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Dien Bien Phu
Vietnamese occupy French the command post. French call for a cease fire (or stopping fire between countries) after a battle lasted 55 days. French troop deaths were 3,000 along with 8,000 injured. Viet Minh deaths were 8,000 along with 12,000 wounded. -
Creation of Ho Chi Minh Trail
Group 559, is created solely to create a trail from North Vietnam to the Vietcong forces residing in South Vietnam. -
United States becomes actively involved
President Kennedy calls for more troops to go to South Vietnam to contribute with the war against the Vietcong -
Operation Rangehand
Agent Orange (a chemical spray) is dispersed over large areas of vegetation to make it very difficult for the Vietcong to disguise themselves for an ambush. Guerrilla trails and base areas are exposed, and crops that feed the Vietcong units are obliterated. -
Gulf of Tonkin Attack
South Vietnamese attack two minor North Vietamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. The U.S. Destroyer Maddox is miles away and signals an air raid on North Vietamese boats. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
U.S. Congress agrees to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution granting President Lyndon B. Johnson power to use whatever necessary to protect Southeast Asia -
Rolling Thunder Begins
President Lyndon B. Johnson says okay to Rolling Thunder. A short term bomb offensive to force North Vietnam to halt the supporting of the Vietcong -
U.S. offers peace for economical aid proposal
U.S. offered North Vietnam peace for economical aid. This proposal was denied and within a two week period President Lyndon B. Johnson deployed 60,000 troops to Vietnam and forces from Korea and Australia showed up as a sign of international support -
First Major Battle for U.S. Troops
Deserter from first Vietcong shows that there was an attack coming. U.S. marines launch Operation Starlite and have ansurprising victory against Vietcong -
American Forces Total 385,000
American forces in Vietnam reach 385,000 men. Plus 60,000 sailors were stationed offshore. More than 6,000 Americans have been killed during this year, and 30,000 have been wounded. About 61,000 Vietcong have been killed. Their troops now reached over 280,000. -
Operation Junction City
240 helicopter deploys over Tay Ninh province, starting Operation Junction City. A mission whose goal was to accomplish the destroying of the Vietcong bases and headquaters residing in South Vietnam -
Khe Sanh Attacked by Vietcong
5:30 a.m., an attack is set off on the Marine base at Khe Sanh. 18 Marines were killed, 40 wounded. The initial attack continued for two days -
Tet Offensive begins
In more than 100 cities and towns, shock attacks by Vietcong are followed by surges of supporting troops. By the end of the city battles, 37,000 Vietcong troops were killed. Many more people had been wounded or captured. There were more than a 1/2 million civilian refugees. U.S. losses almost all public support. -
My Lai Massacre
U.S. Charlie killed 200 innocent civilians. Only 1 person is tried and found guilty of war crimes. That raised many questions about the true conduct of war. -
Rolling Thunder Ends
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Nixon Takes Office
Nixon is sworn into office. -
Operation Menu
President Nixon okays the Operation Menu. Bombing of North Vietnamese and Vietcong bases in Cambodia. In 4 years, U.S. forces dropped over a half million tons of bombs on Cambodia. -
Spraying of Agent Orange Ends
Dioxin were banned from use by U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1968. More than 1/7 of the country's total area has been laid waste. -
Only 133,000 Troops remain in Vietnam
2/3 of America's troops have gone home within two years. The ground war is now the entire responsibility of South Vietnam, which has over 1,000,000 men enlisted in its armed forces -
Peace Talk Breaks Out
In Paris, North Vietnamese and Americans begin talking about peace. Americans breakdown. -
Cease Fire Signed
All countries agree to cease of all fire. -
Nixon Resigns
President Richard Nixon resigns. Which leaves South Vietnam without their strongest advocate -
Last Casualties for the U.S.
4:03 a.m., two U.S. Marines are killed in a rocket attack at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport. They're the last Americans to have died during the Vietnam War. The last Marines of the force guarding the U.S. embassy lift off at noon.