Toys have been around for years. We all have grown up on them, whether it be GI Joe, Barbie or Mr. Potato Head they have all played a part in our childhood. War has also been around for quite some time. Which of the two came first, it is really too hard to say. However, many say that the Vietnam War had a direct affect on the toy industry in America. A variety of new war gadgets were introduced during this era that were replicates of the actual machinery that the men in combat were using during this time. What this implies is hard to say. It can not be argued though that what children were finding under the Christmas tree between 1960 and 1970 was very closely related to Vietnam.

There were many new toys that were inspired by the Vietnam War. Here is a list of some of them:

• Herkey Bird- in camouflage colors
• Thunder Chief- fitted with a napalm pod
• Green Beret Weapons Outfit- with smart beret and life size M-16 automatic
• US Army Hover Craft- with .50 caliber machine guns
• USAF Fighter Planes
• Stage Your Own All Out Attack kit
• Corporal Guided Missile on Erector Vehicle
• Monkey Division- a replicate of jungle guerilla warfare
• Gung Ho commando outfit
• Guerilla Gun
• Sonic Blaster- guerilla gun
• And the most famous of this time was the GI Joe character

These are only a few of the thousands that came out. Some toys that had already been out changed to fit the times. For example:

• Volkswagen Kombi bus- now painted olive drab and pawned off as "US Personnel Carrier"
• Mister Softie Ice Cream Van- is now a "US Army Field Kitchen"

• A doll that breaks other dolls backs
• A variety of nurse dolls and outfits

Toys have definitely become more hostile and it is mostly due to the rise on the battlefield in Vietnam. Children could now sit in the comfort of their own living room and conduct a mission of search and destroy. During the Vietnam War about thirty different outfits for GI Joe came out as well as an array of new weapons and arsenal. The cost for the entire product came to about $300 (keep in mind that most toys at this time were only a few dollars at most). It was the best single selling doll for five and twelve-year-olds. Military toys were leading in sales above all others in 1963. It was even joked that the output of military and naval equipment could supply all of NATO’s needs and then some.

These toys made it possible to reenact the Vietnam War. There was realism to the toys. Some of the toys could really fly or made the actual sounds of the real equipment or that even would shoot. There were no longer planes but in their place were helicopters. For example there is the Marx-A-Copter which actually flied and hovered by remote control and could also be made into a bomb and blow up (through the use of springs). These new toys were taking the places of older toys from years before. There was a new emphasis on realism in the replicas of the toys.

What these toys were doing to the children and society is a whole debate within itself. Some argue that the toys were good for the children or at least that they didn’t cause them any harm. Others have a different approach and argue that the toy industry is one of a variety of reasons as to why the world is so hostile.

The argument that toys do have a negative affect on the children playing with them says that they help to exploit the world’s agonies. The scenes that once upset them were now arousing them. They feel that these children will grow up to be adults who find it relatively easy or even natural to pick up a weapon and put it to use. There was already so much violence on TV that is scared a lot of parents when it was showing up in their child’s play as well. The children were starting to become indifferent to other peoples suffering and anxious to the dangers of war. Comments like "Bang! Your dead!" or "Don’t drink that milk, it’s poison" were starting to arise during common play. Some kids were even truly concerned that planes overhead were going to drop bombs on them. Others begin to see war as an adventure that was filled with excitement instead of as a hideous experience. Parents became concerned that by giving their child a toy gun they were saying that it is okay to kill.

The other side believes that kids have always played war games and that one cannot prevent it from continuing. There have been toy soldiers ever since there were real soldiers. Before soldiers there were Knights on horses. Boys using sticks as guns or swords before they were on the toy market. Some even argue that it helps to keep them up to date on current events. Many children prior to this era played with toys guns or other toys of violence and did not turn out to be in the military or very aggressive. They believe that the child really is just playing games.

One can side either way. Children’s toys and games do, to some degree, reflect adult life. It is ultimately up to the parent to decide what they want their children to have. War games and toys have different affects on different people. But it is true that the Vietnam War brought on a whole new line of toys.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Hassenfeld Bros. "GI Joe Talks" Hobbies. August 1961. Pg.66.

Honan, W.H. "Merry Bang-Bang and Happy New Year". New Republic. December 26, 1965. Pgs.11-12.

 Honan, W.H. "Christmas Ka-Pow Again". New Republic. December 17, 1996. Pgs.7-8.

 Honan, W.H. "Toys and Boys and Christmas". New Republic. December 21, 1963. Pgs.7-8.

 Strang, R. "War Talk and War Games". PTA Magazine. January 1968. Pgs.20-23.

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