1. Vietnamization
11.9.3, ,
EQ: How did the Vietnam War end, and what were its lasting effects?

2. Vietnamization Vietnamization
Nixon promised to reduce U.S. involvement
peace talks stalled
US wanted communists out of South Vietnam and POWs returned
Ho Chi Minh wanted US out of South Vietnam immediately
Nixon sent troops into Cambodia to seize Vietcong supplies in 1970
in 1971, 2/3 of Americans wanted troops out of Vietnam even if it went communist as a result

3. My Lai Massacre, 1968
U.S. troops led by Lt. William Calley massacred unarmed villagers
Calley convicted in 1971
court-martialed and sentenced to life in prison but released in 1974
added to anti-war movement

4. Pentagon Papers, 1972
The New York Times published a classified history of the war
it covered policy under Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson
LBJ wrote the Tonkin Gulf Resolution before the attack
Daniel Ellsberg, a Vietnam vet, leaked it
Nixon tried to block it
The Supreme Court ruled free speech

5. Kent State, 1970 Students protestors threw rocks at the National Guard
the guardsmen fired on antiwar protestors
4 killed and 8 wounded
college campuses across the nation closed down
President Nixon “...when dissent turns to violence it invites tragedy”

6. Paris Peace Talks, 1973
Nixon won re-election in 1972 with peace approaching
Nixon renewed bombing North Vietnam when talks stalled
US troops pulled out in 1973

7. Saigon Falls, 1975 communist forces restarted hostility
Saigon fell and was renamed Ho Chi Minh City
US embassy workers were evacuated to ships off the coast
the US reopened diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1995

8. Vietnamization Cost of the Vietnam War Aug. 1964-May 7, 1975
3,403,100 served in the Southeast Asia Theater (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)
58,202 died
300,000 wounded
POWs: 766
MIA: 2,338
240 won Medal of Honor
represented 9.7% of their generation

9. War Powers Act, 1973 limited presidential authority to make war
President must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending in troops
President may only commit troops up to 60 days in field
congressional authority always higher than president
passed over Nixon’s veto