Vietnam 22-1,2 Notes

Background Knowledge Vietnam was known as French Indochina and controlled by France In the 1920’s Ho Chi Minh, formed a Communist Party to get Vietnam’s independence from France. After WWII, France wanted control again but Ho Chi Minh fought for Vietnam’s independence.

Ngo Dinh “Diem”, anti-Communist President of S. Vietnam did not want the election of ’56 to happen. Ho Chi Minh: North Vietnamese leader was very popular all throughout Vietnam. The U.S. sided with Diem. Diem was a bad President (corrupt, killed hundreds of Buddhists) 1957, a Communist opposition group in the South known as Vietcong attacked the Diem government.

Ho Chi Minh supported the Vietcong and set troops along the Ho Chi Minh trail to attack S. Vietnamese. The U.S. wanted to stop the Communists but knew that S. Vietnam wouldn’t be stable with Diem as Pres. 1963, a U.S. supported military coup killed Diem. A few weeks later, Kennedy was assassinated right after he announced his intent to withdraw from Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident Video 1964, Congress approved Johnsons’ Tonkin Gulf Resolution ▫not declaration of war but granted Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam. Johnson did not tell Congress or the American people that the U.S had been leading secret raids against N. Vietnam before the TGR.

By June 1965 more than 50,000 US soldiers were in Vietnam battling the Vietcong Johnson won reelection in 1964 by campaigning against communism and not sending a lot of troops into Vietnam. But Americans understood he did it to stop communism.

Fighting The Vietcong knew their land and used it to their advantage Ho Chi Minh Trail: a network of paths used by the North Vietnamese to transport supplies to the Vietcong in South Vietnam -They made tunnels so they could come and go quick and handle attacks. - They used booby traps and land mines - US troops did not know who was a friend and who was an enemy

- Planes dropped napalm to set fire to the jungle to stop the tunnels - Agent Orange was sprayed to kill leaves. -Troops conducted search and destroy missions in villages. - They would go into Villages of the Vietcong and destroy everything - The US troop’s morale went downhill because of the rough fighting and lack of a clear enemy

The Tet Offensive January 30, 1968 – New Year’s Eve in Vietnam People were celebrating but also holding funerals Many coffins contained weapons and members of the Vietcong were pretending to be villagers They launched an attack in over 100 towns, 12 bases and the American embassy The US forces eventually regained control, but it hurt mentally, especially for the American public

My Lai A US platoon led by William Calley marched into the small village of My Lai, rounded up and killed over 200 villagers. There was no enemy present

At Home To pay for the war Congress reduced funding to Great Society programs by $6Billion The media constantly reported the casualties Critics said there was a credibility gap with what the Johnson administration said was happening and what actually did happen. Americans were evenly split, and many turned to protesting.

A Divided Country Most soldiers who fought had been drafted Those who wanted to fight were called hawks Those who were opposed to fighting were called doves 1969 – We have a new President – Richard Nixon who announced troop withdrawals At Kent State University a protest turned violent when the National Guard fired on protesters, 4 were killed and 9 were wounded

Stats Longest war in US history (11 years) "War" was never officially declared by the United States A Cornell University study placed the over-all total U.S. cost of the Vietnam war at $200 Billion An estimated 70,000 draft evaders and "dodgers" were living in Canada by An estimated 3 million people were killed by the war, and over 1 million were wounded. Missing in Action: 2,338 POWs: 766 (114 died in captivity) 61% of the men killed were 21 or younger. 25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees The average age of the soldiers serving during the Vietnam War was nineteen (19). The average age of the soldiers serving during World War II was twenty-six (26).