Content Warning: This section contains references to war-related trauma and systemic racism against Indigenous Americans.

The Vietnam War lasted from 1954 to 1975, with United States military intervention officially ending in 1973. The conflict began after the North Vietnamese revolution ended French colonial rule in 1954. The US provided military and financial aid to South Vietnam to support their fight against communist North Vietnamese forces, who had the support of the Soviet Union. The conflict is now widely regarded as a proxy war resulting from Cold War tensions. The war was famously unpopular among US citizens, with millions participating in the antiwar protest movement through the end of the 1960s.

As was the case in World War II and other past conflicts, Indigienous Americans served in disproportionately large numbers compared to other racial groups. One quarter of eligible Indigenous Americans served in the Vietnam War, while one twelfth of all eligible Americans served (Holm, Tom. “Strong Hearts, Wounded Souls: An Excerpt: Chapter 4: A Legacy of War: The American Indian Vietnam Generation.” Wicazo Sa Review, vol. 11, no. 2, 1995, pp. 2-15). The Trauma of War led many veterans of the conflict to develop PTSD, and it was in part their experiences that led to the establishment of PTSD as a formal diagnosis in 1980 (though accounts of the symptoms of course predate this, using terms like “shell shock” or “combat fatigue”).