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Domino Theory coined
President Dwight D. Eisenhower coins one of the most famous Cold War phrases when he suggests the fall of French Indochina to the communists could create a “domino” effect in Southeast Asia. -
Geneva Accords
As part of the agreement, 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
President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
It gave the president power to take any military measure he though was necessary to defend freedom in Southeast Asia. -
LBJ ordered 1st troops to Vietnam
LBJ authorized the first of many deployments of regular ground combat troops to Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong in the countryside. -
Tet Offensive
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The Tet Offensive was a catastrophic military failure for the communists. 50,000 communist troops died in the effort to gain control of the southern part of the country. The South Vietnamese and American losses totaled a fraction of that number. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was an incident that occurred when American soldiers killed more than 500 unarmed South Vietnamese citizens in the village of My Lai. It occurred when Charlie Company was ordered to enter the village for a search and destroy mission. -
Nixon’s Vietnamization policy
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops". -
Nixon sends troops into Cambodia
Nixon launched raids against North Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to disrupt supply lines. Nixon wanted to secure peace by training the South Vietnamese to fight the communists after U.S. troops left completely and to negotiate a peace settlement. -
Kent State shooting
Members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. The impact of the shootings was dramatic. -
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 were disproportionately non-veterans. -
Nixon’s Christmas bombing
The United States began Operation Linebacker II, the most massive aerial bombardment ever made of North Vietnam. -
Paris Peace Accords
The settlement included a cease-fire throughout Vietnam. In addition, the United States agreed to the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and advisors and the dismantling of all U.S. bases within 60 days. In return, the North Vietnamese agreed to release all U.S. and other prisoners of war. -
War Powers Act
The War Powers Act prevents the president from continuing hostilities undertaken in emergency or exigent circumstances without seeking and obtaining Congressional approval within certain time periods -
fall of saigon
Parts of the city were destroyed by fighting in 1968. On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon, and the city was subsequently renamed Ho Chi Minh City.