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First US Helicopters to arrive and first to shoot
The first US helicopter to arrive in Vietnam was carrying 400 soldiers. US helicopters were ordered to shoot first when they encountered hostile forces. Two of their helicopters were shot down so they knew it was time to fire. -
Geneva Conference
The Declaration of Neutrality was in Laos. It was signed in Geneva at the conference. It was made for the reestablishment of Laotian neutrality. -
South Vietnamese Fire on the Buddhists
The South vietnamese troops started to enforce a ban on the Buddhist multi-colored flag. The Buddhists did not like this and tried to fight back. 20,000 Buddhists were shot at Hue. There was a Buddhist Monk by the name of Quang Duc that set himself on fire to protest against the Diem government police. Diem’s troops attack Buddhist temples and sanctuaries throughout the country. -
Diem is Overthrown
The South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem was overthrown by a military coup. After they were overthrown by by this military coup. They were killed. -
Tonkin Resolution
President Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on two American destroyers. Two days later another attack had taken place. On August 7, 1964 the house passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and this authorized the president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against the forces of the United States.” -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Vietnam Napalm White Phosporus/ Napalm Bombing Runs
President Johnson changed his campaign against North Vietnam. The same month this campaign was made Johnson ordered the first combat troops into Vietnam. American soldiers were fighting alongside the South Vietnamese troops against the Vietcong. -
Bombing Halts
The United States stops the bombing of North Vietnam. While they stopped the United States begins a massive peace offensive aimed at finding a diplomatic settlement to the war. The North Vietnamese did not reciprocate and after 37 days, President Johnson announces the bombing will resume. -
Operation Attleboro
This mission began with the 196th light infantry Brigade in an area north of the Tay Ninh base. On November 1st about a month and a half of uneventful patrolling of the area, The US troops run into the 9th Viet Cong Division in the jungles northwest of Dau Tieng. The Viet Cong fight and are trying to defend their base camp. When the battle is over, The Viet Cong are forced to withdrawal. -
Operation Cedar Falls
The goal of this mission was to to rout out Viet Cong base camps in the Iron Triangle. The American commanders hoped that the Viet Cong forces would stand up and fight them. This mission was successful in uncovering large caches of arms and other equipment. The Viet Cong did not fight, but 750 people were killed. -
Operation Junction City
This was the largest US operation of the war. They had four US divisions. This was a massive search and destroy mission along the Cambodian Border. There were three major battles the first was Ap BauBang; the second, Fire Support Base Gold and the third is Ap Gu. In every battle the Viet Cong attack the United States and they are defeated every time. -
Tet Offensive
The guerrilla fighters attacked virtually all American air bases in South Vietnam and most of the South’s major cities and provincial capitals. It tooks American and South Vietnamese about four weeks to drive them out. They had shown heavy losses after about a month of fighting. Tet turned out to be a disaster for the Communist forces. -
Hamburger Hill
The United States and South Vietnamese troops fought on Ap Bia Mountain. This was a ten day battle and it was one of the fiercest of the war. There were 56 Americans killed and 420 were wounded. They finally capture the hill and kill 597 Vietnamese. This battle is one of the last major actions of its type in the war. -
Vietnamization
This was the process involved the gradual withdrawal of US troops while South Vietnam assumed more of the fighting. Nixon had cut back troops in Vietnam. Nixon refused to view this troop withdrawal as a form of surrender. The president increased air strikes against North Vietnam and began bombing Vietcong sanctuaries in neighboring Cambodia. -
The Largest Anti- War Protest
Over 250,000 protesters surrounded Washington D.C. in a protest. It was the largest anti- war demonstration over the period of the Vietnam War. They believe the troops should come home and they should stop fighting. -
US Withdrawal of Troops
Nixon began withdrawing the troops from Vietnam. By the end of the year the US troops were down to 479,000 men and 9,414 Americans were killed in Vietnam. -
Kent State
The Ohio National Guard Soldiers were armed with tear gas and rifles. They fired on demonstrators without an order to do so. The soldiers killed four students and wounded at least nine others. -
26th Amendment
There were many debates about lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 during WWII and it intensified during the Vietnam war. Young men were denied the right to vote but they were able to fight for their country. In 1970 case Oregon v. Mitchell, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the right to regulate the minimum age in federal elections, but not at the state and local level. Congress passed the 26th amendment in March 1971 and President Richard Nixon signed it into law that July. -
Christmas Bombing
The nixon administration began the most destructive air raids of the entire war. American B-52s dropped thousands of tons of bombs on North Vietnamese targets for 12 straight days, pausing only on Christmas day. Thieu finally gave in to American pressure and allowed North Vietnamese troops to remain in the South. -
War Powers Act
This was a way to re-establish some limits on executive power. This act required the president to inform congress of any commitments of troops abroad within 48 hours and to withdraw them in 60 to 90 days unless congress explicitly approved the troops commitment. -
South Vietnam Surrendered
The South Vietnamese forces had collapsed under the advancement of the North Vietnamese. The United States did nothing. The South Vietnamese forces held out against the attackers until they ran out of tactical air support and weapons. The North crushed the last major organized opposition before Saigon. They got into position for the final assault The President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned and transferred authority to Vice President Tran Van Huong before he fled the city on April 25. By April 27 th
