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The Geneva Accords were passed, splitting Vietnam into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam is communist, ran by Ho Chi Minh, while South Vietnam is democratic, ran by Ngo Dinh Diem and backed by the United States.
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President John F. Kennedy sends helicopters and over 400 Green Berets to South Vietnam, authorizing secret operations against the Vietnam Communists in the north, or the Viet-Cong.
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Buddhists in South Vietnam protested, to which the government responded to by shooting into the crowd, killing 8 people. The United States began to lose trust in Diem and his judgment. This mistrust eventually lead to the United States assisting the people of South Vietnam in throwing a coup.
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President John F. Kennedy is killed in Dallas, Texas, making Lyndon B. Johnson the president.
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US Marine Corps Lieutenant Frank Reasone becomes the first Vietnam veteran to receive the medal of honor. He was awarded this "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as commanding officer". This was awarded to him after he gave his life in the war.
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Norman Morrison drenched himself in kerosene and then proceeded to light himself on fire in front of the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam war. While doing so, he is holding his 11-month-old baby, whom spectators encouraged him to put down before he eventually died in the fire.
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Thousands of people march in New York to protest the draft. Most of the protesters burned their draft cards. In October, people protested at The Pentagon and did the same thing.
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Between the years of 1969-1972, Nixon gradually reduces the number of U.S. forces in South Vietnam. U.S. troops in Vietnam are reduced from an all-time high of 549,000 in 1969 to just 69,000 in 1972.
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Following Johnson's announcement to not run for office again, Nixon becomes President and promises to restore law and order to the country and end the draft.
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U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger begins secret peace negotiations.
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Operation Linebacker commences, where Nixon dropped over 20,000 tons of bombs all over North Vietnam.
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Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords, ending U.S involvement in the war as long as North Vietnam didn't attack South Vietnam. This had two major flaws: it relied on North Vietnam not attacking South Vietnam and the United States helping them out if they did.
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591 American prisoners of war are released from Vietnam and return home. This is not only a huge win but a sign that the war is finally nearing it's end.
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President Nixon resigns after facing impeachment for the Watergate Scandal, in which he had hired burglars to wiretap people's phones and steal documents for his reelection campaign.
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The North Vietnamese soldiers took over the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon. After the capital fell, the U.S aided in the evacuation of the city, saving more than 1,000 American civilians and nearly 7,000 South Vietnamese refugees over the course of an 18 hour evacuation. North and South Vietnam then became one, united, communist, Vietnam, marking the end of the war and a loss for the U.S.
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History.com EditorsH. HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 29 Apr. 2020, www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-timeline. Major Events of the Vietnam War, History Central, www.historycentral.com/Vietnam/events.html.
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