The Vietnam War affected things from all aspects of life. The war did not only affect the soldiers in the war, but the civilians as well. These people’s lives were affected in every way, shape and form. From losing their villages as well as friends and relatives, to losing any bit of freedom they had, such as athletics. Athletics plays a big role in many people’s lives. It is an escape from every day activity, a way to release your energy or anger and anxiety in a harmless way. Athletics plays a big role of children or young adults lives. It teaches people how to work together, it creates unity and teamwork, to accomplish a common goal. Athletics also is an activity that will keep kids off the streets and safe from many social and peer pressures, such as gangs and drugs. During the Vietnam War it was very hard to continue in athletics for many reasons. For one, it was very hard for the South Vietnamese to compete with foreign countries. Another reason it was difficult to compete in athletics was because it was an easy attack for the Viet Cong. There would be so many people gathered for this event and an easy way to kill them all, because their minds were not set on the war. South Vietnamese people also had a lack of confidence, due to the war. They lacked confidence in government, which in turn caused them to feel as if they had no power over anything.

Traditional Bicycling Race

The traditional bicycling race, Tour de Vietnam, had been suspended for 14 years when the South Vietnamese Government decided to modify the revival of it, with political tandem. The race used to be a 1,340 mile course from the demilitarized zone in the north to the southern most city of Camau. The new bike race was only going to be 190 miles north of Saigon. The new version had to be shortened down to about 500 miles because of the Vietcong. It is a 6 day bike race through the south of Vietnam. The race had been suspended due to the war, but now the South Vietnamese decided to have it again "to prove that the government rules the road." Basically they wanted to show that the roads were safe. The racers were to be escorted by armed helicopters and relays of tanks and armored personnel carriers as it made its way through the more dangerous sections. Despite all the precautions, still many people were concerned with the safety and security of the race. But they still went on to race. One guy says, "Racing is my life…It’s a sporting event and the Vietcong know the people want to be able to watch it….we’re athletes, we have nothing to do with politics." The only thing is that the racers may be apolitical but the Government’s intentions were to make a political point by staging the race. The organizers of the race originally planned for it to be the full scale tour of the country but they quickly and quietly went against that because of the continuing security problem in the northern provinces.

Finally, the day of the tour came and was then postponed for three hours due to the Vietcong attacking the South Vietnamese troops that were clearing the highway. The race did eventually go on though, and they did prove that the several thousand soldiers could protect the cyclists in the race. Yet one of the 2,200 soldiers did lose his life in the midst of protecting the cyclists, no cyclists were injured or killed though. Vietcong was reported to have minded several places along the route. The United States and Vietnamese mine sweeping teams did defuse them though. The race ended up being only 290 miles long though. The race was sponsored by the government after President Nguyen Van Thieu said on Jan 1^st that one could drive safely from the demilitarized zone, straddling the boundary of the North and South, to the southern tip of the country. The race did start 400 miles south of the zone though.

The Boys From Company C

The movie, The Boys From Company C, was about the Vietnam War. It showed some athletics that took place between the South Vietnamese and the United States Military. The athletics that took place in this movie was soccer. This movie showed a different point of view, and a few different reasons and intentions for playing soccer. The US military put together a soccer team. The guys joined to get away from combat and be stars and get to go home, or just not fight out on the combat field. The intentions the Lieutenant had for them was quite a bit different though. His intentions were not to win, but to let the South Vietnamese win. The reasoning for this was so that the South Vietnamese would build their confidence. They lacked confidence in every area, especially Government. They felt that the Vietcong had all the power, since they were taking them and their land over. This was a way for the US to strengthen the South Vietnamese. We felt that if we gave them confidence then they would build this confidence and continue to build it through other aspects of their lives. The US Military, knew this was the intent, to lose. The way Americans are raised and brought up though, we have this instinct that we have to win everything. So in the movie the guys didn’t end up letting the South Vietnamese win, they had to pick it up and beat the South Vietnamese to prove only to themselves they were better. At the time the US military soccer team thought it was a good idea to win, yet it just put them back out on the combat field, because the intents were not followed through with. Since there was no point in having the soccer games, because it wasn’t helping the South Vietnamese in any aspect, confidence or fighting in the war, there was no need to take these guys off the combat field to compete in soccer games. They needed them more out on the combat field instead of just destroying the South Vietnamese even more.

Seventh Annual Army Games

For a fortunate few soldiers they may take a break from the combat. They don’t have to throw the 12 lb. Bomb, they get to participate in the Seventh Annual Army Games. 500 plus athletes got to participate in this event. The event consisted of tennis, table tennis, badminton, volleyball, soccer and track and field events. The United States diplomatic and military representatives made use of it’s facilities, it is called, Henry Cabot Lodge, because in the days of his as Ambassador he used the pool daily for a 10-lap effort and swam a sort of breast stroke with his head high. The current Ambassador, Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor plays a good amount of tennis. He plays at Cercle Sportif and Gia Long Palace. He has played other Ambassadors, and General Majors, and the Lieutenant General William C. Westmoreland, the commanding officer of the 22,000 United States Military advisor to South Vietnamese forces. Cercle Sportif has a wide range of activities, including badminton, basketball, billiards, bowling on the grass, soccer judo, swimming, water polo, table tennis, rugby and-cultures, physiques and danses rythmiques. One type of track and field they compete in is the racing oval, which is a 2,100 meter course, in which the South Vietnamese picked up from the United States, track, but they picked it up from the air, so they did not no the circumference of it. Another thing they also had was horse racing.

Even through all this, they still had to take precautions of the Vietcong. They imbedded broken bottles on the top of the wall that partly enclosed Phu-Tho, the horse track. And where they didn’t have broken bottles they had barbed wire fence. This may have seemed as if a break from the war, but still they had to take precautions and it could have very easily turned into a massacre if not prepared and the Vietcong did decide to attack.

Foreign Sports

On March 6^th of 1968 the South Vietnamese confirmed that they would not participate in any foreign sports till the end of June. This was because of the cost of relief to recent war victims. This in turn put a question on if the South Vietnamese would then participate in the Olympics in Mexico, which later to find out they did participate.

Works Cited

"Bike Race Ends With No Casualties; South Vietnam Soldiers Guarding Route Killed in

Skirmish." New York Times (1970). Jan. 24^th, 5:1.

"South Vietnam Government stages 6-day bicycle race to emphasize it’s asseration it

exercises virtually complete control over country side and that road security is

greater now than it has been in years." New York Times (1970). Jan.19^th, 3:1.

Roach, James. "South Vietnam will not participate in foreign events; cities cost of relief

to war victims." New York Times (1968). March 7^th, 5:3.

"Vietcong attack on South Vietnamese troops delays race." New York Times (1970).

Jan. 22^nd, 4:3.

"Vietnam Sports programs continue, Saigon, despite war." New York Times (1964).

Nov. 15^th, 3:5.

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