Napalm

The Vietnam War Our Longest War Comes To An End

Democratic National Convention of 1968 The Democrats met in Chicago in 1968 to hold their convention and choose their presidential candidate Easier said then done: LBJ decided not to run for reelection, the leading Democratic presidential candidate was assassinated, and the party was split on how to handle the war in Vietnam 10,000 antiwar protestors showed up –Millions of Americans watched the chaos on television

June 5, 1968

The Presidential Election of 1968 Richard M. Nixon makes a political comeback from his 1960 defeat and wins the presidential nomination from the Republican party He goes up against Democrat Hubert Humphrey –Vice President under Johnson George Wallace (former governor of Alabama) –Championed school segregation –Proponent of states’ rights Who do you think wins?

Nixon Begins Pullout President Nixon and his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, come up with a withdrawal plan –Vietnamization- Nixon’s strategy for ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War by the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and their replacement with South Vietnamese forces By August 1969, the first 25,000 U.S. troops returned home

My Lai Massacre In November of 1969, the New York Times broke the story: March 16, 1968, a U.S. platoon was searching for Vietcong rebels in the small village of My Lai They found none, but rounded up the villagers and shot more than 200 innocent civilians –Women, children, elderly

My Lai Massacre

Invasion of Cambodia On April 30, 1970, Nixon announced troops had invaded Cambodia to clear out Vietcong and North Vietnamese supply centers Congress then repealed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution More than 1.5 million students went on strike, closing down 1,200 campuses

Tragedy at Kent State

May 4, 1970 Kent State University

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Will This War Ever End?! % of Americans thought we should withdraw from Vietnam March North Vietnamese launch their largest attack on South Vietnam since the Tet Offensive –Nixon responded with a heavy bombing campaign, which halted the North Vietnamese attack Nixon realizes he must end this war if he wants to win reelection in November 1972

Suspected Vietcong soldiers

Interrogating a Vietcong suspect

American Involvement Ends January 27, 1973 “Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” was signed –North Vietnamese troops would peacefully remain in South Vietnam –Nixon said he would respond with full force if the peace was broken On March 29, 1973, the last U.S. combat troops left for home

All For Not? For America, the war was over in 1973 Within months, the peace between North and South Vietnam collapsed On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon and captured the city –South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam –Vietnam is now a united, Communist nation

War Facts The Vietnam war became our longest war ever In all, 58,000 American troops died in Vietnam –303,000 wounded North and South Vietnamese deaths topped 2 million

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The War Is Over, Pain Is Not No brass bands, no victory parades, no cheering crowds 15% of the 3.3. Million soldiers who served developed post-traumatic stress disorder –Reoccurring nightmares, severe headaches, memory lapses Others began abusing drugs and alcohol Several thousand committed suicide

Aftermath of the Vietnam War Government abolished the draft, which aroused so much anti-war sentiment Passed the War Powers Act –President must inform congress within 48 hours of sending forces into a hostile area without a declaration of war Overall, citizens lost faith and trust in their government

Vietnam Veterans Memorial