1. U.S. Support of the War at Home & Abroad
Chapter 29
Section 2
The Vietnam War
Riddlebarger

2. President Lyndon B. Johnson
“I have asked the commanding general, General Westmoreland, what more he needs to meet this mounting aggression. He has told me. And we will meet his needs. We cannot be defeated by force of arms. We will stand in Vietnam.”
President Lyndon B. Johnson

3. The Air War 1st major direct U.S. military activity Goals after Tonkin
Pleiku & impact
Operation Rolling Thunder
Goals

4. Operation Rolling Thunder
Targets

5. Rolling Thunder

6. Ho Chi Minh Trail major target of bombing campaign Impact
Gen. Wheeler to Sec. of State McNamara: “not reduced in any major way”
More and bigger

7. Agent Orange Ho Chi Minh Trail thick jungles defoliants Agent Orange
Toxic Legacy

8. Other Air Weapons Napalm “Cluster Bombs” Carpet Bombing
By wars end, we dropped 3x more on North Vietnam (size of Texas) than on Africa, Asia & Europe combined in WW2

9. Impact of bombing campaign on war effort
Bombings do not weaken enemy’s war effort
Increased flow.
Effect:

10. The Ground War Escalation 185,000 in 1965 to 486,000 in 1967
U.S. marines landing at Da Nang in March 1965

11. Vietcong Tunnels

12. U.S. strategy search-and-destroy missions
Try to drive enemy from hide-outs.
Resulting problems

13. Pacification pacification Effects “hearts & minds”
infrastructure & provide economic programs
removal
Effects

14. Declining Troop Morale
Success assured?
History repeats
Dangers faced
Heavy communist casualties

15. US Forces Mobilize Over 2.5 million Americans serve in Vietnam
On average, most are younger than in previous wars
not well educated: 80% have high school diploma or less
from rural areas or inner cities
sons of WW2 or Korean veterans

16. The Draft professional soldiers The Draft College deferments
Causes some bitterness
African-Americans serve in high numbers
flee country

17. Non-combat positions Most in non-combat positions Women in the war
Administration, communication, engineering, medical & transportation
Dangers faced
Women in the war

18. Public Opinion Shifts Early support By the end of 1968:
16,000 dead
question the war
Hard to measure progress
Body counts

19. The Media’s Impact
News media coverage had a strong impact upon American opinion
Looser restrictions
Scenes of firefights & burning villages on TV screens
1st “Living Room War”
Images vs. gov. reports
Questioning of war

20. Hawks & Doves
media reports vs. government reports = increase of the debate at home over the war.
LBJ is criticized by both doves (opposed to war) and hawks (support war’s goals)
Doves:
Don’t see Vietnam as crucial to U.S. security
See us fighting against wishes of Vietnam people
Costs of war are hurting us at home.
Hawks:
Some disapprove of government handling of war
Want to see more troops & heavier bombing

21. The anti-War Movement
As opposition to the war grows, a large anti-war movement develops
College Campuses

22. Anti-War Rally
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)holds 1st national anti-war demonstration in April 1965.
- over 20,000 march to US capitol building.

23. Civil Disobedience Burning of draft cards Flag burnings
U.S. vs. O’Brien (1968)
Flag burnings
Constitutional issue?

24. Government Response Pres. Johnson response
Government: If U.S. failed to help an ally, who would trust us?

25. Anti-War Backlash
Anti-war protestors make up a small percentage of U.S. population
Opposition to protestors
Vets speak out
Protesters ultimately play some role in U.S. eventually deciding to withdraw from Vietnam.

26. Views on the Vietnam War
“We are honoring a treaty which committed us to
‘act to meet the common danger’ in the face of
‘aggression by means of an armed attack’…And we
are answering…the question: Are the word and
commitment of the United States reliable?”
- National Security Advisor Walt W. Rostow, on his
belief that communism must be stopped- by force if
necessary
“We seem bent upon saving the Vietnamese from Ho Chi
Minh, even if we have to kill them to do it…I do not
intend to remain silent in the face of what I regard as a
policy of madness which, sooner or later, will envelop
my son and American youths by the millions for years to
come.”
-Senator George McGovern, opposed to U.S. involvement in Vietnam.