 During
WWII Japan took control
of the area
 Ho Chi Minh who was a
communist supporter who formed
the Vietminh to overthrow
Japanese forces that took control
during WWII
 Being enemies of Japan the U.S.
sent military aid to the Vietminh
 When Japan lost WWII, Ho Chi
Minh declared Vietnam
independent
French
troops invade to drive out the
Vietminh
 France appealed to U..S.. for help, but
U..S. was torn.
 Anti-colonization and Anti- communist
With China falling to communism and
the start off the Korean War the U..S.
decides to give France military aid
 By 1954 the U..S.. is paying for ¾ off
France’s war costs
I. Why did the U.S. send troops to Vietnam?
A. Ho Chi Minh defeated the French in 1954 and
Vietnam was split into North and South.
B. North Vietnam was led by Communist Ho Chi MinhSouth Vietnam was led by U.S. backed Diem.
Geneva Accords
Vietnam is also divided in ½ at the
17th parallel
free elections were to be held in
1956
 Diem refused to allow elections in
1956 because Minh was sure to win
 Vietnam heads for a Civil War
with the U..S.. caught in the middle

C. Many South Vietnamese opposed U.S. backed Diem.
D. Vietcong were South Vietnamese guerrillas who were
backed by the North and fought against the South’s
government
E. President John F. Kennedy believed in the Domino
Theory, the idea that if one Southeast Asian country fell
to communism, the rest would also, like a row of
dominos.
F. In 1961, he sent military
advisors to help Diem fight the
Vietcong
Diem’s
assassination
 However unpopular Diem
had been he was also a strong
political leader
 Without Diem South
Vietnam collapses
 US must get more involved
G. 1963- Lyndon Johnson became President and sent more aid to
South Vietnam
H. 1964- Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- after a U.S. ship is attacked,
Congress passed this which allowed President Johnson to take “all
necessary measures” to prevent another attack
I. Thus, the war escalated and by 1968 there were over 500,000
troops fighting in the Vietnam War.
An
intense bombing
campaign against
North Vietnam.
J. American soldiers faced many hardships fighting a
“guerilla war” in jungle terrain, going on search and
destroy missions.
US
tactics:
 Search and destroy missions
 Find the enemy, bomb them,
destroy the supply lines, and force
them out into the open
 Napalm
 Agent Orange would burn out
jungle cover
A Viet Cong prisoner awaits interrogation at a Special
Forces detachment in Thuong Duc, Vietnam, 15 miles
(25 km) west of Danang, January 1967
Troops of the 1st Air Cavalry Division check houses while patrolling an area 25 miles (40
km) north of Qui Nhon as part of Operation Thayer, October 1966. The mission was
designed to clear out a mountain range where two battalions of North Vietnamese were
believed to be preparing for an attack on an airstrip.
In Long Khanh province, Vietnam, R. Richter of the 4th Battalion,
503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, left, and Sgt. Daniel E.
Spencer await the helicopter that will airlift their dead comrade,
1966
Soldiers carry a wounded comrade to safety, 1969
Search-and-clear operation- Who is who?
A Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, moves a Viet Cong suspect to the rear
during a search-and-clear operation by the battalion 15 miles (24 km) west of
Danang air base, August 1965
Traversing the jungle
During Operation Hastings, Marines of Company H, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment take to the water as
they move to join other elements of their battalion in Dong Ha, Vietnam, July 1966
Burning camp
A Viet Cong base camp burns as Pfc. Raymond Rumpa of St. Paul, Minnesota, walks away with his 45pound 90mm rifle in My Tho, Vietnam, April 1968
Helped by
buddies
Waiting for evacuation
Two wounded American soldiers await airlift to base hospital to treat injuries
suffered in battle
Khe
Sanh, a US Marine base, was one
of the most remote outposts in Vietnam
and was facing a full-scale seige by the
North Vietnamese Forces.
On the morning of January 21, 1968, at
5:30 am, the Vietnamese Army Forces
launched the awaited attack by a
barrage of shells, mortars and rockets,
and the siege of Khe Sanh began.
During
the first two days, 18 Marines
were killed instantly and 40 were
wounded.
By the end of February, more than
1300 artillery rounds had hit the Khe
Sahn Marine base and its outposts
During the first three weeks of March
things became relatively quiet around
the base when the North Vietnamese
Forces retreated into the jungle.
Without
warning on the 22 March,
the North Vietnamese launched a
massive attack on Khe Sanh. More
than 1000 rounds hit the base, at a
rate of a hundred every hour.
By June 1968, highly mobile
American forces were in the area,
and the base no longer needed
defending.
On
the Tet New Year, the Vietcong
forces went into action and
launched coordinated fierce attacks
on more than a 100 cities and towns
over the length and breadth of
South Vietnam
North Vietnam lost 85000
The Americans lost 2500 men in
the Tet Offensive.
 One
of the most horrific incidents of violence
against civilians during the Vietnam War.
 A company of American soldiers brutally killed
the majority of the population of the South
Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai in March 1968.
 Though exact numbers remain unconfirmed, it is
believed that as many as 500 people including
women, children and the elderly were killed in the
My Lai Massacre.
Higher-ranking
U.S. Army officers
managed to cover up the events of that
day for a year before revelations by a
soldier who had heard of the massacre
sparked a wave of international
outrage and led to a special
investigation into the matter.
In 1970, a U.S. Army board charged 14
officers of crimes related to the events
at My Lai; only one was convicted.
The
brutality of the My Lai
killings and the extent of the
cover-up exacerbated growing
antiwar sentiment on the home
front in the United States and
further divided the nation over
the continuing American
presence in Vietnam.
The
majority of protests took place
on college campuses.
This minority included many
students as well as prominent
artists and intellectuals and
members of the hippie movement, a
growing number of young people
who rejected authority and
embraced the drug culture.
On
October 21, 1967, one of the most
prominent anti-war demonstrations
took place, as some 100,000 protesters
gathered at the Lincoln Memorial;
around 30,000 of them continued in a
march on the Pentagon later that night.
After a brutal confrontation with the
soldiers and U.S. Marshals protecting
the building, hundreds of
demonstrators were arrested.
On April
30, 1970, President
Richard M. Nixon appeared on
national television to announce the
invasion of Cambodia by the
United States and the need to draft
150,000 more soldiers for an
expansion of the Vietnam War
effort.
This provoked massive protests on
campuses throughout the country.
 At
Kent State University in Ohio, protesters
launched a demonstration that included
setting fire to the ROTC building, prompting
the governor of Ohio to dispatch 900
National Guardsmen to the campus.
 Twenty-eight guardsmen opened fire on a
crowd, killing four students and wounding
nine. Following the killings, the unrest across
the country escalated even further. Almost
five hundred colleges were shut down or
disrupted by protests.
K. 1968- Richard Nixon is elected Presidentpromises to end the war
Another
factor that caused public
support for the war to end.
The New York Times began
publishing portions of the
Pentagon Papers.
The papers were a study ordered
by the former Secretary of
Defense and documented the
history of US involvement in
Vietnam.
They
revealed that the Executive
Branch had lied to Congress
concerning the war.
Presidents had made secret
decisions and undertaken
unapproved military actions.
The public was shocked and
appalled and support for the war
quickly dwindled.
L. 1973- Cease-fire is reached
M. 1974- Last U.S. troops leave Vietnam
N. 1975- South Vietnam falls to North Vietnamese
communist forces—Saigon falls.
Signed
by the U.S., South Vietnam, North
Vietnam, and the leaders of the Vietcong.
Called for:
 The withdrawal of US troops from
Vietnam within 60.
 The release of prisoners of War
 All parties involved would end military
activities in Laos and Cambodia
 The 17th parallel would continue to
divide North and South Vietnam.
A reaction
to the Vietnam War.
Congress passed it in 1973 when the
United States withdrew from combat
operations in Vietnam after more than
a decade.
The War Powers Act says that a
president has the latitude to commit
troops to combat zones, but, within 48
hours of doing so he must formally
notify Congress and provide his
explanation for doing so.
If
Congress does not
agree with the troop
commitment, the
president must remove
them from combat within
60 to 90 days.
It
was an extremely costly war with
over 58,000 Americans dead and
over 150,000 wounded in battle.
Veterans developed post traumatic
stress disorders.
Vets became alcoholics and drug
addicts.
Soldiers were not given a warm
welcome home.