1959 - 1975 major US involvement 1964 - 1973 THE VIETNAM WAR 1959 - 1975 major US involvement 1964 - 1973

VIETNAM WAS DIFFERENT Guerrilla tactics Helicopter war 9,000 miles away Test of domino theory “Living Room” war Draft opposition

US TROOP LEVELS 1964 = 23,300 1965 = 184,300 1966 = 385,300 1967 = 485,600 1968 = 536,100 1969 = 475,200 1970 = 334,600 1971 = 156,800 1972 = 24,200 1973 = 50 3.3 million total Americans served 58,000 US killed

THE DRAFT Registration of 18 – 26 year olds Average US serviceman = 19 years old One year tours of duty College deferments meant poor & minorities overrepresented – “working class war”

EARLY US INVOLVEMENT 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gives LBJ power to send combat troops 3-yr bombing campaign using Napalm & Agent Orange Ground war begins 1965 War of attrition Search and destroy missions = 3 mil refugees “Hearts & Minds” campaign

1967: SIEGE OF KHE SAHN Build up of troops on both sides summer 1967 Siege of US Marine base by NV forces for 77 days Massive air campaign launched by US Base abandoned by US in July 1968; led to criticisms in media

1968: TET OFFENSIVE Surprise attack on Tet (New Year Holiday) 100 cities & US embassy attacked Military loss for VC and NV Public opinion loss for US Westmoreland had said end in sight; “credibility gap” for LBJ as people stop believing him LBJ announces beginning of negotiations & says he will not run for second term

1968: MY LAI MASSACRE US platoon search for VC rebels in village of My Lai US troops shoot more than 300 civilians (women, children, elderly) Cover-up by Army later reported by NY Times shocked American public Many returning vets called “baby-killers”

1969: VIETNAMIZATION Nixon takes presidency Negotiations going nowhere “Vietnamization” plan by Nixon & Kissinger to gradually withdraw US troops & train SV to take over “Peace with honor” Nixon gives secret order for bombing campaign against NV, Laos, and Cambodia while still negotiating

1970: CAMBODIA INVASION Nixon announces US troops had invaded Cambodia to counter VC supply lines Cambodia neutral Congress not informed College campus protests Kent State students burn ROTC building National Guard opens fire, kills 4, wounds 9 Similar protest at Jackson State kills 2, wounds12

1971: PENTAGON PAPERS 7,000 page Pentagon document Showed gov. had planned invasion even as LBJ had promised not to send US troops Showed gov. had no plan to end war Leaked to New York Times

OPPOSITION TO THE WAR 1965: 61% support 1971: 28% support Hawks vs. Doves Student-led organizations (Free Speech Movement, Students for a Democratic Society) Rallies & marches, protest songs Draft card burning, draft dodgers

1972-73: THE FINAL PUSH North launches biggest attack since Tet Nixon orders massive bombing campaign Negotiations break down but agreement finally reached after Christmas bombings in 1972 March 1973 last US troops withdrawn Fall of Saigon in 1975 leads to evacuation of all Americans from Saigon

AFTERMATH OF THE WAR AMERICA Loss of trust in leaders Inflation & tax increases Nation divided Veterans mistreated upon return home PTSD, suicide, drug & alcohol problems of veterans Domino Theory questioned War Powers Act SE ASIA Vietnamese “reeducation” work camps Vietnamese refugees Toxins, birth defects, other disease from napalm & agent orange Cambodian civil war & genocide