Alabama Moon

The United States was a principal ally to the nation of South Vietnam during much of South Vietnam’s long conflict with the communist government of North Vietnam. To prevent communism’s spread in Southeast Asia, the US government increased military presence in South Vietnam over several years as a defensive measure, accumulating troop numbers there in 1961 and 1962. Bombing raids began in 1964 after torpedo boats attacked US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin; by 1965, US combat troops reported to South Vietnam to help their army actively defend the country. Additional troops, both volunteers and drafted civilians, numbered almost 500,000 by the end of 1967. Increasing protest of the war in the US, desertion, and incarceration of troops reflected the extremely divisive effects resulting from the conflict. The anti-war movement in the US strengthened in the late sixties as reports of horrific killing of Vietnamese civilians surfaced.

A peace agreement settled active hostility in January 1973. Vietnamese deaths are thought to be in the millions, and over 58,000 Americans were killed or missing. The conflict left many Americans with a mistrust of governmental decision-making, transparency, and ability to de-escalate international conflicts. Troops coming home faced re-acclimation to a US divided in its opinion about the war, the tactics used, even whether it “won” or “lost.” Many veterans suffered long-term physical and psychological effects from injuries, trauma, and the use of chemical weapons like Agent Orange. A statistic from the US Veterans Administration lists that “Some 500,000 of the 3 million troops who served in Vietnam suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and rates of divorce, suicide, alcoholism and drug addiction were markedly higher among veterans.”

In Alabama Moon, Moon discovers that his father fought in the Vietnam War; Uncle Mike, Mr. Abroscotto, and Mr. Mitchell speculate that Pap’s reasons for choosing an isolated, survivalist existence center on his observances and experiences in the war and his mistrust of the US government because of it. Moon did not know why Pap suffered from paranoia and confusion, but these might be linked to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other psychological effects from the war. Mr. Mitchell, another Vietnam War veteran, struggles with alcoholism. He tells Moon, “I think the difference with Vietnam was you had a lot of people that the government made go over there that didn’t wanna go” (206).