Do Now: 4/19 Identify: All Countries; Bodies of Water Gulf of Tonkin Incident Ho Chi Minh Trail Dienbienphu Hanoi Saigon Hue Da Nang My Lai 17th Parallel

Essential Questions Vietnam War What are the effects of the media on foreign conflicts? Why was the Vietnam war unlike any war the U.S. had ever fought in? Why are some wars unifying and some wars divisive?

The Vietnam War

Recall the events of the Vietnam War from 1945-1963 Japanese Occupation 1941-1945 France reoccupies 1945-1954 Vietminh fight French forces French defeated at Dienbienphu in 1954 Geneva Accords- Elections cancelled 1956 Ngo Diem Diem fighting Vietcong in South Vietnam (1956-1963) Diem assassinated Nov 1963 U.S. troops in Vietnam- 16,000 (1963)

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution August 2 and August 4, 1964 American destroyer “Maddox” was patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam Feared torpedo attack false alarm Ordered to retaliate against N. Vietnam for torpedo attack that did not occur Lyndon B. Johnson ordered bombing strike on N. Vietnamese naval bases to widen political support- Election of 1964

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution August 7, 1964 Gave president the authority to “…take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression.” Allowed Johnson to send forces into combat without seeking formal declaration of war against N. Vietnam "It's like grandmother's nightshirt. It covers everything."

1965 Operation Rolling Thunder Air Force Joint Chief of Staff Curtis Le May The U.S. should “bomb North Vietnam back to the Stone Age.” Secret bombing of Ho Chi Minh Trail (Laos) supply routes Expanded to systematic bombing of North Vietnam Failed to stop stream of soldiers and supplies via the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Operation Rolling Thunder 1965 20,000 U.S. Troops End of 1965 200,000 U.S. Troops 1968 540,000 U.S. Troops

Who fought in Vietnam Young men 18-26 Men who volunteered Men who were drafted Lower income men Minorities

Men who volunteered Most never heard of Vietnam Felt it was their duty to stop the spread of communism Idealistic

Selective Service Classfications 1-A Ready for immediate induction. (no deferment) 1-Y Qualified for military service only in time of national emergency (classification eliminated 10-Dec-1971) 2-S Student deferment (temporary delay) 3-A Extreme hardship to dependents 4-F Unqualified for military service (exemption)

December 1, 1969 marked the date of the first draft lottery held since 1942. This drawing determined the order of induction for men born between January 1, 1944 and December 31, 1950.  A large glass container held 366 blue plastic balls containing every possible birth date and affecting men between 18 and 26 years old

Attrition General William Westmoreland West Point graduate (WWII and Korea veteran) Was not impressed by ARVN- Army of the Republic of Vietnam (S. Vietnamese troops) Attrition- killing so many of the enemy that they no longer had the ability or the will to fight Vietcong or innocent civilian?

Battle for “Hearts and Minds” Americans had to keep the Vietcong from winning the support of S. Vietnamese rural villagers “Just remember this. Communist guerrillas hide among the people. If you win the people over to your side, the communist guerrillas have no place to hide.”

Saw war as battle for their own existence… Vietcong Tactics Saw war as battle for their own existence… Hit and Run/ Ambush tactics Enemy lived amidst civilian population Elaborate tunnels Booby traps and land mines Keen knowledge of jungle terrain leeches heat

“We had to destroy the town in order to save it.” American War Tactics Napalm- is a flammable, gasoline-based weapon which sticks to skin and burns badly (800 to 1,200 degrees Celsius) Agent Orange- a toxic chemical to kill plants. Poisons soil, destroys food chain, causes cancer, and other birth defects/diseases Search-and-Destroy missions- uprooting suspected Vietcong, killing livestock, burning villages “We had to destroy the town in order to save it.”

“The Girl in the Picture”- Kim Phuc June 8, 1972 South Vietnamese planes dropped a napalm bomb on Trang Bang Bombing killed two of Kim Phuc's cousins and two other villagers Kim Phuc was badly burned and tore off her burning clothes Associated Press photographer Nick Ut captured image 4-month hospital stay and 17 surgical procedures

Villagers Resentment South Vietnamese started to resent U.S. soldiers because they were killing villagers and kicking them of their ancestral land Am. planes dropped leaflets warning civilians they would be bombed if they hid Vietcong

( turned to drugs and alcohol) Sinking Morale Soldiers frustrated with guerilla warfare Jungle Conditions Some didn’t support the war to begin with ( turned to drugs and alcohol) South Vietnamese gov’t corrupt and unstable (civil war within a civil war)

“The Living Room War” Media- combat footage appeared nightly Quoting body-count stats 16,000 dead between 1961- 1967 Credibility gap- growing between what Johnson administration reported and what was really happening