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Buddhist Protests
Source 1Picture SourceBegining in 1962, religious tension in South Vietnam between buddhists (the vast majority of South Vietnamese) and the catholic government heightened. Diem made laws that favored catholicism, sparking at outrage of hunger strikes, gatherings and other peaceful demonstations that eventually turned violent on both sides. Several important monks lit themselves on fire in protest. Buddhist leaders tried to speak t Diem, but he refused to negotiate. -
Operation Ranch Hand
[picture source](futurity.org)source 2Source 1Begining in 1962, Operation Ranch Hand was a program designed to deprive the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong of food, and to remove brush cover and prevent concealment from enemy forces. Flight routes and areas sprayed were pre-planned to avoid hitting friendly land, but many of these pesticides contained a harmful chemical called Agent Orange -
Assassination of Diem
Source 2Source 1Picture SourceNgô Đình Diệm was captured and assassinated by soldiers in Ho Chi Minh City. Although the U.S. denied involvement, we secretly met with leaders and approved of their assassination plans. Although his death caused celebration throughout South Vietnam, the country was suddenly without a source of leadership and therefore in a state of chaos. -
Conclusion of the Buddhist Protests
These protests caused people to question American presence in Vietnam. The U.S. publicly speaks against Diem's actions. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Picture link[Source 3](-http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/usa/GulfTonkin.html)[Source 2](http://militaryhistory.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=militaryhistory&cdn=education&tm=359&f=00&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=11&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB132/)[Source 1](http://militaryhistory.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=militaryhistory&cdn=education&tm=359&f=00&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=11&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.gwu.edu/~sarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB132/)The U.S. Seventh fleet was stationed in the golf of tonkin. The Captains of one ship recieved word and read his instruments indicating he was recieving enemy fire. The majority of the fleet proceeded to fire, and planes were sent out. One pilot, however, reported seeing no enemy target at all. -
Conclusion of the Gulf of Tonkin
The attack ended at reports rwere recieved the U.S. by August 4th. Dispite many indications that an enemy attack never happened, the U.S. government chose to believe that the seventh fleet was indeed attacked, and this lead to further involvement in the War and Vietnam. -
The Phoenix Program
Source 1Picture LinkFirst begining in 1965, the Phoenix Program was a CIA program that was created to gather info about the Vietcong. Specific, targeted members were to be induced to defect, captured and detained,or at last resort, killed. Conflict and concern about the program arose when stories of fowl play arose. Captives were being tortured and abused, innocent villagers or low ranking Vietcong were being taken to meet neutralization quotas, and others were unnecessarily killed. -
"Operation Rolling Thunder" 1962
Picture SourceSource 1The first sustained American Attack on Vietnamese territory, Operation Rolling Thunder was intended to apply pressure to Noth Vietnamese leaders and weaken their ability to fight back.It was a series of bombings and attacks on certain targets throughout North Vietnam. It was intended to last 8 weeks. -
March 8th 1965
Source 2Source 1Picture SouceThe first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam- 3,500 Marines on China Beach and Da Nang to a large welcoming committee of South Vietnamese leaders and Vietnamese girls. U.S. officials had expected to land with attention. -
Seige of Khe San
source 2source 1Picture LinkKhe San was a U.S. military base located in a remote area of northern South Vietnam. As the base faced full-scale attack, it was questioned whether it should be defended or abandoned altogether, and decided it should be defended at all cost. Planes were sent out and dropped bombs on the surroudning hills, and the predicted full-scale seige never came. The success kept the Viet Cong from gaining control over the Northwest corner of South Vietnam. -
Tet Offensive
Picture Sourcesource 2source 1A series of deadly attacks on about 100 targets throughout South Vietnam, by North Vietnam and The PAVN (Communist People's Army of Vietnam). The U.S. and South Vietnamses forces struggled to hold off North Vietnam. It ended in a high American casualty rate and a strategic victory for North Vietnam. News coverage shocked and dismayed the American public and further eroded support for the war effort at home. -
My Lai Massacre
Source 2Source 1Picture LinkThe village of My Lai and the surrounding area was heavily invested with Vietcong. Several weeks before the massacre, several U.S. soldiers were killed there. Lt. Calley ordered his frustrated troops to conduct a "search and destroy" mission in the area to find and kill Vietcong that resulted in the killing of roughly 300 innocent, unarmed civilians. Lt. Calley was convicted of murder and sent to jail, later released when it was questioned whether he was only following orders from a higher rank. -
The End of Operation Rolling Thunder
<ahref='http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/operation_rolling_thunder.htm' >Source 2</a> Operation Rolling Thunder lasted much longer than planned. In total 643,000 tons of bombs were dropped and nearly 900 US aircraft were lost. Reviews on the effectiveness of Opertion Rolling Thunder vary. Some historians say it nearly crippled the North Vietnamese response, and others say it did little to weaken them. -
The end of Operation Ranch Hand
The government ends the crop-dusting program called Operation Ranch Hand. During the 9 years that the program was active, a total of 19 million gallons of herbicide were sprayed across Vietnam, most containing Agent Orange, from U.S. aircrafts.
