They're Sending me to Vietnam It’s this whole other country

The Vietnam War Background and WWII The French had controlled what is now Vietnam before WWII. During the War the Japanese took control of the region. During the war we backed Ho Chi Mien and the Viet Minh who were fighting against the Japanese. After the war the French moved back in but the Viet Minh wanted independence.

The French and United States By 1953 the U.S. was funding 80% of the French cost. They were sending the troops. The Viet Minh attacked the large French at Dein Bien Phu and forced a surrender on May 7, 1954. With several more Viet Minh wins and a peace conference in July 1954, the French gave the communist the north by splitting the country at the 17th parallel. We didn’t want the dominos to fall so we supported the French in the south.

North vs. South Ho Chi Mien was the leader in the north – Ngo Dinh Diem was the leader in the south Diem didn’t hold the elections in 1956 because Ho would have won. We started sending “military advisors”

History Detective What is happening in this picture? When, where, and by who was the picture taken? Why did this person set himself on fire? In your opinion, what impact would this protest suicide have?

Kennedy and the war By July 1962, Kennedy had sent 6,419 advisors. By late 1963, there were 16,000 were “in country” Ngo was no good and in 1963, we turned our backs while the military overthrew and killed him. This cause more instability and brought China and the USSR to aid the North.  

Johnson and the War Couldn’t appear weak on Communism. Needed support for the “Great Society” By summer of 1964, Johnson was starting to send troops to fight the war. Gulf of Tonkin In Aug of 1964, North Vietnamese fired on American war-ships in the Gulf. Johnson used this to call for unlimited power in fighting the war. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution authorizing the President to “take all necessary steps” to prevent further aggression.

Johnson’s Second Thoughts  Johnson saw the war was going to be long and costly Johnson sent fact-finding group to Saigon in Feb. of 1965. While there, the Viet Cong (communist guerrillas in the south) attacked the American advisory force and the U.S. headquarters at Pleiku. This brought more American involvement. March 2, 1965, 50,000 new troops were sent in.

Different Kind of War We didn’t know who we were fighting. All Vietnamese look the same. We had to “search and destroy” the communist. We use “carpet bombing”, napalm, and Agent Orange. They used tunnels and sneak attacks. Johnson kept telling the American people it was almost over. We were winning.

Carpet Bombing Napalm Attack

A Tet Like no Other TET - Vietnamese Lunar New Year Jan. 30, 1968 The Viet Cong attacked American bases all over South Vietnam. They got into the U.S. Embassy Militarily the communist were defeated but they showed the American that the war was not almost over.

Tet video I wonder?

Johnson Drops Out On March 31, 1968, Johnson announced that he would not run for reelection. This opened the door for peace Democrats. The party was split. Robert Kennedy looked like he may be the Democratic nominee Richard Nixon was the Republican nominee.