Low IQ Soldiers Were Forced To Fight In Vietnam War

Shameful US armed forces act & dark history of project 100,000.

The Vietnam war — a proxy war fought between the United States of America and the Communist Soviet Union.

This war is also known as the Indochina war. This war lasted from 1955 to 1975; it is estimated that more than 2,000,000 people lost their lives in the conflict.

The reality of conflict struck hard when the Defense Secretary of the United States, Robert McNamara, visited Vietnam in 1966.

It was after this visit McNamara decided that the US would need at least 100,000 more soldiers in order to have any chance of defending their cause.

The controversial project that he launched upon reaching back to the US is known as Project 100,000, AKA McNamara’s Morons — Read below to find out more.

Not The First Time the US Recruited People Below Mental And Medical Standards

The United States Armed Forces recruited people below mental and medical standards at various times in its history.

One of these many times was the recruiting of people below the IQ level of 80 during the Second World War.

Another time when the US recruited low IQ soldiers was in the 1980s because of misinformed Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.

McNamara was obsessed with technology, and his thoughts were that he could easily turn a below-average soldier into an above-average soldier through technology and by teaching them using videotapes.

McNamara firmly believed that he could easily win the war in Vietnam by using advanced computerized tactics And analysis.

The Project 100,000 Itself

Project 100,000 was launched by McNamara after he convinced the sitting President of the USA.

The project’s aim was to raise at least 100,000 soldiers who would help the US in their war in Vietnam.

Project 100,000 was portrayed as something that would help with decreasing poverty.

In its initial stages, words like opportunity, training, and ending poverty were often used whenever Project 100,000 was discussed.

The recruited men who came out as soldiers from the program were classified as New Standards Men or pejoratively as the Moron Corps.

The number of soldiers reportedly recruited through the program is between 320,000 to 355,000 — This includes both voluntary draftees and enlistees.

Project 100,000 included soldiers who were unable to speak English, soldiers who had low altitude and minor physical impairment, and soldiers who were either over or underweight.

Surprisingly there was one more special category which was made up of a control group of NORMAL soldiers.

Each category of a soldier was identified by an official personnel record by a large red colored stamp on the first page of their enlistment contract — like the one used in the Captain America movie after Steve Rogers was rejected by the Army.

All the reports were prepared by the Human Resource Office, and monthly progress was delivered to the Department of the Army; however, no soldier identity was disclosed.

Aftermath Of The Controversial Program

Even when the project was promoted as a War on Poverty by President Lyndon Johnson’s administration, it still faced quite a lot of criticism from the common folks.

When compared with non-veterans, the McNamara Morons showed quite a lot of difference — whether it be in educational achievements, employment status, or even income, non-veterans were way ahead of the people who were selected in Project 100,000.

Veterans were more likely to stay unemployed, and if they managed to get a job, the difference between the pay was significantly lower than that of non-veterans — even the divorce rate was much higher for soldiers who were selected during the McNamara program.

One-Way Ticket To Vietnam

The program offered a lot to a person who wasn’t even fit for the job but what it also offered was a one way ticket to Vietnam or their death.

These men fought and died unnecessarily in disproportionate numbers — the McNamara Morons provided them with necessary expendable soldiers, which helped in evading the political horrors of the war.

All in all, many Americans believe that Project 100,000 was a rather failed experiment, and it provided nothing but a distraction for the military — as for the men, it was meant to help well, but it did bring little benefits.

When the government saw that the veterans were not doing well after the war and the project was facing severe backlash — they tried to put it into the category of post-war psychological consequences.

Final Words

Throughout history, many great nations have done things that were not fitting for their status.

One of these mistakes was Project 100,000, which showed a life of dreams, but what it really did was ruin their lives.

The majority of the veterans who got selected for this program struggled in their lives both financially and domestically.

These veterans suffered very early in their lives, and if they survived the war, the rest of their life was full of suffering.

More from the author: