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Military Advisors
President Truman signed off on putting military advisors in Vietnam to help with the war going on there at the time. -
More Advisors
In 1955 President Eisenhower decided to add up to 1,000 military advisors and almost 2 billion dollars in aid in Vietnam to help train the Vietnam army in its fight. -
JFK Shot Dead
On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot dead, Which made Lyndon Johnson the next U.S. president. If JFK had not been killed the U.S. may not have added to the escalation in Vietnam. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a fight that occurred between U.S. ships and Vietnamese patrol boats where they engaged in a battle in international waters. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The resolution, authorized President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in Southeast Asia. This happened after the imaginary incident on August 4th. -
Lyndon Johnson’s election victory in November 1964
After winning the election Johnson focused on ramping up escalation in Vietnam. -
Relocation of Bombers
A week after gaining the presidency Lyndon Johnson ordered the relocation of US planes from Okinawa, Japan to Da Nang. He was further adding to the escalation in Vietnam. -
Operation Flaming Dart
On February 7th, 1965, the White House authorized Operation Flaming Dart, a series of targeted bombing runs against the North, purportedly in response to Viet Cong attacks. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder consisted of aggressive and intensive bombing against the North Vietnamese it continued for three years. It shows how much the U.S. was Escalating involvement in the Vietnam War. American aircraft flew more than 300,000 sorties over North Vietnam and Viet Cong targets, dropping 864,000 tons of bombs. -
First Grounds Troops
On March 8th Vietnam saw the first batch of ground troops deployed into Vietnam about 3,500 marines were deployed to protect air bases from the Viet Cong. This a small act that will lead to a bigger involvement into Vietnam. -
More Ground Troops
In April of 1965, Johnson approves raising the troop ceiling level to 180,000 men to be actively fighting in the Vietnam war. -
Operation Starlight
In August of 1965, The U.S. launched its first major offensive against the North Vietnamese. During Operation Starlite, as it was known, 5,000 American soldiers decimated a 2,000-strong Viet Cong force near Chu Lai, killing or capturing more than one-quarter of them.