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The Signing of Geneva Agreements
As part of the agreement the French would would withdraw their troops from Northern Vietnam. Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, with the condition than in two years they would choose a president and reunite the country. During these two years no foreign troops could enter the country, the United States refused to sign but did abide by this agreement. The year following this event the United states would help establish an anti-communist government in South Vietnam. -
President Diem visits Washington
President Diem visits Washington where President Eisenhower says he is a "miracle man" of Asia and confirms U.S. commitment to defending South Vietnam. In October of this year Diem's government does not satisfy his people, communist guerrillas begin to take over the countryside. Through bombings and assassinations Viet Minh guerrillas terrorized South Vietnam and killed 400 officials. -
Operation Ranch Hand
The United States Air Force begins operation ranch hand, American C-123 transport planes sprayed 19 million gallons of defoliating herbicides over parts of Vietnam and Laos. The herbicides named agent orange for the color stripe on the metal container, killed the vegetation but did not kill the Viet Cong. It later became controversial because it caused health problems such as skin rashes, cancer, birth defects and miscarriages. -
Assassination of President Diem
The President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem was thrown out by a coup, Diem and his brother was captured by soldiers and killed. The U.S. denied any involvement but later stated that American officials met with generals to encourage the coup. Diem's dictator rule alienated most of Southern Vietnam, mostly because of the acts against Buddhist monks. These acts drove Americans to conclude that Diem needed to go. President Kennedy was assassinated three weeks later in the U.S.. -
USS Maddox attacked
In the Gulf of Tonkin the USS Maddox is attacked by North Vietnam torpedoes. This event was one of the reasons that lead to to the United States going to war in Vietnam. Although some have speculated that the attack never took place, rough waters was said to have trigger the boats alerts. Two days later the ship returned accompanied by the destroyer Tuner Joy, detecting a second North Vietnamese naval attack they called for a U.S. air support. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The approval of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution gave President Lyndon B. Johnson the power to control the military without Congress permission. Congress supported the resolution thinking that the President would seek their support before taking more aggressive actions in the war, which he knew the American people were not in favor of. President Johnson believed that Hanoi would weaken when hit with bomb raids, this lead to the launch of operation rolling thunder. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
100 U.S. and Vietnam Air Force Base planes attacked an ammunition's base at Xom Bang. The United States bombed Northern Vietnam to lower the pressure of them going to war with Southern Vietnam and spreading communism. During the air raid the Vietcong forces attacked the U.S. air base in South Vietnam. The U.S. could not defend these air bases with the amount of soldiers that they had, more troops were needed. By the end of operation Rolling Thunder the estimated cost was $900 million dollars. -
Operation Cedar Falls
The goal of this operation was to force out Viet Cong base camps in the Iron Triangle. The iron triangle is located southwest by the Saigon river to the North is the Thanh Dien forest reserve. This operation was successful in uncovering large caches of arms and other equipment. About 16,000 American troops and 14,000 soldiers of the South Vietnamese army move into the iron triangle. Operation cedar falls was the largest U.S. operation in the Vietnam war. -
The Tet Offensive
During the lunar New Year "Tet" Holiday, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces set forth an attack on several targets in South Vietnam. The U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries sustained major losses before they were able to combat the communist assault. Ho Chi Minh planned the Tet offensive to achieve a victory that would end the conflict. This attack played an important role on diminishing the U.S. support for the war in Vietnam. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was one of the most horrific acts of violence against civilians during the Vietnam war. A company of American soldiers brutally killed as many as 500 people including woman, children and elderly. This massacre took place in My Lai Hamlet a part of the village of Son My, which was believed to be a Viet Cong strong hold a frequent target of U.S. and Vietnamese bombing attacks. U.S. Army officers managed to cover up this event for a year before it came under an investigation. -
Anti-Vietnam War Demonstartion
The largest ant-war protest in the United States was held in Washington D.C.. This protest was mostly peaceful as a half a million people attended, similar demonstrations were held in small towns around the country. At the rally speeches were given as well as musical performances, singer Pete Seeger lead the crowd in singing "give peace a chance". President Nixon was said to be unmoved by the protests. -
First Selective Service Lottery
The selective service system of the United States organized a lottery system to determine the order of call for military service in the Vietnam war. All men of draft age born from 1944 to 1950 who shared a birth date were called to service at once, first date drawn was 258 September 14. The 1970 was the beginning of the civil rights movement so the 1969 draft brought about resentment towards the Vietnam war. -
Paris Peace Accords
The United States, South Vietnam, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam formally sign an agreement to end the war in Vietnam. This agreement brought about a cease-fire thought Vietnam, the United States had to withdraw all its troops and advisers as well as from their bases within 60 days. In return, the North Vietnamese agreed to release all U.S. Prisoners of war. It was agreed that the 17th parallel would stay the dividing line between North and South Vietnam. -
Fall of Saigon
Although President Nixon promised aid in such situations, by then he had resigned and General Ford could not convince Congress to help. North Vietnam communist forces moved into Saigon and defeated the South Vietnamese. As the North Vietnamese took over Saigon this was said "you have nothing to fear between Vietnamese, there are no victors and no vanquished. Only the Americans have been beaten. If you are patriots, consider this a moment of joy. The war for our country is over."
