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U.S. Involvement and Escalation
Ms. Ha Chapter 22 Section 2 U.S. Involvement and Escalation
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I. U.S. involvement grows A. 1964 election=Johnson
1.Beat: Barry Goldwater 2.Johnson-Vietnam stay out a)1965 b)Thousands of U.S. troops c) Arrive in S. Vietnam
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Johnson’s Advisors Secretary of Defense: Robert McNamara
Secretary of State: Dean Rusk
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B. Public Support 1. Favored President Johnson 2. Stop spread of communism! a) Poll in 1965: 61% in favor b) Opposed by: 24%
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C. End of 1965 ,000 U.S. troops 2. American commander in Vietnam a) General William Westmoreland b) Felt ARVN: ineffective c) Troops: had to be aggressive d) By 1967: 500,000 U.S. troops
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General William Westmoreland
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II. Jungle Fighting
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A. Elusive Enemy 1. Vietcong: lacked advanced weapons 2. Guerilla Warfare a)No “safe” area b)Attacked in cities & country
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3. U.S. soldiers faced a) Heat b) Leeches c) Mines d) Booby traps of many horrible types “tiger trap”
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4. “Which way did the VC go?”
a) Used underground tunnel network b) Very extensive: live underground
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Touring the Tunnels
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Entrance / Exit
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TIGER TRAP Deadly VC Weapon
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Tiger Trap Not for Tigers
U.S. Soldiers Impaled when they fell through Tiger Trap Not for Tigers
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B. U.S. Strategy: Attrition
1. Gradual wearing down of enemy 2. VC didn’t give up & they had help a) Support from China b) Support from Soviet Union
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C. “Win hearts and minds” S.V.
1. Napalm: gasoline base, fire 2. Agent Orange: leaf toxin a) Cancer connection b) Vietnamese and U.S. soldiers
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D. “Search-and-destroy” missions
1. Uproot civilians 2. Destroy villages and livestock : 3 million refugees 4. Didn’t gain many “fans”
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E. U.S. troop morale low 1. Rise in use of alcohol, marijuana & other drugs 2. Cope with horrible conditions & death
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III. Public support wavers
A. Dragged on, support dropped 1. Economy suffered- money going to war 2. Inflation rose 3. Domestic Reform: suffer
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B. “Living-Room” War: 1. Television (media) 2. Combat footage on nightly news : 16,000 U.S. soldiers died 4. Credibility Gap: Johnson administration reports & what was really happening in Vietnam 5. “Two different realities”
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