The Vietnam War Years Section 2

U.S. Involvement Escalates  Policy was to confront Communism anywhere in the world.  Robert McNamara – Secretary of Defense  Dean Rusk – Secretary of State  General William Westmoreland  By end of 1965, 180,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam.  By 1967, that number climbed to about 500,000.

The War in the Jungle  Vietcong did not have high- powered weaponry like U.S. Hit-and-run and ambush tactics Keen knowledge of jungle terrain Destroyed idea of frontline by attacking U.S. troops anywhere U.S. troops couldn’t distinguish between civilian and military personnel – boys, women, farmers, etc. Booby traps and land mines Elaborate tunnels providing the way to launch surprise attacks

The U.S. Strategy  War of attrition Destroy morale by continual harassment  The Battle for “hearts and minds” Vietcong hide among the people. If you win support of the people, they have nowhere to hide.  Expose tunnels and hideouts Agent Orange – leaf-killing toxic chemical to destroy landscape Napalm – gasoline-based bombs that set fire to jungle Search-and-destroy missions – uprooting villages to find Vietcong

Sinking U.S. Morale  Guerilla warfare  Brutal jungle conditions  Failure to make substantial headway  Continued corruption and instability in South Vietnamese government  Enemy prison camps – “Hanoi Hilton”  Soldiers lost conviction; turned to alcohol, drugs, and even murder

War at Home  Nation’s economy suffered  Inflation rate nearly tripled  Took money away from “Great Society” programs  “Living Room War” – first war to show combat footage on nightly news  Credibility gap – gap between what was told to Americans and what was actually happening  Americans begin to doubt and start to protest