September 25, 1964

“We don’t want our American boys to do the fighting for Asian boys. We don’t want to get tied down in a land war in Asia.”

August 2, 1964• NV torpedo boats fire

on Maddox• Damage-1 Bullet hole!• 3 Torpedoes Missed!

August 4, 1964• Maddox used as bait!• No one heard a single

shot! US Response-64

planes bomb oil depot in NV.

Maddox was in international waters!

Maddox was on an espionage mission• Collecting info

and dropping commandos into NV

August 7, 1964• House 416-0• Senate 88-2

Gave LBJ a “Blank Check”• Gave the President the

right to repel by any means necessary any attack against US armed forces.

Grandma’s Nightshirt

Operation Rolling Thunder• Supposed to take 6-8

weeks, lasted 4 years• Showed support for

SV & Bomb the Ho Chi Minh Trail

• “We’re going to bomb them back to the Stone Age.” –Curtis LeMay

Most commonly used-Agent Orange• US sprayed millions

of gallons on the jungles of Vietnam

• 100,000x deadlier than any other chemical in the world

• It’s a carcinogen!!

Jellied Gasoline• An incendiary bomb

used to burn away the jungle!

• Also causes cancer!• Outlawed in 1984.

Planes fly in groups of 3• No clear objectives!• Level areas 1 mile

long and a ½ mile wide.

Puff the Magic Dragon• Guns that fires 18,000

rounds/minute

Main supply line for the VietCong• It ran from North

Vietnam, through Laos, and into Cambodia.

Massive bombing of Laos/Cambodia starting in 1964.• Done in secret!• After revolution in

Laos!• Boomerang Effect-

massive infiltration of troops down the trail. 1965-8,800/month 1967-100,000/month

First combat troops sent in March 6, 1965

Defensive War-learned lessons of aggression from Korea.• Troop level increased to

550,000• Search and Destroy-

Locate enemy, call in air strike, clear ground w/troops

• Problem-Never hold and control any territory.

Secretary of Defense-Robert McNamara• “If it’s dead and

Vietnamese, it’s Vietcong”

• Inflated Statistic• If you kill 2, say that

you killed 8 or 10.• Why?

A.K.A. Forced Urbanization• Moved refugees to

camps or cities and then burned their homes.

• Op. Phoenix-CIA secretly executed 20,000 SV civilians that were suspected communists-

Attrition was to be the key• Push the VC out of the

cities and into the countryside

• US could then use firepower and mobility to then destroy the enemy.

2.6 million men served• Average Age-19,

WWII-26• Vietnam-25%, WWII-

66%• Poor, only 1/10 had a

college education• Thousands stayed in

college while over 30,000 went to Canada.

General William Westmoreland-”I have never been more encouraged in my 4 years in Vietnam. We have reached an important point when the end comes into view.

“You can kill 10 of my men for every 1 I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.”

“I know Americans they are impatient people. They will leave.”

Vietnamese New Year• VC attacked over 100

cities and 12 US bases Saigon

• New embassy a symbol of American power One of 6 main targets

• LBJ said it was the most secure site in Vietnam

• 2:45am 15 people blew a hole in the 8 ft. wall

• 9:20am Embassy was secured!

Militarily-US lost no territory• Casualties- US (1000)• SV (2000)• NV (45,000)• Westy-Battle of the

Bulge? Politically-hurt US

confidence, losing the war• VC-Morale down, lost

confidence in leadership, doubtful of victory.

Walter Cronkite• “ I thought that we

were winning this war. What the hell is going on here?

LBJ-• “If I’ve lost Walter,

then its all over. I’ve lost the average American.

• Westmoreland asked for 206,000 troops

• LBJ gave him 10,500

New Hampshire Primary• LBJ 49%• Senator Eugene

McCarthy 48.6% (Minn)

• Soon Robert Kennedy would enter the race for 1968.

Hawks – pro-war Doves – anti-war Norman Morrison

• Quaker, father of 3 threw child near the Pentagon

• Then set himself on fire due to the war

• March 31, 1968-LBJ announced that he would not run for a 2nd term & halt bombing

Alice Herz• 82 year old woman that

burned herself alive-Detroit