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Ho Chi Minh is born.
He helped found the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930 and the League for the Independence of Vietnam, or Viet Minh, in 1941. At World War II’s end, Viet Minh forces seized the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi and declared a Democratic State of Vietnam (or North Vietnam) with Ho as president. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the United States recognize Vietnam as a separate nation.
Ho Chi Minh organized a communist guerilla movement in the south called the Viet Cong. -
The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Fhu.
In 1955 they helped Ngo Dinh Diem to set up the Republic of South Vietnam. They supported him because he was very anti-Communist, although he belonged to the landlord class and treated Buddhists very badly. His regime was also very corrupt. The Vietcong then started a guerrilla war against South Vietnam, so President Kennedy sent in military personnel to fight the Vietcong. -
President Eisenhower declares "Domino Theory."
The loss of Vietnam to communist control would lead to similar communist victories in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to be split into North and South.
The 17th Parallel. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections in Vietnam.
He knew Ho Chi Minh would win the elections. They were voting on wether or not to unify the country. -
The National Liberation Front is formed.
They were also known as the Viet Cong. They occupied South Vietnam. -
The first combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
October 24, 1961 - On the sixth anniversary of the Republic of South Vietnam, President Kennedy sends a letter to President Diem and pledges "the United States is determined to help Vietnam preserve its independence..." President Kennedy then sends additional military advisors along with American helicopter units to transport and direct South Vietnamese troops in battle, thus involving Americans in combat operations. -
The United States withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother were assassinated. -
A South Vietnamese monk sets himself on fire.
He was a Buddhist. He did this because people of his religion were being killed and he wanted to get peoples attention of what was happening. -
President Kennedy is assassinated, leading to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.
In the documentary film project "Virtual JFK," historians suggest Kennedy would have pulled out of Vietnam, resisting pressure to escalate the war. Less Americans would have lost their lives and the war wouldn't have escalated to the point that it did. -
President Johnson claims a U.S. ship had been fired upon by the North Vietnamese.
The name of the ship was the U.S.S Maddox. In response, President Johnson ordered air strikes against North Vietnamese boat bases and an oil storage depot.
