US Escalation in Vietnam

By Trevin Yoder

  • Green Berets deployed

    Green Berets deployed
    Under the direct order of John F. Kennedy, 400 Green Berets are sent to South Vietnam. They are to act as advisors to the ARVN, training them in tactics to fight the Viet Cong and other rebels within South Vietnam.

  • Operation Ranch Hand

    Operation Ranch Hand
    US aircraft begin spraying Agent Orange into South Vietnamese forests. It's intended to kill vegetation that might be hiding guerrilla fighters.

  • Ngo Dinh Diem Assassinated

    Ngo Dinh Diem Assassinated
    With the US backing a military coup, Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated. The military is now in control of South Vietnam.

  • Gulf of Tonkin Incident

    Gulf of Tonkin Incident
    The USS Maddox, shelling targets on the North Vietnamese shore, is attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin by North Vietnamese Torpedo Boats. A second attack is reported on August 4th, but later confirmed to be false.

  • Tonkin Gulf Resolution

    Tonkin Gulf Resolution
    The Tonkin Gulf Resolution is passed by Congress. This resolution allows then President Lyndon B. Johnson to take any action deemed necessary in Vietnam. The resolution is the final stepping stone to direct involvement in the Vietnam, or 2nd Indochina War.

  • Operation Rolling Thunder

    Operation Rolling Thunder
    In the early months of February, President Johnson commences Operation Rolling Thunder. This bombing campaign is meant to destroy North Vietnamese Infrastructure, but fails because North Vietnam is being supplied by the Chinese, and later the Soviet Union.

  • Active US Troops arrive

    Active US Troops arrive
    5,500 US troops are deployed to South Vietnam. This begins direct US involvement in Vietnam.

  • ARVN & US Joint Ops

    ARVN & US Joint Ops
    From mid-August to the end of the year, US & ARVN forces began launching joint offensive operations against North Vietnam. A prominent battle was during Operation Starlite when 5,000 US troops destroyed a force of 2,000 North Vietnamese troops.

  • Battle of Ia Drang

    Battle of Ia Drang
    The first "major" battle of the war, the Battle of Ia Drang saw 1,000 combined US and ARVN forces take on approximately 2,500 North Vietnamese troops. The battle was indecisive as both sides claimed victory.

  • First "Search & Destroy" Missions

    First "Search & Destroy" Missions
    Also known as "Zippos," Search & Destroy missions were meant to have troops push deep into enemy territory, destroy enemy positions, and then be pulled out via helicopter. This was also when the term "Body Count" was used to dictate whether a mission was a success or not.