May 1941 formation of the Viet minh By Dsilva2274 Sep 2, 1945 September 2nd chi minh declares Vietnamese independence May 8, 1950 U.S.A agreed to provide France with military and economic assistance May 7, 1954 The French surrendered to the viet minh at dien bien phu Oct 26, 1955 Ngo nihm diem is elected president of south Vietnam Dec 20, 1960 Formation of the national liberation front Feb 3, 1965 Operation "rolling thunder" Mar 8, 1965 First U.S combat troops arrive at Vietnam Oct 31, 1968 Operation thunder had ended Jun 9, 1969 Nixon became president and announced the beginning of operation veitnam. Apr 8, 1972 North Vietnam conduct some its eastern offensive Jan 27, 1973 U.S military draft ends Mar 29, 1973 The last of the U.S troops leave Vietnam Mar 3, 1975 NVA force launch an offensive Apr 30, 1975 Saigon falls to communist forces, ending the veitnam war