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The United States, identifying the Viet Minh as a Communist threat, steps up military assistance to France for their operations against the Viet Minh
The U.S. sets up military assistance to France -
The Geneva Accords establish North and South Vietnam with the 17th parallel as the dividing line
Establishing the Vietnam dividing line -
Catholic nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem emerges as the leader of South Vietnam, with U.S. backing, while Ho Chi Minh leads the communist state to the north
New leader of South Vietnam -
The first U.S. soldiers are killed in South Vietnam when guerrillas raid their living quarters near Saigon
The First U.S. soldiers are killed -
In Operation Ranch Hand, U.S. aircraft start spraying “Agent Orange” and other herbicides over rural areas of South Vietnam to kill vegetation that would offer cover and food for guerrilla forces
“Agent Orange” begins -
The attacks in the Gulf of Tonkin spur Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which authorizes the president to “take all necessary measures, including the use of armed force” against any aggressor in the conflict
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution -
The U.S. government institutes the first draft lottery since World War II, prompting ever more young American men—later disparaged as “draft dodgers”—to flee to Canada
The U.S. starts the first draft since WWII -
In a bloody incident known as the Kent State Shooting, National Guardsmen fire on anti-war demonstrators at Ohio’s Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine
Kent State Shooting -
Congress repeals the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to reassert control over the president’s ability to use force in the war.
Gulf of tonkin resolution gets repealed -
The New York Times publishes a series of articles detailing leaked Defense Department documents about the war, known as the Pentagon Papers. The report reveals the U.S. government had repeatedly and secretly increased U.S. involvement in the war.
Pentagon papers -
President Nixon signs the Paris Peace Accords, ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese accept a cease fire. But as U.S. troops depart Vietnam, North Vietnamese military officials continue plotting to overtake South Vietnam.
Paris Peace Accords -
In the Fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam is seized by communist forces and the government of South Vietnam surrenders.
Fall of Saigon