Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam The Gulf of Tonkin resolution was passed in 1964, after an alleged torpedo attack. It gave LBJ the authority to fight a war in Viet Nam to repel Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Communist revolutionaries. Gulf of Tonkin

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam The Viet Cong were SV guerilla fighters who supported the overthrow of the SV gov’t. The VC received support from NV via the Ho Chi Minh Trail (an uninterrupted supply route passing through Laos and Cambodia).

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam Operation Rolling Thunder escalated the war with a strategy to overwhelm the enemy with numbers and technology. It involved saturation bombing, napalm (fire bombs) and Agent Orange (a herbicide to clear vegetation). Napalm from We Were Soldiers

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam An unstable government in SV minimized the responsibility of SV to defend themselves. A test of America’s ability to contain or defeat Communism surpassed the national interests of SV.

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam The VC and NVA were more resilient than anticipated. The U.S. committed over 500,000 troops and $30 billion to the war effort with limited success. The aggression and brutality of the enemy intensified, not weakened, as the war progressed.

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam Senator Fullbright’s anti-war hearings, protests, and the Pentagon Papers (classified documents released by the NY Times revealing gov’t lies) led to distrust of the gov’t, causing public opinion to spiral downward. Pentagon Papers

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam The Tet Offensive was launched by the VC and NVA on major cities in SV, to include the U.S. embassy in Saigon. The VC were eventually repelled, but the enemy proved they could conduct large scale, coordinated attacks. Tet Offensive

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam Nixon adopted the plan Vietnamization, which intended to replace American troops with SV troops. He reduced troop levels, replacing ground forces with intensified bombing raids via air power.

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam The invasion of Cambodia intended to eliminate safe havens for the VC, interrupt supply lines, and strengthen U.S. leverage at the peace talks, but instead, it expanded the war, reignited protests, and increased public distrust of the government.

Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam In Jan. 1973, just after Nixon’s re-election, a peace treaty was signed stating all U.S. troops would withdraw within 60 days. NV failed to live up to their promises to include the return of all POW’s and recognition of 17th parallel divide. NV conquered the SV in 1975. American losses included over 350,000 casualties, 58,000 of which were deaths. It was the first American war that officially ended in defeat. Fall of Saigon