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elections (1956-63)
With help from the United States, South Vietnam carried out the election only in South Vietnam rather than countrywide. After eliminating most of his rivals, Ngo Dinh Diem was elected. His leadership, however, proved so horrible that he was killed in 1963 during a coup supported by the United States. -
American aid to Diem increased
In a public exchange of letters with South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, President John F. Kennedy formally announces that the United States will increase aid to South Vietnam. It would include the expansion of the U.S. troop commitment. Kennedy, concerned with the recent advances made by the communist insurgency movement in South Vietnam wrote, "We shall promptly increase our assistance to your defense effort." -
run in with the north vietnamese
As the fighting between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese continued, the U.S. continued to send additional advisers to South Vietnam. When the North Vietnamese fired directly upon two U.S. ships in international waters on August 2 and 4, 1964 (known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident), Congress responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This resolution gave the President the authority to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam -
Us enters war (1964-65)
US destroyer allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats. This triggers start of pre-planned American bombing raids on North Vietnam. 200,000 American combat troops arrive in South Vietnam. -
Mai Lai Massacre
U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai. The Vietnam War mass murder of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam. Most of the victims were women, children, infants, and elderly people. -
U.S. withdraws
The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam. -
Trading
us lifted its trade embargo on Vietnam. it was 19 years after the fall of Saigon to communist forces. In making the move, Clinton cited Hanoi’s cooperation in helping American forensic teams locate and, when possible, identify the 2,238 U.S. service personnel still listed as missing in the Vietnam War. -
formal normalization of diplomatic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Subsequent to President Clinton's normalization announcement, in August 1995, both nations upgraded their Liaison Offices opened in January 1995 to embassy status. As diplomatic ties between the nations grew, the United States opened a consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City, and Vietnam opened a consulate general in San Francisco. In 2009, Vietnam opened a consulate in Houston. -
Bilateral Trade Agreement
They signed a Bilateral Trade Agreement in July 2000, which went into force in December 2001. -
PNTR approved
In January 2007, Congress approved Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Vietnam.The status of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) is a legal designation in the United States for free trade with a foreign nation
