The longest war in our history, it
was the most reported and most
visible to the public, but the least
understood
French
France was the colonial ruler of
Ho Chi Minh led the communist
party in Vietnam (Indochina)
Minh had been asking for
independence since WWI and had been promised help from the US after WWII since he helped to fight Japan
Minh organized the Vietminh:
Vietnamese Communist Party
Why didn’t the US support Minh
Domino Theory
Fear that if one
country falls to
communism, all
Dien Bien Phu
Billions of dollars were being
spent by the French
In 1954, the Vietnamese
attacked the French at Dien Bien Phu which the French thought to be impregnable
After this the French left
A new Vietnam
A peace conference was
called for to decide on Vietnam (Indochina) called the Geneva Accords, 1954
This would divide
Vietnam at the 17th parallel and called for national elections in 1956
The North was controlled
US and Vietnam
The south was controlled by
Ngo Dihn Diem and knew that if there were national
elections, he would lose
Ho Chi Minh was the George
Washington of Vietnam
Diem canceled the elections
We supported Diem because
he was anti-communist
Kennedy sent limited help in
the form of advisors and helicopters; he needed a
No go Ngo……
With American
support,
Vietnamese
generals
The
Vietcong
formed in
south Vietnam, but
supported the north
Ho Ho Ho
The
Ho Chi Minh
Trail
was a series of
trails to supply the
VC (Vietcong)
Bring it on!
LBJ saw Vietnam as a way to re-establish US
credibility (so did JFK before his assassination); he saw it as a war between the US and China, not
Vietnam
Aug. 2, 1964: In the Gulf of Tonkin: Johnson
announced that a US ship, the Maddox, was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, near North Vietnam
North Vietnam denied the attacks and claimed the
LBJ asked Congress to pass
the Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions
By June 1965, 50,000 troops
were in Vietnam
It was later said that the
Tunnels
Many VC hid in underground
tunnels and some lived there
Others would hide in Cambodia
and Laos
One problem with search and
destroy was that the enemy could hear the US machinery coming and hide
The guerrillas controlled the pace
of the war
We hoped it would be a war of
attrition
It was frustrating to US troops
The Air War
Rolling Thunder
Bombing of Vietnam
More tonnage of bombs were
dropped on Vietnam than those used in WWI, WWII and Korea
It had little effect; special decoy
buildings by the VC and protection shelters
We dropped things other than
explosives
6.2 million tons of bombs
Other than bombs
Isn’t that illegal??
In 1969, President Richard Nixon
began to pull soldiers out of
Vietnam, per his election promise
The Air War was increased as
ground troops left
Nixon also called for Vietnamization
of the war: pull out US troops and let the south fight for themselves
Laos and Cambodia
Nixon also later ordered the
bombing of Laos and Cambodia………..why???
The American people didn’t find out
The kids fight
back…….
Students began to protest theinvasions
Over one million kids protest and
over 1200 colleges closed
May 4, 1970: Kent State
University: students protesting the war and illegal invasions
Burned the ROTC building and the
mayor called out the National Guard
The students began throwing rocks
at the guards and the National Guard opened fire injuring 9 and killing 4; including 2 who were not protesting
Similar incidents in Jackson State in
The following letters are a sampling of the many letters received by the Schroeders after the death of their son.
Mr and Mrs Schroeder,
There's nothing better that a dead destructive, riot making communist, and that's what your son was, if not he would have stayed away like a good American would do.
Now you know what a goody-goody son you had.
They should all be shot, then we'd have a better U.S.A. to live in. Be thankful he is gone, Just another communist.
Mrs. Schroeder,
I heard you on T.V. and if I were a policeman I would kill a lot more of these kids. Keep your kids home then they do not get in trouble. My boys and girls do not get in trouble. Sure looks bad for you parents.
Kids belong in Your home, entertain them in your home like we still do here. hope the police and Army kill a lot more kids. It has to be stopped now as it is getting so you can not go out on the street.
Hanoi Hilton
Vietnamese POW camp
Paris Peace Accords, 1973
Ended the war in
Vietnam and restored peace
The north was allowed
to keep troops in the south
After all US troops were
Fall of Saigon
Saigon fell in 1975 The north took control
of the south and united Vietnam as a
communist country
President Ford, at first,
Results
of the Vietnam War
Over 58,000 died
Over 2000 MIA\POW’s (many still thought to be
there)
189 billion dollars spent SE Asia was left unstable
In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge overtook the country
and killed 2 million trying to make it a peasant society
– Pol Pot
