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Vietnam War
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Vietnamese Victory over the French
After 55 days the French Commander orders his men to cease fire. The Frech suffer over 3,000 casuaties and more than 8,000 wounded. Though their loses were much higher the Vietnamese capture Dien Bien Phu. The defeat destroys French resolve in to continue the war in Vietnam -
South Vietnam Established
Ngo Dinh Diem establishes the country of South Vietnam with himself as the president. The U.S. agrees to arm and train his military -
Deim Arrests Vietminh
President Diem orders the army to arrest anyone who is suspected of being in the Vietminh. -
Guerilla Warefare
South Vietnam erupts into guerilla warfate when the Vietminh starts a hit and run campain across South Vietnam -
Ho CHi MIn Trail
Ho CHi Min Trial through Cambodia is created by North Vietnamese Army Unit 559 to support the Vietcong in South Vietnam -
First Americans Killed in Vietnam
Major Dale R. Ruis and Master Sergeant Chester M. Ovnand of the U.S, Military Assistance Advisory Group MAAG were killed when guerillas struck the MAAG compond -
U.S. Military Advisors
President Kennedy oders an additional 3,000 miltary advisors and support personell to assist the South Vietnamese govenment forces -
Operation Chopper
U.S. Army helicopters carry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to clear a Vietcong stronhold near Siagon. Becoming the first U.S. combat action in Vietnam. -
Americans Die in Combat
During the Vietcong victory at the battle of Ap Bac, 3 military advisors become the first official Americans casualties engaged in combat actions in the Vietnam War, -
President Diem Assissinated
On November 1, 1963 in a military coup Presidnt Diem was overthrown. He and his brother were captured the next morning executed in the back of a military transport by Captain Nguyen Nhung -
JFK Assassination
President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Amendemnt condeming decrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin is enacted into law. -
Gulf Of Tonkin
North Vietnamese fire on the USS Maddox on August 2, 1964 in the Gulf of Tonkin, 2 days later on August 4th a report of a second attack on the Maddox lead to the U.S. entering into open warfare in Vietnam. The August 4 incident has come to be known as the Tonkin Ghosts, witth the Maddox chasing false radar images -
AId for Peace
President Johnson's offer of Aid for peace is rejected by North Vietnam. The U.S. forces in Vietnam strength is raised to 60,000 within 2 weeks. -
Anti-War protest
The first big Anti-War protest named March on Washington to the Vietnam War takes place in Washinton D.C. Over 25,000 people joined the protest, 119 people are arrested including singer Joan Baez -
Hanoi Hanna
Trinh Thi Ngo begins her propaganda broadcast to American Troops stationed Vietnam and dubbed Hanoi Hannah by the Americans. Though no Americans took her words seriously most fantasized as to whether she was as sexy as her voice made her sound.Her broadcasts which included the names of Americans killed in the fighting in Vietnam, would continue until the fall of Saigon in 1975 -
Operation Starlite
The U.S.'s first major battle of the Vietnam War -
American Forces Reach 385,000
American forces in Vietnam are 385,000 strong with over 65,000 sailors additionally stationed offshore -
Tet Offensive
January 30-31 the infamous Tet Offensive takes place, Vietcong attack more than 100 cities across the country. The opperation is militarily a disaster, however with over 2,500 casualties the U.S. loses popular support -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assasinated
Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jr. is shot and killed by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee -
Battle of Khe Sanh
Operation Pegasus end the longest single battle of the Vietnam War, the U.S. Marines defended Khe Sanh after a seige that lasted 77 days -
Bloody Monday
Parisian Student revolts in Paris lead to a Social Revolution in France. Though the U.S. was embroiled in the Vietnam War other countries were busy dealing with issues of their own. -
Robert F. Kennedy Shot
Leading candidate for the Presidency Robert Kennedy is shot by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Sirhan states Kennedy's speach in support of Isreal is the only motive he has for killing him -
Nixon win the Presidency
Richard Milhouse Nixon is elected as the next President of the United States of America -
Letters from Vietnam
Ron Ridenour's letters and subsequent interview with Seymour Hersh would reveal the cover-up of the My Lai Massacre, in which 500 civilians including women, children and the elderly were killed by U.S. forces. 14 officers later would be charged with only 1 conviction. 30 years later in 1998 a helecopter pilot Warrant Officer Hugh Johnson and two crewmembers would be given the Soldier Medal of Valor for stopping the massacre by landing between U.S. soldiers and the fleeing civilians -
Occupy University Hall at Harvard
300 Students stage a Sit In at University Hall at Harvard Unversity. The moment that would be deemed to radicalize the students, the police stormed the building on April 10 in "the bust". -
Vietnam exceeds Korea
U.S. forces combat deaths in Vietnam thus far exceed the total number of deaths during the Korean War totaling more than 33,600 and counting -
Moon Landing
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the Moon during the Applo 11 mission. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" the first words spoken from Neil Armstrong as he became the first man to step on the moon. -
Shooting at Kent State
In response to anti-war demonstrations at Kent State Univeristy, A clash between students and Ohio National Guard resulted in 4 people being killed and another 9 wounded. Kent State becomes the focal point of tension between anti and pro war activist. -
Agent Orange
Agent Orange containing Dioxin outlawed by the Department of Agriculture in 1968, is sprayed in Vietnam until the summer of 1971 laying waste almost 1/7 of total country. -
Jane Fonda visits Hanoi
Forever reviled by the U.S. Military as that traiter bitch, Jane Fonda would spend 2 weeks touring Hanoi and North Vietnam and is later photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese Anti-Aircraft gun -
Paris Peace Talks
Peace talks between the U.S, and North Vietnam break down -
Bombing Resumes
President Nixon authorizes Operation Linebacker Two, bombing the North Vietnam. The U.S. drops over 20,000 tons of bombs in 12 days on North Vietnamese targets. -
Peace Talks Resume
Paris Peace talks between the U.S. and North Vietnam resume -
Cease Fire
The U.S. and North Vietnam sign a cease fire -
POWs Return
590 Prisoners of War return home, some held for almost 7 years. At the time these were the last known POWs being held. -
Redeployed
All U.S. combat troops are withdrawn from Vienam. In all over 3,000,000 U.S. service members served in Vietnam with 58,000+ killed and over 150,000 wounded and over 1,000 still MIA. -
All Volunteer Force
Congress ends the draft and the U.S. Military goes to an all volunteer force. -
Nixon Resigns
With President Nixon's resignation South Vietnam loses it's strongest ally. -
North Vietnam Invades
In direct violation of the Paris Peace accord NVA troops taek Phouc Long City, the U.S. does nothing -
U.S. Marines Evacuate the Embassy
at 4:03 am the last Marines Evacuate the Embassy in Saigon, hours later North Vietnamese tanks roll into Saigon,
15 years, over 1,000,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers are killed. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have also been killed. -
Vietnam Unified
North and South Veitnam unify as a communist country the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. -
Carter's Pardons
On his second day in office President Carter pardons all Vietnam War draft dogers. -
Vietnam Invades Cambodia
After staging miltiple raids into Vietnam killing ciivilians and burning villiages ,the Vietnames were force to invade Cambodia to remove Pol Pot. It was nit until after Vietnam's invasion of CAmbodia that the world learned of his genocide. Pol Pot was also responcible for Over 2,000,000 Cambodian deaths at the hands of his Khmer Rouge.
