WAR IN VIETNAM 1954 1975 WHERE IN THE

WAR IN VIETNAM 1954 - 1975

WHERE IN THE WORLD? ? ?

VIETNAM • Eastern most country Southeast Asia • 130, 000 square miles…mostly hills and dense forests • China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west • Population is centered around the Red River Delta (far north) and the Mekong Delta (south)

MOVING TOWARDS CONFLICT

CHINESE OCCUPATION • Climate – Rice abundance • China takes over the Red River Delta about 200 B. C. • Controls northern and central Vietnam for 1, 000 years • Le Loi – Vietnamese military leader • 1428 – used guerilla warfare; successful uprising against China

FRENCH COLONIZATION • French invaders in the mid 1800 s • 1883 – Vietnamese grant France complete control • France combines Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia • French Indochina (richest colonial possession) • Nationalist feelings remain strong

HO CHI MINH • “He Who Enlightens” • Extreme nationalist • A world wanderer • Lived in China & Soviet Union • Committed to the ideals of communism • 1940 – Japanese army occupies Indochina…gives Ho a chance to organize

FRANCE & VIETMINH GO TO WAR • 1941 – Ho secretly returns to Vietnam and organizes a resistance – Vietminh • 1945 - Japanese surrender to the Allied Powers • Vietminh declare independence • 500, 000 gather to hear Ho speak • Ho echoes the Declaration on Independence in order to gain U. S. support • 1946 – France returns • U. S. (Truman) supports France • Ho is communist, U. S. wants to stop the spread of communism • Truman Doctrine “to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity…totalitarian regimes. ”

FEAR IS JUSTIFIED LATER… 1949 - Mao Zedong 1950 – North Korea Communist Revolts

U. S. POLICY • Hold the line against communism in East Asia • Truman, then Eisenhower • Domino Theory • If Vietnam falls to communism the rest of Southeast Asia would soon follow…”you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over very quickly” • By 1954, U. S. is paying for France’s effort, defeat after defeat • Vietminh chose when and where to attack, struck without warning, and then disappeared into the jungle • French surrender

THE GENEVA ACCORDS (1956) • International Conference • Cambodia, Great Britain, Laos, the People’s Republic of China, Soviet Union, & the U. S. • Cease fire agreement, but no political settlement • Vietnam temporarily divided at the 17 th Parallel • Vietminh withdraw to the north • French regain control of the south • U. S. opposed plan to hold an election to unify the country • scared of communism

NGO DINH DIEM • Strongly anti-communist • Spent time in U. S. & gained backers • 1955 – President of South Vietnam • Rigged – in Saigon, 605, 000 votes for 450, 000 registered voters • Very unpopular • • Buddhists – Catholic Peasants – policies favor wealthy Dislike power in one family Ruthless efforts to keep power

NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (NLF) • Military assistance from the north to the Vietminh who had stayed in the south • Main Goal – overthrow Diem • Vietcong • Supporters • Not all communists, peasants too • Join because of government cruelty or fear of NLF • Terrorist tactics used • Assassinated government officials • Soon much of countryside was taken over

U. S. INVOLVEMENT • Kennedy • Agrees with the domino theory • Save face after Bay of Pigs • Aids South Vietnam • 1960 – 900 U. S. military advisors • Increased to 16, 000 by 1963 • Americans killed • 1961 – 14 climbs to 1963 - 500

DIEM’S OVERTHROW • Buddhist leaders oppose Diem’s rule • Diem brutally controlling Buddhists • Many arrested and killed • Buddhists respond by starting themselves on fire in public…shocking to Americans. • U. S. threatens to withdraw support unless Diem stops

DIEM’S OVERTHROW • Henry Cabot Lodge meets with Diem • Diem refuses to discuss concerns • U. S. quietly wants Diem overthrown • November 2, 1963 – Diem and his brother murdered • Kennedy very concerned with U. S. involvement in Vietnam

U. S. INVOLVEMENT & ESCALATION

JOHNSON’S DILEMMA

GULF OF TONKIN INCIDENT • August 2, 1964 • LBJ claims attacks were unprovoked…blatant act of aggression • Maddox had been spying and had fired first • Second attack probably never occurred…sonar misread

THE TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION • 1963 – Secretary of Defense advises LBJ that we need to increase U. S. military commitment in Vietnam • Needs congressional backing • Pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution • “gives president authority to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States” • Johnson gets what he wants…more authority

JOHNSON’S SPEECH “Renewed hostile actions against United States ships on the high seas in the Gulf of Tonkin have today required me to order the military forces of the United States to take action in reply. The initial attack on the destroyer Maddox, on August 2, was repeated today by a number of hostile vessels attacking two U. S. destroyers with torpedoes…We believe at least two of the attacking boats were sunk. There were no U. S. losses…But repeated acts of violence against the armed forces of the United States must be met not only with alert defense, but with positive reply. That reply is being given as I speak to you tonight. Air action is in execution against gunboats and certain supporting facilities in North Vietnam which have been used in these hostile operations”

U. S. FORCES IN VIETNAM • Johnson calls for escalation • A build up of military forces in Vietnam • 80, 000 U. S. Troops • Selective Service enacts a draft • Almost 14, 000 draftees

AIR WAR IN VIETNAM • Operation Rolling Thunder • Bombing campaign in the North • Wear the North down • Assure the South of our commitment • Key Target – Ho Chi Minh Trail • Network of jungle paths used to bring arms and supplies into South Vietnam • Able to repair or used underground facilities (300, 000 people to maintain the trail) • Johnson increases intensity – 800 tons of bombs per day!

WHAT WAS IN THOSE BOMBS? • Napalm • flammable liquid • mixture of a gelling agent and petroleum or a similar fuel • initially used as an incendiary device against buildings • later primarily as an antipersonnel weapon, • it sticks to skin and causes severe burns when on fire

WHAT WAS IN THOSE BOMBS? • Cluster Bombs • Sprayed razor sharp metal fragments when they exploded • significant failure rate • up to 30% in Laos during the Vietnam War • 80 million of the cluster bombs dropped failed to detonate, leaving extensive contamination from unexploded ordnance

DEFOLIANTS • Sprayed by planes…over thousands of acres • Chemicals that strip the land of vegetation, expose supply routes and enemy hiding places, destroy Vietcong food supply • AGENT ORANGE

THE DARK SHADOW OF AGENT ORANGE • The use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War continues to cast a dark shadow over both American veterans and the Vietnamese • http: //www. nytimes. com/video/us/10000 0002872288/agent-orange. html

THE GROUND WAR • “The Americans thought the more bombs they dropped, the quicker we would fall to our knees and surrender” • North Vietnam sent more troops/supplies south • More South Vietnamese join the Vietcong • Soon more South Vietnamese than North Vietnamese • U. S. launches a ground war • Between 1965 and the end of 1976, number of American troops grows from 185, 000 to 486, 000

THE GROUND WAR • Vietcong would strike U. S. operations, then go back into the jungle • Peaceful peasants by day…side with the Vietcong by night • U. S. conducts search-and-destroy missions…attempts to drive Vietcong from their hiding places • Ground patrols would locate, air support would kill them • After an area was “cleared” – still dangers of snipers and booby traps • Villages seldom remained clear of Vietcong

THE GROUND WAR • U. S. begins pacification • Security in rural areas • Move residents, then burn villages • Body count begins to be the only measure of success • Regularly guess or inflate numbers • “if its dead and Vietnamese, then its Vietcong”

U. S. TROOPS IN VIETNAM • More than 2 million serve in Vietnam • Average soldier…younger, poorer, and less educated than those serving in WWII and the Korean War • African Americans & Hispanics served in high numbers and the most dangerous operations • African Americans make up 24% of casualties…. only 11% of the U. S. population

U. S. TROOPS IN VIETNAM • 10, 000 women filled non combat positions, • did not carry guns (nurses…still dangerous) • 20, 000 to 45, 000 women volunteers (Red Cross)

U. S. MORALE DECLINES “The optimism began to fade as the hazards of fighting a nearly invisible for in an alien landscape became apparent”…”We kept the packs and rifles, the convictions we lost”

U. S. MORALE DECLINES • The enemy's will to continue fighting was frustrating too. • By 1967, we were no closer to victory than we were in 1963. • “You can kill ten of my men for every one man that I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win”

MEDIA AND THE WAR • By the end of 1967 more than 16, 000 Americans had been killed in Vietnam…thousands more injured or disabled • American television news programs showed gruesome images of terrified Vietnamese civilians and dead or injured soldiers • Morley Safer & Vietnam • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=mj. P 9 C_f. ODf. I

MEDIA AND THE WAR • Credibility gap between official government reports and media accounts grew wider • Doubts at home increase • Doves – people who oppose the war • Hawks – people who support the war’s goal…but they criticized the way the war was being fought (more troops & heavier bombing)

MEDIA AND THE WAR • Doves opposed the war for many reasons • All war is wrong (MLK) • Vietnam is not crucial to national security • Fear the U. S. will use nuclear weapons • U. S. fighting against the majority of the Vietnamese

THE ANTIWAR MOVEMENT • Civil Rights, Pacifist, Religious, and Student Groups • Broad range of people…doctors, ministers, teachers, other professionals, homemakers, retired citizens, and students

THE ANTIWAR MOVEMENT • Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) • • 1965 – members on 124 campuses To many, this WAS the movement Anti War rallies & debates Criticized universities for helping with research and development for the military • Protested the draft…and recruitment of troops on university campuses (ROTC and CIA)

ANTIWAR MOVEMENT • First national protest • Washington D. C. • April 17 1965 • More than 20, 000 people attend • Martin Luther King • Vietnam is stealing money from poverty programs • Not doing anything about ending discrimination at home

DRAFT RESISTANCE • Resistance • How? • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=o. DCzx. G 8 Dra 0 • Three stories of draft evasion • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=so 8 CIl 0 JTYI

GOVERNMENT IN CONFLICT • Johnson insists to protestors that the U. S. is defending an ally against aggression…what ally would ever trust the country again? • Congress also criticizes…congressional hearings held in 1966 • Forum for critics • Televised…makes antiwar sentiment more acceptable William Fulbright Senator from Arkansas

A TURNING POINT “After a while, survival was the name of the game as you sat there in semidarkness, with the firing going on constantly, like at a rifle range. And the horrible smell. You tasted it as you ate your rations, as if you were eating death. It permeated [seeped into] your clothes, which you couldn’t wash because water was very scarce. You couldn’t bathe or shave either. My strategy was to keep as many of my marines alive as possible, yet accomplish out mission. You went through the full range of motions, seeing your buddies being hit, but you couldn’t feel sorry for them because you had others to think about. ”

THE TET OFFENSIVE • January 30, 1968 – start of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year…in past years, no fighting • Late night, Vietcong and North Vietnamese crept from jungle camps and city hideouts to execute a carefully planned strike • 100 cities, 12 U. S. military bases came under attack by 84, 000 communist soldiers • Heavy fighting raged in Saigon and Da Nang • Occupied the courtyard of U. S. Embassy

THE TET OFFENSIVE • Assault ends a month later… 40, 000 communist soldiers dead • Still remain strong in some areas • not willing to back down • Commander of Forces in Vietnam described the event as a Vietcong defeat • 1, 100 American lives • 2, 300 Vietnamese lives

POLITICAL EFFECT OF TET • Stunning to U. S. confidence • No part of Vietnam is safe…even Saigon • Walter Cronkite • Anchor of the CBS Evening News • “I thought we were winning the war! What the hell is going on? ” • Lyndon B. Johnson replies…”If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America” • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Fe 8 IG 2 P 9 Pn. M • Public criticism of the war rose immensely • Time and Newsweek Magazine expressed doubts and called for the end of the war • LBJ denies 206, 000 troops…sends a small number

QUESTIONING VIETNAM

ELECTION OF 1968

DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGERS • Lyndon B. Johnson • 3 out of 4 disapprove of LBJ • Eugene Mc. Carthy • Senator from Minnesota • Critic of the War • Robert F. Kennedy • Candidate from New York • Popular among African Americans, Hispanics, poor and the young

DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGERS • Lyndon B. Johnson withdraws • http: //www. youtube. co m/watch? v=r. Yqm. O 0 PJ 5 Zk • Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated • Sirhan • http: //www. youtube. co m/watch? v=lmc 2 Ezk. R Dk. I

CONVENTION IN CHICAGO • Vice President Hubert Humphrey received the democratic nomination • Chaos in the streets • 10, 000 antiwar protesters • Held rallies, chanted antiwar slogans, called police insulting names • Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley order police to clear out protestors • Clubbed, used tear gas to disperse crowds • Hundreds injured, more hauled to jail • Reporters, people passing by, and police injured

REPUBLICANS CAPITALIZE • Richard Nixon nominated • Appeals to patriotism of mainstream America • Spiro Agnew (Maryland governor) • Promising “law and order” crack down on urban crime • Seeks support from those Americans who neither approved of the disorderly antiwar protests nor wanted the U. S. defeat in Vietnam • Tells voter that he has a secret plan to end the Vietnam War…reveals no details

ELECTION OF 1968

NIXON, VIETNAMIZATION, & CAMBODIA • Henry Kissinger – key foreign policy advisor • Occasionally advises Eisenhower, Kennedy & Johnson • Vietnamization • Turning over the fighting to the South Vietnamese while gradually pulling out U. S. troops • Would bring “peace with honor” • Troop withdrawal begins slowly • Nixon takes office in 1969 – 540, 000 troops • The end of 1972 – 24, 200 troops remained

NIXON, VIETNAMIZATION, & CAMBODIA • Seeking support, Nixon appeals to the silent majority… • Moderate mainstream Americans who quietly supported the U. S. efforts in Vietnam • Nixon’s secret plan • Expand war into neutral Cambodia to cut off North Vietnams supply line along the Ho Chin Minh Trail • 1969 orders widespread bombing of Cambodia…show Hanoi the U. S. is still willing to use force

NIXON, VIETNAMIZATION, & CAMBODIA • Nixon and Kissinger concealed the Cambodian air strikes from the American people, Congress, and key military leaders – even the secretary of the air force • Cambodia is neutral – fears an international uproar over the • Cambodian government overthrown…new government is pro. American…Nixon makes it public • Justifies the air strikes as defense of a friendly neighbor…sends 80, 000 troops to Cambodia • Then North Vietnamese troops show up…Destroys Cambodia

MY LAI MASSACRE • Americans learn of a shocking event • • New York Times Searching for Vietcong Find no enemies U. S. platoon had massacred innocent civilians in a small village of My Lai…mostly women, children and elderly men • https: //www. youtube. com/ watch? v=ih. Vw. F 7 Gj. E 10

ANTIWAR PROTESTS INCREASE • News of the bombing provokes outrage…especially on college campuses • Kent State (Ohio) • ROTC building set on fire • Governor vowed to “eradicate” protesters • May 4, 1970 – National Guard troops sent to control crowds • Shot randomly into large groups • 67 rounds in 13 seconds • Killed 4 students , injured 9(1 paralyzed) • Some of the students were walking across campus • Kent State Shootings shock the nation

PENTAGON PAPERS • New York Times published a collection of secret documents relating to the war • Revealed that the government had frequently misled the American people about the course of the war

WAR CONTINUES • Nixon orders • Invasion of Cambodia, Bombing of North Vietnam • “I call it the Madman Theory. I want the North Vietnamese to believe that I’ve reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We’ll just slip the word to them that, ‘for Gods’s sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about communists. We can’t restrain him when he’s angry-and he has his hands on the nuclear button’-and Ho Chi Mihn himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace” • War grows more fierce • North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam…Nixon ordered heavy bombing • Opposition holds more territory than ever

LOOKING TOWARD 1972… • Democrats adopt new rules to increase the representation of ethnic minorities, women, and young people in party organizations • 26 th Amendment Passed in 1971 • Lowers the voting age from 21 to 18 • Gives many men drafted to serve in Vietnam the right to vote…democrats get much of their support from these groups

NIXON’S RE-ELECTION • Stresses his strong commitment to law and order within the U. S. • Assures voters the war would soon be over • Henry Kissinger…declares a break through in negotiations and says ”Peace is at hand” • Nixon wins by a landslide!

ELECTION OF 1972

A CEASE FIRE AT LAST • Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam’s Le Duc meet secretly in Paris (beginning in 1969) • October 1972 – North Vietnam offers a peace plan that Kissinger and Nixon find acceptable. • Plan calls for • • • Cease fire Pullout of foreign troops from Vietnam End U. S. military aid Creation of a new government in South Vietnam BUT…Nguyen Van Thieu and National Liberation Front

A CEASE FIRE AGAIN • January 1973 – Cease fire announced from Paris again • Plan…almost the same, but minor changes allowed for each side to declare victory • • U. S. pulls out of foreign troops from South Vietnam U. S. helps rebuild Vietnam Prisoner exchange agreement BUT…it doesn’t address the political future of South Vietnam • Nixon secretly pledges assistance if fighting resumed

SOUTH VIETNAM COLLAPSES

EFFECTS OF THE WAR • According to the Saigon government • 185, 000 South Vietnamese soldiers died • 500, 000 South Vietnamese civilians died • Not verified…but close to 1 million Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers • 800, 000 Vietnamese children were orphaned and 181, 000 were disabled • People exposed to chemicals, such as Agent Orange are plagued by high rates of liver cancer and other illnesses

VIETNAM VETERANS • More than 58, 000 died, more than 300, 000 wounded • Medical advances, in previous years would have died…results in a large number paralyzed and severely disabled veterans • About 2, 500 are Missing in Action (MIA) • 600 are Prisoners of War (POW) • Some spent more than 6 years in Vietnam prisons

VIETNAM VETERANS • Most visible tragedies of the war was the fate of the veterans • No parades celebrating their return • Often targets for the anger, guilt or shame of fellow citizens frustrated by the war • Many veterans met with a stony silence • Public’s negative reaction enraged and demoralized many veterans • Faced a life-and-death struggle, obeying orders that they trusted were in their country’s best interests • Born on the Fourth of July…book (and movie) that recalls the pain of lack of support.

PUBLIC POLICY • The war shock American’s confidence in their government • shocked to discover that their leaders had misled them during the war • Both Johnson and Nixon raised crucial constitutional questions…”under what authority can presidents wage an undeclared war? ” • War Powers Act – reaffirms Congress’s constitutional right to declare war by setting a 60 -day limit on the presidential commitment of U. S. troops to foreign conflicts.

VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL