• Soviet Union• Communism• “absorb

politically valuable territory”– Spreading– Fear– Control

• “Political superpowers”• Containment

Vietnam… Where is that?

The Vietnam War (1959-1975)• Why does the US get involved?

– The Domino Theory • If North took South it would trigger the further spread of communism• Southeast Asian nations were like a row of dominos• if one country in Southeast Asia fell to Communism then surrounding

countries would also soon fall

• France and Japan had control of areas of Vietnam• Communist Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi

Minh arrived back in Northern Vietnam • His group of supporters: Viet Minh

– Goal: was to rid Vietnam of the French and Japanese occupiers.

– Gained support

What is a revolutionary?What are they trying to do?What was he “unhappy” with?

How did it all start?

• the Viet Minh announced they wanted a new government

– Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Sept 1945 • The French fought back• TO STOP THE SPREAD OF COMMUNISM the

U.S. decided to help France defeat the revolution

• U.S. sends French money

Geneva Conference of 1954• nations met to determine how the

French could peacefully withdraw out of Vietnam

• Decision: Geneva Accords: – cease-fire for the peaceful

withdrawal of French forces AND– temporarily divide Vietnam in half

along a line called the 17th parallel• split the country into communist

North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam

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• U.S. helped their elections for a new leader• ONLY South Vietnam had an election (not North)

– The U.S. was scared an election in the North might cause people to vote for a communist leader

• So….Ngo Dinh Diem was elected [a NON-communist]

• Some South Vietnamese didn’t like him so they formed a group– National Liberation Front also known as the Viet Cong

• The Viet Cong were violent!

It’s all “peaceful” talk until….

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Gulf of Tonkin Incident• North Vietnamese

patrol boats fired on the USS Mattox in the Gulf of Tonkin on August 2nd 1964

• On August 7, the U.S. Congress approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• President Johnson given permission to send U.S. troops to South Vietnam.

Two Sides to the Vietnam War1. North Vietnam (Communist)

• Leader: Ho Chi Minh• Aid from the communist Soviet

Union• Had some allies in South

Vietnam – Known as the “Vietcong”

2. South Vietnam • Leader: Dictator: Ngo Dinh Diem• Aid from the United States

U.S. starts to assemble troops• U.S. President Johnson's goal: non-communist

Southern Vietnam to take over• U.S. found themselves in a stalemate with the

North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong!

Road to Warhttp://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/videos#the-road-to-war

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• Jan 30, 1968, North Vietnamese army, Vietcong carried out daring strike against cities, other targets across South Vietnam

• Attack began on Vietnamese New Year, called Tet—came to be known as Tet Offensive

• Offensive military setback for Vietcong; still delivered heavy political blow to U.S., South Vietnamese effort

• Tet Offensive proved the U.S. was NOT close to victory

• Bloodiest year of the war (15,000 American troops died)

• Attacks greatly weakened American public support for war

• “ANTI-WAR” age

Weakened SupportTet: A Turning Point

• How did people back home view this war?

•Why were there so much anti-war feelings?•How were young people different than their parents generation?•Where did people get their info?

Problems Arise….U.S. War strategy wasn’t working

• U.S. forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs which cleared an area by causing the leaves to drop off or to burn away in forests

• aerial bombings of the North• Most fighting in the South• not attack the communists directly• U.S. didn’t attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Viet Cong's supply path

that ran through Laos and Cambodia)• Viet Cong would attack back in ambushes, set up booby traps, and

escape through underground tunnels

New Presidency, New Times• In 1969, Richard Nixon became the new U.S.

President • President Nixon’s plan: Vietnamization:

– process to remove U.S. troops from Vietnam • President Nixon also expanded the war into other

countries, such as Laos and Cambodia– created thousands of protests in the U.S.

Another attack!• When the U.S. had withdrawn most of its troops from

Vietnam…• the North Vietnamese staged another massive assault

– called the Easter Offensive – also called the Spring Offensive– March 1972– North Vietnamese troops crossed over the demilitarized

zone at the 17th parallel and invaded South Vietnam

• On January 27, 1973: cease-fire agreement – The last U.S. troops left

Vietnam on March 29, 1973

– Was that a safe decision? For whom?

• Fighting continued in Vietnam…

• South Vietnam officially surrendered to communist North Vietnam on April 30, 1975.

• On July 2, 1976, Vietnam was reunited as a communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

After effects of the war• The war had pierced the myth of American

invincibility• divided the nation• Many returning veterans faced negative

reactions from both opponents of the war– Looked at as killers– Looked at as “lost” the war– physical damage including the effects of exposure

to the harmful chemical herbicide Agent Orange

Vietnam War Results• For Vietnam

– Unified country– 2 million killed– 3 million wounded

• For the United States– 57,685 killed– 153,303 wounded– 587 POW were released from POW camps– 2,000+ personnel are still unaccounted for

http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/interactives/vietnam-veterans-memorial

In 1982: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was unveiled in Washington, D.C.

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/reflect/quintana.html

• Armed Forces Recruitment DayAlbuquerque High School, 1962

• After the Navy,the Air Force, andthe Army,Sgt. Castillo,the Marine Corpsrecruiter,got a standing ovationwhen he walked upto the microphoneand said proudlythat unlikethe rest, allhe could promisewas a pack,a rifle, anda damned hard time.Except for that,he was thebiggestof liars.

• First Encounter• You have stopped for a break, stand up

to put your gear on and hear shots,see the flash of the muzzles.You have been followed.The whiteness of the branchesthat have been cut along the waytells you you're on a new trail,but the sergeant is a stateside G.I.:barracks inspections, rules and regs.You are probably surrounded.There are five others beside you.You are twenty-three.You look quickly around you:the sky, the trees.You're far from home.You know now that your lifeis no longer yours.

• Natural History• To cross a river meant leeches.

A company of NVAs crashing toward youwould be a troop of baboons.A green snake named Mr. Two Step,for the number you'd last after bitten.It was said the NVAs carried flashlights.One night frightening scores of themturned out to be a swarm of fireflies.The whir of birds' wingsturned out to be artillery rounds.Threw stones at a cobra once,the sun going down.Fire at itand the VC would know our position.A VC moving slowly in the elephant grasshappened to be a water buffalo.One night they overran the compound.Loaded down with grenades, AK-47sfrom North Vietnam, mines strapped to their chests:these were only the mosquitos.The VC only a little more than a whisper's reach away,we called in the Cobras. They came in hissing,cannons twice as fast as the old gunships.It was also said the VC kept chickens leashed to strings.So easily frightened they were perfect warning.One night, shivering uncontrollably with fear,knowing I would have to kill whatever was out there,walking slowly, scratching.

• Home Finally Going Home• We landed at Ft. Lewis,

got measured, issued new dress uniformsand sent to the Mess Hall, choice USA steaks.A sergeant said Pass me the salt, boyto a corporal, and he did.Outside, the buses waitingto take us to the airport.We were home finally going home.

• Poem for Our Dog Afraid of Thunder on a Rainy Day• I know what it is like to be so afraid

on a rain-soaked day such as this.On a rain-soaked day such as thisin Vietnam I prayed fervently.In Vietnam I prayed ferventlyshivering uncontrollably in the mud.Shivering uncontrollably in the mudas men whose duty it was to kill me filed by.As men whose duty it was to kill me filed byonly a little more than a yard away.Only a little more than a yard awayon a rain soaked day such as this.The type of day that dogs don't understand.