1. 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

2. 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).

3. Turbulent 60’s and 70’s - Vietnam

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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 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