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French military forces established control over Indochina, a peninsula in Southeast Asia that includes the modern countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The French ruled Vietnam with an iron fist and imposed high taxes.
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Vietnam soldiers hammered at the French military at Dien Bien Phu. After suffering some 15,000 casualties, the French surrendered.
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After being granted independence by France, Vietnam is divided at the seventeenth parallel into two countries. Ho Chi Minh's communist forces rule North Vietnam and anticommunist government in South Vietnam.
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The United States and seven other countries formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) to contain the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.
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North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on the American destroyer USS Maddox. After, President Johnson was given military powers by Congress.
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Johnson ordered the start of Operation Rolling Thunder, the first sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
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U.S. airstrikes hammered North Vietnam and Vietcong strong points in South Vietnam. American pilots also dropped napalm and sprayed Agent Orange.
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American Soldiers were not as certain that preserving the government in South Vietnam was as crucial to American interests.
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Congress- and most of America - divided into two camps: hawks and doves.
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President Johnson brought General Westmoreland home to address the nation about the war. He claimed that the Vietcong was declining in strength but they were actually planning an attack.
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There were more than half a million U.S. troops in Vietnam and the number of Americans dead had risen to more than 30,000.
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Dissension between hawks and doves in the party sparked angry outbursts . On the street violent clashes broke out between antiwar protesters and the Chicago Police.
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Two months after the Tet Offensive, Johnson addressed that America would limit its bombing of North Vietnam and seek negotiation.
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In 1969, the Selective Service System adopted a lottery that was designed to eliminate deferment abuses and create a more diverse army of draftees.
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Nixon called his supporters the "silent" majority. They consisted of of patriotic veterans from WWII and the Korean War.
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The U.S., North and South Vietnam and Vietcong made agreements to exchange POWS and the parties agreed to cease fire.
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This act restricted the President's war-making powers by requiring him to consult with Congress within 48 hours of committing American forces to foreign conflict.
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Minor fighting escalated between North and South Vietnam. But, by the end of April, the communists had taken Saigon.
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Upwards of 2 million Cambodians were executed or died in labor camps due to there ruler at the time, Khmer Rouge.
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In Washington D.C. they built The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and it stands as a testa meant to all men and women who served in Vietnam.
