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Ho Chi Minh is Born
Ho Chi Minh is born on May 19, 1890. Ho Chi Minh was a communist that led the Viet Minh Independence Movement. Defeating the French in 1954 he began to gain independence for his country. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the U.S. recognize Vietnam as a separate nation.
After Japanese surrender in WWII, Ho Chi Minh felt like he needed to proclaim independence for his nation and take control. France refuses to see this and takes control of South Vietnam. The French began to attack the North and the North would strike back. -
Eisenhower claims "Domino Theory"
On April 7, 1954 during a historic press conference from President Eisenhower says to the American people that, "You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over quickly. As much of the world at that time was under threat of communism, Eisenhower is saying influence in Vietnam must be increased, so it does not turn communist. -
The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu
The battle started on March 13 and carried on until May 7. The war between France and the Viet Minh was closing as the Viet Minh were winning the war. The Viet Minh would win the war at Dien Bien Phu and a few days later France agreed to withdraw from Vietnam. President Eisenhower was worried about Vietnam going communist, so he began to put slight involvement in Vietnam. -
The Geneva Accords causes Vietnam to be split into North and South
The Geneva Accords are a set of documents relating to the issues of the Korean War and the First Indochina War. It caused the nation to be split at the 17th parallel. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections in Vietnam
The elections set up by the Geneva Accords were to vote if the North and South should be unified as one. Growing support of Ho Chi Minh made Ngo Dinh Diem worry. He cancelled the elections so that Ho Chi Minh could not win. -
The National Liberation Front is formed
The National Liberation Front was a communist group in North Vietnam trying to overthrow South Vietnamese government and reunify the countries. -
U.S. withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem
The U.S. supported Diem, because he was a catholic and a anti-communist. Two things the U.S. admired greatly from someone in Vietnam. We would later withdraw support due to him getting rid of the elections set-up to vote for the joining of North and South Vietnam. This caused the U.S. to withdraw support from him. He was assassinated on November 2, 1962 by opposing generals. -
South Vietnamese monk sets himself on fire
A South Vietnamese monk, Thich Quang Duc, was a buddhist. At the time, Ngo Dinh Diem was persecuting monks in South Vietnam. He did this to protest these persecutions. -
President Kennedy is Assasinated
President Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963 while he was traveling through Dallas in a convertible. There is much controversy and conspiracy surrounding the assassination, but the Warren commission conducted an investigation and concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. If Kennedy stayed alive the likely outcome was the U.S. would have pulled out of Vietnam. -
President Johnson claims a U.S. ship had been fired upon by North Vietnamese
The USS Maddox was patrolling in the Golf Of Tonkin when they were attacked by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The Maddox fired back and damaged the ships. The Maddox suffered no damage so there is much speculation around this topic. The response from Johnson was the Gulf of Tonkin resolution giving him military powers in Vietnam. -
First Combat Troops Arrive in Vietnam
The first troops arrive at China Beach to defend a U.S. airbase. These were the first combat troops, but there were thousands of military advisers since 1950. Harry S. Truman created MAAG a group to help train and oversee armed forces.
