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Harry Truman orders the dropping of two atomic bombs in Japan (Hiroshima-Aug 6th/ Nagasaki- Aug 9th) which will soon make the Japanese surrender.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima -
Just a few hours after Japan surrendered in WWII, Vietnam delared indepence from France. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vietnam-independence-proclaimed
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Fighting between France and Viet Minh had started back in Sep. 1946 but it quickly escalated and Viet Minh had no intentions of surrendering. http://www.britannica.com/event/First-Indochina-War
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Elysee Agreement was signed by France which aided the formation of a national anti-Communist army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lys%C3%A9e_Treaty
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The U.S. sends $15 million in military aid to France for the war in Indochina. Unsure of the exact date
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Shortly after Laos is granted full independence from France, Vietminh rebels enter in and attack. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/55797198
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A large force of heavily armed Vietminh troops attack France at Dienbienphu. They make it impossible for French supplies to be dropped off by air.
http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-dien-bien-phu -
After the French were defeated in Dienbienphu, the Geneva Convention was held to end the war in Indochina. During the Convention, the agreed to divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel until nationwide elections are held. However Diem does not agree to this and rejects their conditions.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/geneva-conference-begins -
Once Diem becomes the president of Vietnam, the French soon leave. The U.S. is brought in to train South Vietnamese officials. Soon after, communists attack Vietnamese officials and terrorist bombings are beginning. Diem then orders a crackdown on communist rebels.
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/timeline.htm Not sure of exact date -
President Diem and his brother were captured by soldiers and murdered. Many Vietnamese celebrated, but this caused a lot of chaos throughout the nation. A few weeks later, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This left VP Lyndon Johnson to decide how to proceed in the Vietnam war, amidst the grief and chaos in America.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ngo-dinh-diem-assassinated-in-south-vietnam -
The U.S. sends B-52 Bombers into North Vietnam in April. Shortly after, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara makes a statement that the bombings were not successful in meeting certain objectives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress -
President Richard Nixon and U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announce the Policy of "Vietnamization". The object was to shift the burden of beating the Communists more on the South Vietnamese military and away from the U.S. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnamization
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Amidst the Watergate Scandal that has been going on for a few years, President Richard Nixon resigns leaving Gerald Ford to take his place http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/080974-3.htm
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President Ford announces that the Vietnam War is done as far as the U.S. is concerned. The last of the U.S. troops are taken out of Vietnam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
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The VA set up a registry for Vietnam Vets who were worried that they may have been exposed to Agent Orange and that they were becoming ill from it.
https://www.vetshq.com/agent-orange-timeline/
