Effects of Technological Advances in the Military on Baby Boomer Generation
Sam Flagler
13.1 Introduction
Key Words
- Vietnam War – a conflict in Vietnam initiated by the Northern Vietnamese against the southern Vietnamese government in an attempt to spread communist control.
- The Huey – Full name Bell UH-1 Iroquois, was the first turbine-powered helicopter used by the United States military.
- F-100 Super Sabre plane – Jet plane with unprecedented speed used in Vietnam War; first fighter to hold supersonic speed in flight.
- Claymore mine – electronically fired land mine exploded in a chosen direction used heavily in the Vietnam War.
- TOW missile – “Tube-launched Optical-tracked Wire-guided.”
Learning Objectives
-
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
- Remember the technological advances in the United States military resulting from the Vietnam War.
- Recognize the effects of technological advances on the Baby Boomer generation.
Ten million Baby Boomers – over 40 percent of the males in the generation – fought in the Vietnam War, a conflict in Vietnam initiated by the Northern Vietnamese against the southern Vietnamese government in an attempt to spread communist control. Born 1946-1964, Baby Boomers were just teenagers or younger during the Vietnam War. So, war and military efforts were highly relevant topics for this generation. The Vietnam War began on November 1, 1955 and stretched until April 30, 1975. The United States military entered the war in August 1964. Therefore, the Vietnam War influenced many of the technological advances covered in this chapter.
The war provided a need to create new military vehicles, weapons, and equipment. These improvements to the military directly affected Baby Boomers who were serving by aiding their war efforts and protecting them from injury. More robust and more fuel-efficient armored tanks, faster aircraft with tighter maneuvering, and more protective equipment benefitted the soldiers. So, technological advances in these areas produced more safety for Baby Boomers at war and provided occupational gaps in production for those who stayed home to fill.
This chapter will discuss the role of Baby Boomers in the Vietnam War, and in turn, it will cover the effects of the Vietnam War on the Baby Boomer generation. We will touch on technological advances within the military and their role in changing the direction of the future of military technology. Overall, the Vietnam war caused technological growth in the realm of the military. A swift advance in military technology was evident during the 1960s and 1970s due to the Vietnam War’s effect on America. This boost in military growth altered the Baby Boomer generation positively.
13.2 The Technologies: Military Vehicles and Weapons
Key Takeaways
Vehicles and weapons created to help American soldiers in Vietnam are the most impactful advances for Baby Boomers in the sphere of military technological advances. The United States was severely disadvantaged in the Vietnam War as their North Vietnamese enemies had the advantage because of their knowledge about the terrain. Therefore, the United States was forced to resort to other methods of gaining the upper hand. Thus, they focused on besting their enemy with superior vehicles and weapons.
13.2.1 Advances in Vehicles
The most critical vehicle implemented in the Vietnam war is “The Huey.” The Bell UH-1 Iroquois. The Huey is a helicopter with advanced mobility and an emphasis on maneuverability. It is the first turbine-powered helicopter used by the United States military. Vietnam War movies like Forest Gump glamorized it, but it was a crucial part of the war in Vietnam. This vehicle’s mobility benefited troops in Vietnam; it was even called the modern-day horse due to its practicality in transportation. The chopper was used to transport soldiers to previously unreachable places by air and to confront the enemy head-on with gunfire. Another vehicle that was heavily implemented in the war in Vietnam was the F-100 Super Sabre jet, a plane with unprecedented speed. It was the first fighter to hold supersonic speed in flight and was used in over 360,000 missions in the Vietnam War.
Figure 13.2 Grenade launchers were first used heavily during the Vietnam War. This is the M79 model. “Vietnam War” by manhhai is licensed under CC BY 2.0
13.2.2 Advances in weapons
Many notable weapons were created or improved for the Vietnam war. One example is the Claymore mine. This mine was used primarily for defensive purposes, as its blast range of over 100 meters could protect the soldier from a distance. Another weapon made for combat in this war was the TOW missile. This “Tube-launched Optical-tracked Wire-guided” missile could destroy tanks and other enemy vehicles. It went hand-in-hand with the Huey as it was often mounted on the helicopter for aerial attacks. Next, the Grenade launcher was implemented heavily in this war. This quick-fire weapon was used in secret missions by Navy SEALs in the war.
13.3 History of the Technology – How These Vehicles and Weapons Were Developed
Key Takeaways
The vehicles and weapons created for use in the Vietnam War were built off of previous technologies developed during World War II.
In war, developing the best possible technology is vital to success, and a country’s technological advances can sway the tide of the war. The vehicles and weapons the United States supplied for the Vietnam War were a continuation of the technologies created for World War II and the Korean War. The generations before the Baby Boomers laid the foundation for war technology development in many ways.
13.3.1 Helicopters in War
One of which was the implementation of helicopters in World War II. The second World War featured many new ideas and technologies, and though helicopters were used to an extent, they were not practical or common in this war. However, despite their early status of impracticality and lack of usefulness, World War II’s helicopters laid the groundwork for The Huey and other helicopters in later wars. The Vietnam War was the first war that featured the large-scale use of helicopters in combat.
13.3.2 Weapons in War
The trajectory of weapons in war has been exponential since the Civil War in America. Widespread violence and casualty in war have increased incredibly in the past centuries, and the Vietnam War was no exception. With the continual development of more violent weapons, each country is forced to counteract their opponents’ new weapons with their own. For example, this cycle led to the creation and use of the nuclear bomb in World War II. This concept applies to weapons of all scales – from large weapons with maximum casualty capabilities to smaller-scale weapons with only minimum capacity for violence. For instance, we see advances in weapons like the Tube-launched Optical-tracked Wire-guided (TOW Missile) and the Claymore mine have a higher capacity for damage. Land mines were used sparingly during World War I but were heavily implemented during World War II. Modern missiles were first introduced to war in World War II as the Nazi Germans used the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket, which both traveled on a pre-chosen flight course. An earlier design was the Ruhrstahl X-4 wire-guided missile, which was used late in World War II. In 1962, the TOW missile was developed to be more precise and to pose more of a threat to the enemy regarding the damage dealt. It was first seen in the Vietnam War in 1972.
Similarly, the Claymore was developed based on the success of the land mines in previous wars. Mines were not seen as a valuable asset in combat until the second World War, but they were also used in World War I. The first Claymore design was introduced to the Vietnam War in 1966, but the mine was modified later in the war by adding a tinfoil layer between the fragmentation matrix and the explosive.
13.4 Impact of Vietnam War’s Technological Advances on Baby Boomer Soldiers
Key Takeaways
More Baby Boomers fought in the Vietnam War than any other generation of Americans. So much so that the war has been dubbed the “Baby Boomer War.” By 1967, most American soldiers who died in the Vietnam War were born after 1946. So, the soldiers fighting in the war were of the Baby Boomer generation and those at home – both workers aiding in the war effort and soldier’s wives who stayed behind worrying about whether their husbands would make it home alive. The technological advances in the military for this war affected the Baby Boomer generation by improving the soldiers’ safety and success while at war. This also affected the ones at home by raising the chances of the families’ loved ones making it home alive after the war ended. The vehicle and weapon development improvements covered earlier in this chapter helped keep more soldiers alive and benefitted the Baby Boomer generation overall. The more effective the American military could be in their war efforts in Vietnam, the proportion of soldiers making it home safely increased proportionately.
13.4.1 Intended purposes
The intended purpose of the creation and further development of these technologies is quite simple: the better the weapons, vehicles, and equipment used by soldiers in the war, the higher the chance of a quicker war with a more successful outcome, resulting in the least number of casualties possible. For example, the intended purpose of the Huey helicopter was to increase mobility for soldiers who needed transportation and benefit soldiers in direct combat with the enemy. The TOW missile aimed to create a way to precisely attack enemies using tracking missiles in aerial attacks if mounted on Huey helicopters and firing from the land. The Claymore land mine was intended to create a safer defensive position by applying a barrier for soldiers to post up behind. This was crucial for this war because of the Northern Vietnamese soldier’s ability to blend in seamlessly with their environment. Essentially, the Claymores were implemented to combat these invisible enemies.
13.5 Impact on Baby Boomers at Home
Key Takeaways
The technologies covered in this chapter were beneficial to the Baby Boomer generation. Soldiers utilized the new weapons and vehicles to improve their war efforts and their odds of returning home to their families safely. However, the overall impact of the war on American society and economy was negative.
13.5.1 Benefits
These technological advances affected boomers at home by keeping their loved ones safer while deployed, improving the likelihood of bringing soldiers back home to them, and creating a need for jobs in equipment production and engineering. The unemployment rate dropped tremendously as soldiers were sent abroad, leaving job positions available behind them. Also, the war called for Americans to work engineering and manufacturing jobs to supply their soldiers with weapons and new advances like the Huey and the other technologies listed in this chapter. In addition, the focus on progress in military improvements led to the technologies we see today that keep the United States safe.
13.5.2 Negative Implications from the War at Home
The war had few benefits; there were many negative impacts on the United States from the Vietnam War – both societally and economically. The society was in complete opposition to the United States government over whether to send troops to aid the Southern Vietnamese. The war severely damaged the United States’ economy. President Lindon B. Johnson refused to raise taxes to pay for the war, so inflation overwhelmed the country. The general public was furious at the United States government’s decision to enter the war, and protests engulfed the country. Therefore, Baby Boomers grew up during wartime, many as soldiers, during a time of social divide and economic distress. The technologies discussed in this chapter benefited Baby Boomers, but the war overall was very harmful on many levels.
Chapter Summary
The Baby Boomer generation was heavily involved with the Vietnam War and with the technological advances in the military that resulted from it. The Huey helicopter, the F-100 Super Sabre jet plane, the Claymore mine, the “Tube-launched Optical-tracked Wire-guided,” and the grenade launcher were five specific examples of critical new developments in weapons and machinery regarding the war in Vietnam. These advances helped the Baby Boomer generation by protecting the soldiers in Vietnam and helping the people at home by providing a need for jobs which caused the unemployment rate to drop drastically. Although the Vietnam War was heavily opposed by the American general public and had many adverse outcomes for the American economy, the progress in military technology that is evident during the 1960s and 1970s due to the effect the Vietnam War had on America affected the Baby Boomer generation positively.
Review Questions
-
-
- 1) Roughly how many Baby Boomers fought in the Vietnam War?
- a) 100,000
- b) 10 Million
- c) 5 Million
- d) 100 Million
- 2) What year was the TOW missile first seen in the Vietnam War?
- a) 1965
- b) 1970
- c) 1972
- d) 1969
- 3) Which was a land mine that was used mainly for defensive purposes?
- a) The Huey
- b) The Super Sabre
- c) Ruhrstahl X-4
- d) Claymore
- 1) Roughly how many Baby Boomers fought in the Vietnam War?
-
- Answers
- 1) b
- 2) c
- 3) d
Food For Thought
- Do you believe war can have positive outcomes?
- Would you be supportive of the American involvement in the Vietnam War if you were a youth in the Baby Boomer generation?
- How would a war today affect our society?
References
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Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Surface-to-air missile. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/technology/surface-to-air-missile
UH-1 iroquois “huey” helicopter. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://ahec.armywarcollege.edu/trail/Huey/index.cfm
Garnett, J. (n.d.). The United States and Europe: Defence, Technology and the Western Alliance. Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/2613124
Keister, I. (2016). Technology and strategy: The war in Vietnam – western Oregon University. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=his
Kirkpatrick, T., & Kirkpatrick, T. (2018, May 23). 5 important pieces of military technology developed for the Vietnam War: Jobs for veterans: G.I. Jobs. Jobs for Veterans | G.I. Jobs | Jobs and Schools for Military Veterans. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from https://www.gijobs.com/5-pieces-technology-developed-vietnam-war/
Marsala, M. S. (n.d.). Baby Boomers and the Vietnam War: A life course approach to aging Vietnam veterans. BYU ScholarsArchive. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5999/
