1. Bachground Information

2. 1959 to April 30, 1975

5. September 2, 1945 - Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam, called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. January 1950 - The Viet Minh receive military advisors and weapons from China. July 1950 - The United States pledges $15 million worth of military aid to France to help them fight in Vietnam. May 7, 1954 - The French suffer a decisive defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. July 21, 1954 - The Geneva Accords creates a cease-fire for the peaceful withdrawal of the French from Vietnam and provides a temporary boundary between North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel. October 26, 1955 - South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam, with newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president.

6. December 20, 1960 - The National Liberation Front (NLF), also called the Viet Cong, is established in South Vietnam. November 2, 1963 - South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup. August 2 and 4, 1964 - North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident). August 7, 1964 - In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. March 2, 1965 - A sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign of North Vietnam begins (Operation Rolling Thunder). March 8, 1965 - The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam.

7. January 30, 1968 - The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. March 16, 1968 - U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai. July 1968 - General William Westmoreland, who had been in charge of the U.S. troops in Vietnam, is replaced by General Creighton Abrams. December 1968 - U.S. troops in Vietnam reaches 540,000. July 1969 - President Nixon orders the first of many U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam. September 3, 1969 - Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies at age 79. November 13, 1969 - The American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre.

8. April 30, 1970 - President Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. This news sparks nationwide protests, especially on college campuses. June 13, 1971 - Portions of the Pentagon Papers are published in The New York Times. March 1972 - The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam in what became known as the Easter Offensive. January 27, 1973 - The Paris Peace Accords are signed that provide a cease-fire. March 29, 1973 - The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam. March 1975 - North Vietnam launches a massive assault on South Vietnam. April 30, 1975 - South Vietnam surrenders to the communists.