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South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam, with newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president.
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The National Liberation Front (NLF), the Viet Cong or Charlie by the American Army, is established in South Vietnam. The Viet Cong were communist rebels in the Democratic State of South Vietnam and became known for their guerrilla war tactics against the Americans.
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Diem escaped an assassination attempt after two South Vietnamese VC pilots bombed the presidential palace.
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A crowd of Buddhist monks were fired while protesting against Diem regime. This would however inspire others to demonstrate.
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South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed twenty days before President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in the United States.
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North Vietnamese boats allegedly attacked two U.S. destroyers (USS Maddox) sitting in the waters of Gulf of Tonkin.
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During a visit to South Vietnam, U.S. Vice President Johnson had pledged to offer military and economic support to Diem government. By the end of 1961, the number of U.S. military officers increased from 746 to roughly 3,200 even though combat units would not be stationed until 1965.
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American forces stationed in Vietnam reached 389,000 by the end of 1966. More than 6,000 and 30,000 American men had been killed and wounded respectively in this year alone.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out against U.S. foreign policy in Vietnam among over 100,000 demonstrators in New York.
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U.S. soldiers massacred 347 Vietnamese civilians, mostly children, women and elderly men in the town of My Lai.
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North Communist leader Ho Chi Minh died at the age of 79. North Vietnamese leaders decided to embalmed and put on display in a mausoleum instead of cremating his body as his wish.
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American and South Vietnamese troops attacked Cambodia to destroy bases that might have supplied aid to the Viet Cong. After a 60-day operation, thousands of weapons and rice were captured while more than 10, 000 Viet Cong were killed.
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North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the U.S. Representatives signed the Paris Peace Accords in which a ceasefire was established immediately and the U.S. agreed to withdraw all its combat troops. In turn North Vietnam would release all American Prisoners of War (POWs).
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President Richard Nixon resigned after the Watergate scandal. His Vice President Gerald Ford took office.
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Last two U.S. men were killed at Tan Son Nhut airport in their evacuation mission. South Vietnam fell as the acting President Duong Van Minh delivered an unconditional surrender to the North Communists in early hours of April 30. The Vietnam war eventually ended.
