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Domino Theory Coined
Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower described the theory during a news conference on 7 April 1954, when referring to communism in Indochina as follows: Finally, you have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the "falling domino" principle. -
Geneva Accords
the French agreed to withdraw their troops from northern Vietnam. Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, pending elections within two years to choose a president and reunite the country. -
Assassination of Diem
a group of Vietnamese army officers, led by General Duong Van Minh, assassinated Diem and Nhu. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in Vietnam -
LBJ Ordered 1st Troops to Vietnam
two battalions of U.S. Marines waded ashore on the beaches at Danang. Those 3,500 soldiers were the first combat troops the United States had dispatched to South Vietnam to support the Saigon government in its effort to defeat an increasingly lethal Communist insurgency. Their mission was to protect an air base the Americans -
Tet Offensive
a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people—women, children and old men—in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968 -
Nixon's Vietnamization Policy
President Nixon believed his Vietnamization strategy, which involved building up South Vietnam's armed forces and withdrawing U.S. troops, would prepare the South Vietnamese to act in their own defense against a North Vietnamese takeover and allow the United States to leave Vietnam with its honor intact. -
Nixon Sends Troops to Cambodia
When President Richard Nixon ordered U.S. ground troops to invade Cambodia on April 28, 1970, he waited two days to announce on national television the Cambodian incursion had begun. -
Kent State Shooting
students protesting the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces clashed with Ohio National Guardsmen on the Kent State University campus. When the Guardsmen shot and killed four students on May 4, the Kent State Shootings became the focal point of a nation deeply divided by the Vietnam War. -
The Hard Hat Riot
In response to flag desecration within the anti-war movement and perceived rejection of returning veterans, a disproportionate majority of whom were blue-collar, blue-collar whites came to oppose the anti-war demonstrators, who tended to be college-educated, a group which was disproportionately non-veterans. -
Nixon's Christmas Bombing
a massive “carpet bombing” campaign in Northern Vietnam (mainly Hanoi) that was officially called “Operation Linebacker II” and also became known as the Christmas bombing campaign. It lasted for 11 days. More than 20,000 tons of explosives were dropped, including on civilians. -
Paris Peace Accords
the Paris Peace Accords were signed after four years of negotiations, with the intent to establish peace in Vietnam and end the war. The Accords were signed by the United States, and North and South Vietnam. -
War Powers Act
The War Powers Resolution is a federal law intended to check the U.S. president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. -
Saigon Falls
the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, effectively ending the Vietnam War. In the days before, U.S. forces evacuated thousands of Americans and South Vietnamese.