Vietnam War 1959 1975 Aftermath of WWII Before

Vietnam War 1959 -1975

Aftermath of WWII • Before WWII, Vietnam was a French colony. Japan took it during WWII, and afterwards France tried to reclaim it. • After WWII, the Vietnamese resisted for independence. • Ho Chi Minh led Vietminh resistance • Battle ended in 1954 when French were defeated at the battle of Dien Bien Phu.

Peace? • 1954 International Conference in Geneva – French and Vietminh sign agreement to divide at the 17 th parallel – All Vietnamese elections will be held in 1956 • 1955 new government forms in South Vietnam headed by Ngo Dinh Diem- American backed. North is backed by China and Soviet Union- Ho Chi Minh • Division becomes permanent, elections never happen, civil war erupts

Trouble Brews • Ho Chi Minh wants to unite Vietnam – National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) tries to overthrow Diem – Northern sympathizers in the South used guerilla warfare • US become greatly involved in early 60 s – JFK sends Special Forces – LBJ later asks Congress to give him war powers in the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1963 • Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated by his own people – Was not strong enough to overcome the Viet Cong – Persecuted Buddhists – President Diem was overthrown and executed, along with his brother, on 2 November 1963 – South Vietnam falls into chaos

Here comes America • 1964 USA bombs North Vietnam • 500, 000 troops are sent in • China and Soviet Union send North Vietnam aid but no troops • Despite help, South Vietnam still struggles – 1968 attacked by North Vietnam- Tet Offensive (Vietnamese New Year) – Turning point in US opinion – Showed North Vietnamese fought at all costs

Anti-War Movement What was the purpose of the anti war movement? How did different people react to the anti war movement?

Poor Preparation • American forces were always on the defensive – Didn’t know how to fight the jungle terrain – Viet Cong ambushed US troops, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels – US had to dropped Agent Orange or napalm bombs to clear area; many innocent lives suffered

• Could not decipher who was the enemy since even women and children built booby traps or housed and fed the Viet Cong • U. S. soldiers became frustrated and suffered from low morale, became angry, and some used drugs

My Lai Massacre • March 1968 • Thought village housed Viet Cong but none found • 500 people including women, children and the elderly were killed • Higher-ranking U. S. Army officers covered up events for a year • In 1970, a U. S. Army board charged 14 officers of crimes related to the events at My Lai; only one was convicted

On 8 June 1972 a South Vietnamese aircraft accidentally dropped napalm load on the village of Trang Bang

South Vietnamese General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executes a Viet Cong officer with a single shot to the head.

1969 • Nixon becomes President • Vietnamization: remove U. S. troops from Vietnam (started that year) and had fighting back to South Vietnam • Easter Offensive (also called the Spring Offensive), on March 30, 1972. North Vietnamese troops crossed over the 17 th parallel and invaded South Vietnam

Cease Fire • 1973 all US troops evacuated • 1975 North Vietnam captures Saigon; country is united

Fall of Saigon In as many adjectives or phrases as possible, describe what you see.

Evacuation April 1975 • Most were military personnel fleeing Northern troops • American planes airlifted and evacuated

The Boat People • Picked up by American navy ships and transported to Guam or the Philippines • Did not know what was going to happen to them or where they were going

Arrival in US • 130, 000 refugees brought to US in 1975 • 1 st wave: educated, heads of household, spoke English well, came from cities, were pretty westernized, worked for French or US, ½ were Christian, came as families • Placed in processing camps then spread throughout the country

War continues without us • Communists ruled South harshly • Rebuilding difficult because of inefficient government and US sanctions • Businesses were nationalized. Re-education camps. Thousands of urban elite were sent to the country to farm or dig irrigation canals.

2 nd Wave of Arrivals • Mostly Boat People – 2/3 of boats were attacked by pirates – Lost limbs because they couldn’t remove their jewelry, clubbed to death, women raped, men tied up and thrown overboard – Survivors floated to Thailand where they lived in refugee camps for months and some for years – From there, they went to new countries like Australia, Canada, France, and US

2 nd Wave of Arrivals • Diverse: Professionals, fisherman, farmers, storekeepers, most did not speak English. • 40% were ethnically Chinese from Vietnamexperienced hostility and became targets of the new Communist regime • Because business is nationalized, the 80% of retail owned by the Chinese were taken

Treatment in US • Veterans told Americans to be nice to the Vietnamese • fought on the same side; just needed a home • seen as cheap labor • Sojourners who hoped to rid communist government – Women have job opportunities and men break gender roles and help out at home. Ended arranged marriages. – Family ties are strained – The children lose the language because of teasing.

The Lost Generation • Some kids were sent for better education and to become citizens • Some came through Operation Babylift • Adoptive parents would abandon them • Lacking families, many struggled to survive, lived in motels, joined gangs to rob • Struggled in school and no one could help them so they drop out of school