Hi all -- I just got finished reading Chickenhawk, and while it was a great read the author generally held the same opinion as most Vietnam veterans about the ARVNs: that they were useless in combat and in general did not want to be there.
I originally thought this might simply be some old-fashioned 60s racism, but the author (and most others) spoke very highly of the Koreans.
So what gives? Were the South Vietnamese just incapable of fielding a decent military, or were the soldiers being forced into a war they didn't care about?
There seems to be a level of bias and a rhetoric of heroism that certain American vets attempt to uphold. Others yet see the opportunity to demonise the ARVN soldiers, a scapegoating of the US' failures in the war that really should be redirected at policymakers. Yet, despite this, there are those who hold the exact opposite views. I don't recall in particular what the discussion was called but it had a number of ARVN and US vets featured to discuss their experiences in the war, and the US vets generally regarded their ARVN brothers in arms in a positive light; recounting stories of women and children gathering supplies to cook food for their troops; of what the war meant to them and their families and how ARVN soldiers would aid wounded American soldiers. I think it would be quite disingenuous to say that ARVN soldiers did not care for the war because, if anything, it was them and their families who had the most to lose in defeat.
It could be pointed out, for instance, that the ARVN lost about 4,200 men during the Tet Offensive in contrast to about 45,000 on the other side; was that a fluke? Another example could be the Battle of Xuan Loc whereby the ARVN held off an enemy force some 10 times larger. Throughout the war, their deaths totalled some quarter of a million in contrast to over a million communist forces. Ultimately, however, inflation compounded by a loss of morale, poor leadership (of the government) and cuts to military aid eventually led to the Fall of Saigon but the capitulation took years to happen which says a lot. If they were as incapable and inept as depicted in popular culture, they wouldn't have been able to hold off the communist forces for some 3 years after the Americans withdrew.
The South Koreans were regarded for their ferocity. There are many vivid accounts of their brutality for not just the enemy forces but civilians of the South. They, unfortunately, have blood on their hands when it comes to civilian massacres and ill treatment of "comfort women". Mutilation of enemy forces is often cited. Statistically, only 4,000 or so out of about 320,000 of them died in the war during their decade long commitment.