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Truman was the first US President to have any involvement in Vietnamese conflicts, sending $10 million to Saigon. This money was to be used to support anti-communist forces in Vietnam. It was a very modest gesture, but showed the US is willing to do what is needed to help the fight. -
After falling to the Vietnamese at Dien Bien Phu, the First Indochina War came to a close, and French rule in the territory ended. This brought up many questions about the region's future, particularly concerning the type of government to be established in each nation. This would all be discussed at the Geneva Accords. -
After the signing of the Geneva accords, Vietnam is officially split into 2 nations, North and South, along the 17th parallel. The North adapts a Communist government led by Ho Chi Minh, while the South is led by Catholic Nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem, supported by US backing. These accords also mandated that elections be held to unify Vietnam under 1 democratic government within 2 years, but these never happen. -
The NLF was a pro-communist, anti-government force in South VIetnam. They ended up being the primary enemy for the USA during the Vietnam War, and was on the same side as North Vietnam. AKA the Vietcong, they mainly used guerilla-style warfare while fighting, and were largely successful. -
While this wasn't the first set of soldiers to arrive in Vietnam, it was one of the more significant groups. On this day, Kennedy approved the sending of 500 troops to South Vietnam, 400 of those being special forces troops, to help the South Vietnamese with their war effort. Kennedy also began the training of CIA and US Special Forces troops in the US to prepare them to go to VIetnam if needed. -
A group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam soldiers stormed Saigon and removed Ngo Dinh Diem and his party from the government. Kennedy and his administration knew of this plan, but, according to Cable 243, it was US policy to not try and stop it. The Coup was led by Ban Minh and went very smoothly, with few casualties. -
One day after his government is overthrown, Diem and his brother are captured are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. This killing was massively celebrated in South Vietnam, but made many in the US nervous. Combined with the fall of the South Vietnamese government, the US decided to increase their presence in Vietnam, trying to stop communism from reaching the South. -
President Kennedy is shot and killed in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. While this didn't directly connect to Vietnam, it was likely one of the first dominoes into major involvement there for the US. Because of this shooting, Johnson become president, and he was much more interested in sending troops over and being involved in the war than Kennedy likely would have been. -
The USS Maddox ship is shot multiple times by North Vietnamese Torpedo Boats while on patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin. Different reports state that the US initiated the attack the day before, but regardless, this was the main attack by either side. There were also reports of a second attack 2 days later, but these were eventually proven false. -
Only 5 days after the Maddox is attacked, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. This bill gave President Johnson full power to take whatever measures he felt necessary to retaliate and fight against the North Vietnamese. Johnson felt this amount of power was necessary after the attack on the Maddox, fearing that may be just the start of what the North Vietnamese had planned. -
Flaming Dart wasn't a very large attack, but was the first major bombing of North Vietnam. It came after several attacks on US bases, and was meant to get revenge on these, particularly on the attack on Camp Holloway. It lasted about 3 weeks, and laid the groundwork for future major air bombings later in the Vietnam War. -
Rolling Thunder took the groundwork that Operation Flaming Dart laid out and dramatically escalated the US bombings in Vietnam. It lasted 3.5 years, and consisted of 4 main objectives, including destroying North Vietnam's transport systems and industrial/air bases, along with persuading North Vietnam to cease its support for Communist insurgency in South Vietnam.