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President Johnson declares he will not "lose Vietnam" during a meeting with Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge in Washington.
“I am not going to lose Vietnam,” he said. Johnson recalled the Communist takeover of China in 1949. Referring to the fact that many Americans had blamed the “loss of China” on the Truman administration, Johnson went on: “I am not going to be the President who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.” Johnson did not want the Southeast Asian “dominoes” to be set in motion by the fall of Vietnam. -
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The vietnam war
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The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam in half at the 17th parallel
he Geneva Conference on Indochina begins, attended by the U.S., Britain, China, the Soviet Union, France, Vietnam (Viet Minh and representatives of Bao Dai), Cambodia and Laos, all meeting to negotiate a solution for Southeast Asia. -
JFK and Ngo Dinh Diem meet
The United States’ role in the Saigon coup d’etat that resulted in the assassination of South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem has long been among the most controversial episodes of John F. Kennedy’s presidency. Archive Senior Fellow John Prados has been pushing for the declassification of key documents and tape recordings on these events since the 1980s. -
Diem overthrown
South Vietnam's President Diem is overthrown in a military coup. The coup takes place with the tacit approval of the United States. Diem was killed during the coup, despite assurances that he would not be. The United States had hoped that by overthrowing the unpopular Diem, it could strengthen the opposition to the communist Viet Cong. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
On Aug. 4, 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin were alleged to have attacked without provocation U.S. destroyers that were reporting intelligence information to South Vietnam. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his advisers decided upon immediate air attacks on North Vietnam in retaliation; he also asked Congress for a mandate for future military action. -
Operation Rolling Thunder begins
Operation Rolling Thunder begins as over 100 American fighter-bombers attack targets in North Vietnam. Scheduled to last eight weeks, Rolling Thunder will instead go on for three years. -
Massive anti-war demonstrations held in the U.S
Along with the Civil Rights campaigns of the 1960s, one of the most divisive forces in twentieth-century U.S. history. The antiwar movement actually consisted of a number of independent interests, often only vaguely allied and contesting each other on many issues, united only in opposition to the Vietnam War. Attracting members from college campuses, middle-class suburbs, labor unions, and government institutions, the movement gained national prominence in 1965, peaked in 1968, and remained powe -
MyLai Massacre
A unit of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion 20th Infantry, slaughter between 200 and 500 unarmed villagers in the hamlet of My Lai. Led by Lieutenant William Calley, the platoon is ordered to enter the village firing. -
President Nixon stuns Americans by announcing U.S. and South Vietnamese incursion into Cambodia
President Nixon stuns Americans by announcing a U.S. and South Vietnamese incursion into Cambodia in response to continuing Communist gains against Lon Nol's forces. The incursion is and is also intended to weaken overall NVA military strength as a prelude to U.S. departure from Vietnam.
