1975: The Fall of Saigon By bursea21 Jan 1, 1949 Mao Zedong and Communists had taken over China Period: Jan 19, 1949 to Dec 31, 2009 The Fall of Saigon Jan 1, 1954 U.S. gradually becomes involved in the Vietnam War Jan 1, 1954 Domino Theory Jan 20, 1961 President Kennedy took office Jan 1, 1965 Protests of over 20,000 people in Washington Jan 10, 1965 Full scale military intervention Jan 1, 1968 North Vietnam and Vietcong launch Tet Offensive Jan 1, 1973 Paris Peace Accords called for an end to the fighting Apr 1, 1975 Communist forces overran the South; Saigon falls Apr 30, 1975 Evacuation in Saigon Jan 1, 1986 Party leaders followed China and instituted free-market reforms Jan 10, 1993 President Bill Clinton lifted the U.S. trade embargo Jan 1, 1995 Vietnam economy boosted Nov 1, 2009 U.S. Navy ship made a goodwill visit to Vietnam Apr 30, 2010 Vietnam still has an authoritarian Communist government