-
Vietnam Forces Take Control of Dien Bien Phu
North Vietnam communists take control of Dien Bien Phu from the French. This alerts Americans that North Vietnamese are becoming an issue. -
Operation Chopper
The United States sent 1,000 South Bietnam Soldiers to take out a NLF stronghold from the Viet Cong. This was America's first combat mission in Vietnam against Viet Cong. -
Operation Ranchhand
The United States sprayed Agent Orange over Northern Vietnam. This destoried all the crops. Also, this cause families to have birth defects in their children. What the United States didn't know is this was hurting their own soldiers -
Attack on the U.S.S Maddox
The North Vietnamese fired on the U.S.S Maddox twice. This caused Americans too worry and put pressure on President Johnson who asked congress to decalre war and congress gave him the Tonkin Resolution giving LBJ the power to do whatever necessary to protect us. -
VC Morters Shell Bien Hoa Airbase
76 wounded and 4 killed Americans died in the shelling of Bien Hoa Airbase. This is the first attack by VC that killed Americans. This furiated American citizens and put more pressure on the President to send more troops -
The Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was during the North Korean New Year. America had decided to not attack on this day. The North Korean army attacked many different places on this day as a surprise attack. Militarily America won the Tet Offensive, but due to tv broadcasts back home civilians saw the chaos and put pressure on the president to end the war. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai massacre happened in a small village where Lt Calley ordered his men to line up all the villagers including children and shoot them all. American civillians back home saw us doing this on tv and were mortified. This made it look like we killed harmless villagers just because we thought they were viet cong. -
Richard Nixon Gets Elected
President Johnson decided to not run for re-election because of all the problems America had going on in Korea. Richard Nixon gets elected for President and he promised a peaceful and honorable end to the war. His plan for the war was not like LBJ whos plan was sending troops more troops ment the win. -
President Nixon Extends War to Cambodia
President Nixon finally allows the military to go into Cambodia and follow the North Vietnamese through their underground tunnels. Though this was exactly what the military needed to win this war; back home people saw this as the president prolonging the war and it was very unpopular. Nixon pulls back the chain and then says the military can no longer go into Cambodia. -
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers were papers saying all the things the government had done during the Vietnam war. Most of these were kept secret to civilians or the government actually lied to the public. Daniel Ellsberg leaked the papers to Time magazine. This is another huge hit to the President. The public has had enough of this war and wants an end. -
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords was the peace treaty between the US and North Vietnam ending the war. This means all thhe troops can come out of Vietnam all together. America was very desperate to end saying the North Vietnamese could keep their troops in South Vietnam. -
End of the Draft
The end of the draft really ment to americans that the war was over. This was a huge relief on the public and really showed us that we are done in Vietnam and everyone is coming home.
