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Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh forces defeat the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, effectively ending the 7 ½-year Indochina War.
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John F. Kennedy beats Richard Nixon in the U.S. presidential election; Lyndon B. Johnson is vice president.
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In the Ia Drang Valley, American troops fight their first large scale battles against the North Vietnamese Army.
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During a series of “border battles” in the remote locations of Dak To, Con Thien and Khe Sanh, U.S. Army and Marines face relentless onslaughts from North Vietnamese.
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Hundreds of thousands of antiwar protesters gather for demonstrations in New York’s Central Park and in Washington.
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During the Tet Offensive, North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops launch surprise attacks against targets throughout South Vietnam.
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Nixon goes on television to call for national solidarity on the Vietnam War effort, appealing to a “silent majority” to support his policies.
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Four days after Nixon announced the expansion of the war into Cambodia, four students at Kent State are shot by National Guardsmen during a protest.
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Cease-fire agreement is reached between U.S. and North Vietnam, U.S. POWs begin to return home. Last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam.
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Nixon resigns from office due to the Watergate Scandal, where several burglars were arrested in the office of Democratic National Committee.