Gulf of Tonkin Incident August 2nd - 4th 1964 North Vietnam attacks two US ships

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution President Johnson gets permission from Congress for FULL-ON war!

Operation Ranch Hand Jungle = too thick and difficult to locate enemy Solution = destroy the jungle forest How = using Agent Orange

Agent Orange Legacy This chemical dioxin killed off millions of acres of jungle The dioxin got into the food chain causing chromosome damage to humans. For years even after the war, there were hundreds of children born with deformities.

Helicopters New warfare needed a new weapon. Helicopters never really used in battle before. Best used for dropping off and picking up platoons on battlefields They were excellent air ambulances.

North Vietnamese Weapons Their weapons were cheap and reliable. AK47 assault rifle out-performed the M16 Recycled dud US bombs Deadly booby-traps http://www.5rar.asn.au/weapons/boobytraps.htm

Tunnel Complexes Protected them from bombings Secret base of attack

Tunnel Rats This is the nickname for the US soldiers who went into the tunnels to attack the Viet Cong.

Viet Cong prisoner awaits interrogation by US Special Forces

Search & Destroy Tactics In areas where we thought the NLF was operating… US troops went into villages and checked for weapons. If weapons were found, US troops rounded up the villagers and burned the village down. This caused Vietnamese villagers to hate American soldiers. “If they weren’t Vietcong before we got there, they sure as hell were by the time we left”. The NFL often helped the villager’s re-build their homes and bury their dead.

The Tet Offensive January 1968 - Tet holiday in Vietnam North Vietnam and NLF launched coordinated attacks against major southern cities. This “Tet Offensive” was designed to force the US into a treaty.

Ho Chi Minh Trail Why was the US unable to stop the Viet Cong in the South? Constant flow of supplies and troops to the NLF.