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Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference took place in Geneva, Switzerland with the purpose to bring peace to the Korean Penisula and Indochina. The Geneva Accord produced from the conference separated Vietnam into two zones. -
Election of 1960
John F. Kennedy is elected President of The United States. -
Formal creation of Viet Cong
Also known as the National Liberation Front the Viet Cong was formed to unite all anti Government of Vietnam activists. Wanted the withdraw of American influence. -
Bay of Pigs
The failed invasion of Cuba would affect how President Kennedy approached the Cold War and future attitudes toward the spread of communisim in Vietnam. -
President Diem Executed
The United States’ discontent with South Vietnam President Diem lead to the Cental Inteligence Agencies involvement in his overthrow and execution. South Vietnam became unstable. -
Kennedy Assassination
After Kennedy was assassinated Lyndon Johnson became president of the United States. At the time the situation in South Vietnam was deteriorating. Johnson spoke of needing strength and determination for success in Vietnam. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Promted after attacks on US military ships the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Lyndon Johnson the power to conduct military operations in Southeast Asia without declaring war. -
Launch of American Ground War
After attacks on U.S. Air Force bases the united states determined that the South Vietnam military could not protect them. 3,500 Marines were sent to South Vietnam. By December the number of Marines increased to 200,000 -
South Vietnam Election
Nguyen Van Thieu is elected as the South Vietnam President after many years of coups. He was also part of the coup that executed former President Diem. -
Tet Offensive
This was the largest battle of the war and the Viet Cong attacked more than 100 cities with more than 85,000 troops. After the offensive America began to see the war differently and distrust of the administration increased. -
Peace Talks
Peace talks in Paris began between the United States and North Vietnam. Lyndon Johnson halted the bombing of North Vietnam. -
The Draft
The draft was used to maintain a strong fighting force.
The pictures shows SSS Draft scatterplot of the days of the year (horizontal) and their lottery numbers (vertical). December birthdays (far right) were assigned many low numbers (bottom), representing early induction, and few high numbers (top). Some point out that fewer December days were called due to the way the raffle ticktets were mixed. -
Kent State Shooting
Protests of the Cambodia Campaign and the draft announced by President Nixon on April 30 led to protests at Kent State University. While attempting to disperse the protests the Ohio National Guard opened fire on the students killing four and wounding nine. -
Paris Peace Accords
The result of the paris Peace Accords in 1973 was the end of direct military involvment by the U.S. Fighting was temporarily suspended between North and South Vietnam. -
Defeat of South Vietnam
Due to the lack of military support by the U.S. and the Viet Cong in South Vietnam the North was able to overtake the government. South Vietnam was no longer and independent state. The picture show the evacuation of the CIA in Saigon on April 29 1975.
