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This lesson plan calls for an examination of the events surrounding the battle of the Ia Drang Valley in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in November of 1965. This battle was one of the bloodiest of the war in terms of both enemy and American casualties. It also represented a major turning point for the American effort as well as for the strategy of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). Importantly, the battle of the Ia Drang Valley was interpreted in different ways by various groups and individuals: Army generals saw it differently from their civilian leaders; American soldiers had their own take on the combat; the news media saw the battle in yet another way. Memoirs and histories written after the event capture it altogether differently from contemporary accounts. Students might also be familiar with the recent Hollywood film version of events in the Ia Drang, as portrayed by Mel Gibson, in We Were Soldiers (2002).
The approach offered here is an analysis of some of the documentary evidence to assess the significance of the event. The inquiry is meant to be open-ended and even-handed, but you should ask students to base their judgments and opinions on the evidence presented. One old maxim is that "war is too important to be left to the generals." If that is true, civilians in a democratic society have both a right and a duty to make their own assessments. What can we learn from the battle fought in the Ia Drang Valley in 1965?
National Standards
This lesson plan will help students master the following skills from the National Standards For United States History:
Era 9: Postwar United States (1945-early 1970s)
Standard 3d Demonstrate understanding of the foreign and domestic consequences of U.S. involvement in Vietnam
Standard 3 in Standards in Historical Thinking: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
Time
Three to four (40-minute) class periods.
Student Objectives
1. To identify the major figures and issues involved in the Ia Drang Valley battle.
2. To summarize and analyze different points of view from documents.
3. To compare and contrast differing points of view in class discussions.
4. To promote debate about the capacity of a democratic society to make rational decisions about war as an instrument of foreign...