1. Cold War Conflicts
Korea - Vietnam

2. Korea First war that grew from Cold War ideologies
1950 – Communist North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and attacked Democratic South Korea
Douglas MacArthur
Led America to victory
Fired by Truman for being insubordinate
Wanted to use A-bomb against China
38th parallel kept as a result

3. Bay of Pigs Invasion
CIA trained Cubans to overthrow Communist Fidel Catsro
Plan was a disaster
Air attacks failed
Cubans could not make it ashore
The U.S. was humiliated and had to accept defeat

4. Berlin The Soviets took a strong hold in East Berlin
They continued to seek a blockade of people flowing from east to west
The Soviets built a wall, the Berlin Wall, to stop the flow and avoid a showdown with the U.S. in Germany

5. Cuban Missile Crisis
A U-2 spy plane took pictures of Soviets building missile site in Cuba, 1962
Kennedy prepared the Armed Forces, the U.S. went to Defense Condition (DEFCON) 2: DEFCON 1 means war.
The U.S. navy formed a “Quarantine” of Cuba (not a “blockade”)
The world waited as the Soviets drew near
Khrushchev called his ships back and demanded that the U.S. stay out of Cuba and remove its missiles from Turkey
Limited Test Ban Treaty
Banned nuclear testing above ground
Eliminated radioactive fallout

6. Vietnam Vietnam’s Past 1954-63
France became a colonial power in Vietnam in the 1800s
After WWII, Communist Ho Chi Minh lead a Vietnamese Independence Movement
Vietnam Battled France at Diem Bien Phu
July, 1954
Vietnam divided into 2 nations
South Vietnam lead by U.S. backed Ngo Dinh Diem
Eisenhower sent 675 military “advisors” in 1960
By the end of 1963, Kennedy had sent 16,000
Both men were determined to “contain” Communism

7. Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Assassinations
Ngo Dinh Diem
Unpopular leader
Overthrown and killed, 1963
JFK killed, 1963
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked a U.S. destroyer
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which gave the President the power to “prevent further aggression”
U.S. involvement ESCALATED

8. Viet Cong (VCs) Involvement grows
Communist Guerrillas spread throughout South Vietnam
Passed supplies along the “Ho Chi Minh Trail”
Involvement grows
Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam after Americans were killed in an attack
America sent in more troops
Start of 1965 – 25,000
End of 1965 – 184,000
End of 1966 – 385,000
End of 1967 – 485,000
End of 1968 – 536,000

9. Tet Offensive, 1968 U.S. Offensive
Vietnamese launched offensive on Vietnamese New Year
Viet Cong attacked towns, military bases and the U.S. Embassy
Psychological victory for Vietnam
U.S. Offensive
U.S. continued to bomb with saturation or “carpet” bombing
Agent Orange
Defoliant – kills leaves
Caused health problems in U.S. soldiers
Napalm - Burning jelly
My Lai Massacre – U.S. soldiers killed 175 innocent Vietnamese

10. Vietnam and Nixon
Because of growing discontent with America’s involvement in Vietnam, LBJ lost to Nixon in 1968
Nixon removed troops – 1968 to 1972 – from 543,000 to 39,000
Cambodia
Nixon secretly (to avoid public outcry) bombed Cambodia
Protests result when revealed
Jackson State
Kent State – students shot and killed
1973 – U.S. signed the Treaty of Paris, promising to remove forces
1975
America removed final personnel
South Vietnam fell to the Communists