1. Occupation of Vietnam Late 1800’s – WWII –Japan controlled Vietnam After WWII: France Ho Chi Minh –Leader of the Indochinese Communist Party –Confessed Marxist

2. Roots of Involvement French condemned Uncle Ho to death in ’30 –Ho Orchestrated ind. movement from Russia and China = Communist States ’41 – Ho/ Vietminh fought against the Japanese Allied Victory in WWII = Japanese out, French back in

3. Battles With France Tiger vs. Elephant 1950 = U.S. enters the struggle Truman = $15 million in aid to help France Cold War in full swing –Stop the spread of Communism

4. Domino Theory Ike committed to stop the spread of Communism –Domino Theory: one nation falls to Communism, nearly all nations will do the same.

5. Fall of the French W/U.S. $, French could not take back ‘Nam May ’54, Battle of Dien Bien Phu. –Gen. Nguyen Giap lead the Vietminh –Two month siege of the French outpost

6. Geneva Accords May – July ’54 France, U.S., G.B., S.U., China, Laos, Cambodia decided on a peace agreement Geneva Accords: temp. divided ‘Nam at the 17 th parallel Ho Chi Minh, Communists in the North Anti-Communists in the South

7. U.S. Steps In Ngo Dinh Diem – South Vietnam’s President U.S. cancelled elections outlined in the Geneva Accords –Knew Communists would win U.S. $ to Diem

8. Mounting Problems Ike gave Diem $ and training in exchange for a stable gov in the south –Diem failed – corrupt gov and no land to peasants Diem was a devout Catholic – restricted Buddhist practices Madam Nhu: “Bonz BBQ”

9. The Vietcong Communist opposition group = Vietcong (Charlie) –Assassinated Diem’s gov. officials –Later called the National Liberation Front (NLF) Ho Chi Minh Trail –Network of paths that started in Hanoi that went into the south –Supplied the V.C. with supplies

10. JFK and Vietnam Increased $ to Diem –Upheld “Sink or Swim.” Diem = Strategic Hamlet Program –Moving all villagers to protected areas Diem = increased oppression of Buddhists JFK was failing like Ike Nov., ’63, U.S. supported coup took out the Diem regime –Diem executed (against JFK’s wishes)

11. LBJ’s War JFK wanted out of Vietnam – LBJ escalated the effort Did not want to be “soft” on Communism The South was completely unstable When LBJ assumed the presidency, 16,000 U.S. troops, when he left, more than 500,000

12. Gulf of Tonkin USS Maddox and Turner Joy “attacked” by a Vietnamese gunboat on Aug. 2, 1964 –Unclear on whether the attack was provoked –Gunboat sank Second attack (supposedly)

13. Draft Draft #’s are “hot” for one year College deferrment: 3.0 gpa Over 33,000 young men went to Canada Drafted: 2 year obligation Enlisted: 4 year obligation –Choice of branch of defense Flunking Physicals –Wear women’s underwear –Eat sugar cubes / salt –Drugs –Cut off trigger finger –Flatten your feet

14. Tonkin Gulf Resolution -LBJ bombed the north -Tonkin Gulf Resolution -Gave LBJ “all necessary measures” to repel attacks against U.S. forces in Vietnam -Power to wage war w/o Congressional declaration

15. Operation Rolling Thunder Feb, ’65 Continual bombing of North Vietnam Bombing was “cheaper and less costly in lives than ground fighting.” U.S. dropped more bombs in Vietnam than in both theatres of WWII combined By June, ’65 – 50,000 U.S. troops in country

16. Mai Lai Massacre: March 16, 1968 Lt. William Calley 200 civilians murdered Creates animosity towards U.S. troops in and out of Vietnam

17. Nixon, 1969 Vietnamization: –Process of increasing funding and training to the S.Vietnamese army in order to make them capable of fighting the NVA / Charlie Operation Menu –Bombing of Vietnamese and VC bases in Cambodia

18. August 9, 1974 Nixon resigns as a result of the mounting evidence that he was fully aware of the planned break-in at the Watergate Hotel

19. April 29, 30 1975 Massive airlift of S. Vietnamese and American civilians out of Saigon –1000 Americans / 7,000 South Vietnamese Apr. 30: NVA take Saigon ending the 15 year conflict.