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By 1962, there were more than 11,000 "military advisers" in the area.
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On August 2, 1964, an American warship fired on three North Vietnamese ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. American intelligence officers then claimed that another skirmish took place two days later. In reality, the second attack never happened, and the first incident was instigated by American forces, who probably fired first.
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On August 7, just a few days after the incident, Congress gave the president the authority to engage communist forces in Southeast Asia. That's when the Vietnam War (as we know it) began.
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Ngo Dinh Diem. The Americans were hoping that a more stable leader could be found, but the assassination actually threw South Vietnam into chaos. It was clear that the United States would have to intervene more forcefully.
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"Tet" is the Vietnamese New Year. It usually takes place between January and February. In 1968, it fell on the night of January 30. That's when the Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive.
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My Lai Massacre, which took place on March 16, 1968. A platoon of American soldiers wiped out an entire town of Vietnamese civilians, more than 400 people, before other Americans could stop them.
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South Vietnamese fall to the Viet Cong. They renamed it "Ho Chi Minh City" after their former leader, who had died in 1969.
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