THE VIETNAM WAR1950s to 1975

BACKGROUND Before WWII Vietnam was

controlled by France French fought to keep

control of Vietnam US supported France from

1945-1951 Ho Chi Minh—communist

who led the independence of Vietnam against French

Dien Bien Phu—last stand of the French in Vietnam French were surrounded

and turned to the US for aid but Eisenhower said no

May 1954—Dien Bien Phu fell and the French were forced to leave Vietnam

French Soldiers surrender at Dien Bien Phu

DIVISION OF VIETNAM

After this a peace conference was held in Geneva Switzerland to decide what to do to Vietnam

US feared Ho Chi Minh taking communist power and believed in the domino theory: US followed the idea that if Vietnam fell, then all other countries in Southeast Asia would fall as well

At the conference, Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel

COMMUNIST NORTH

Communists were led by Ho Chi Minh with support from China. He had previously fought against the French to gain control of Vietnam.

NON-COMMUNIST SOUTH VIETNAM

South Vietnam was led by a repressive regime run by Ngo Dinh Diem. The US supported him because he was fighting North Vietnam, not because he was a good leader. On Nov. 3rd 1963 he was assassinated by a CIA backed coup.

The Ultimate Anti-Government Protest

One of the reasons US supported the assassination of Diem was world opinion questioned the US support of an oppressive government. Questions arose after Vietnamese Buddhists Monks set them selves on fire and burned in the streets as a way to protest Diem’s government. (Ironically, 20 days later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in the U.S.

The War Escalates Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

President Johnson began to escalate US involvement in Vietnam after the 1974 election.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Johnson told Congress that two

US destroyers were bombed in the Gulf of Tonkin in North Vietnam.

Congress passed the resolution to authorize the President to “take all necessary steps including armed conflict,” in Vietnam.

Late 1965—184,000 US troops were in Vietnam, the height was in 1968 with over 536,000 US troops in Vietnam

FIGHTING IN A FOREIGN LAND

Some images may be disturbing

FIGHTING IN THE JUNGLE

US troops were fighting the North Vietnamese army and South Vietnamese who wanted to be part of the North—the Vietcong—Hard to know who was the enemy.

There were no battle fronts. There was the use of guerilla tactics and the Vietcong used hit and run tactics, ambushes and booby traps.

American Tactics: search and destroy: bombed enemy positions to try to

forced soldiers out into open combat Napalm: jellied gasoline that explodes, clings, and burn

whatever it touches Agent Orange: chemical that stripped the leaves off of

trees and brush and was used to improve visibility.

NAPALM

Kim Phuc was the subject of a Pulitzer-Prize winning photograph during the Vietnam War taken in 1972, when she was a child, running naked down a road, screaming in pain from the napalm that was burning through her skin. The photograph has come to epitomize the tragedy of the Vietnam War. (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/napalm.htm)

Used by U.S. Military to clear the thick jungles of Vietnam. Napalm is gasoline based that would stick and burn human skin. There is no way to remove napalm once it hits skin other than cutting away the area, or letting it burn out.

AGENT ORANGE

Agent Orange was a chemical/pesticide used to burn the leaves off trees

Used in both Korean and Vietnam War.

By 1967--1.5 million acres were being doused annually.

TET OFFENSIVE-TURING POINT OF THE VIETNAM WAR

TET-Vietnamese New Year--Both sides had agreed to a cease fire.

January 30, 1968—communist guerillas launched a major offensive against the US and the South.

US embassy in Saigon was attacked.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Changing Opinion in the US: up until this point the US public had been told that we were winning the war but the television coverage of the event in the US led to the spread of anti-war sentiment and protests. As THOUSANDS of soldier’s bodies returned home, Americans turned against the war.

EFFECTS OF AGENT ORANGE Most of the

images relating to the effects of agent orange are too disturbing to include.

Widespread amounts of birth defects, spina bifida, deformed fetuses, and incidents of cancer.

Sad Effects in Children

The Vietnam Red Cross reported as many as 3 million Vietnamese people have been affected by Agent Orange, including at least 150,000 children born with birth defects.[35] According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 people being killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.[11]

Children in the areas where Agent Orange was used have been affected and have multiple health problems, including cleft palate, mental disabilities, hernias, and extra fingers and toes. (Wikipedia)

AMERICANS PROTESTS THE WAR

In response to the TET Offensive, changing media coverage, and the culture of the late 1960s, protests against the war spread across the nation.

The media highlighted war crimes as the norm of Vietnam soldiers.

MY LAI MASSACRE

On March 16, 1968 the angry and frustrated men of Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai. "This is what you've been waiting for -- search and destroy -- and you've got it," said their superior officers. A short time later the killing began. When news of the atrocities surfaced, it sent shockwaves through the U.S. political establishment, the military's chain of command, and an already divided American public.The agitated troops, under the command of Lt. William Calley, entered the village poised for engagement with their elusive enemy.

My Lai Massacre

As the "search and destroy" mission unfolded, it soon degenerated into the massacre of over 300 apparently unarmed civilians including women, children, and the elderly. Calley ordered his men to enter the village firing, though there had been no report of opposing fire. According to eyewitness reports offered after the event, several old men were bayoneted, praying women and children were shot in the back of the head, and at least one girl was raped and then killed. For his part, Calley was said to have rounded up a group of the villagers, ordered them into a ditch, and mowed them down in a fury of machine gun fire. (pbs.org)

Ending the War in Vietnam Nixon’s Plan for

Withdrawal Vietnamization: term for

Nixon’s plan to withdraw from the war.

Vietnamization had two phases—phased withdrawal of US troops and training and equipping South Vietnamese to replace US troops

January 23, 1973—a cease fire was signed and US troops were removed from South Vietnam but the North Vietnamese remained.

THE FALL OF SAIGON

The End of the War: January 1975—North Vietnamese launched an attack an took over the capital of Saigon in S. Vietnam.

As the North Vietnamese moved into Saigon, supporters of the US scrambled to get out of the capital.

July 2, 1975—North and South Vietnam were united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam—a communist country.

RESULTS OF THE WAR 58,220 Americans Died

A SHAMEFUL HISTORY

American Soldiers returned home from Vietnam to a hostile public.

Soldiers were harassed, spit on, called “baby killers”

There were no welcome home parades.