-
Cold War heating up
Communists led by Mao Zedong had taken power in China. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
-
Korean War begins
The Korean War began when Communist North Korea, with Soviet and Chinese support, invaded South Korea. -
Korean War ended
Three years later and nearly 37,000 Americans lives later, the war ended in a stalemate. -
Training and Arming of South Vietnam
President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent military advisers to train and arm the South Vietnamese Army in its fight against the Communists. -
President John F. Kennedy takes office
When President John F. Kennedy took office, he saw Vietnam as a place to prove America's anti-Communist resolve. -
Kennedy was assassinated
By the time Kennedy was assassinated, the number of American military advisers in Vietnam had risen from fewer than 700 to 16,000, and the fighting was intensified. -
Military Intervention began
Full-scale military intervention began witht he arrival in Da Nang of the first US combat troops. -
First Mass Demonstration
The first mass demonstration, with 20,000 people in Washington, took place, and the protests grew in size and militancy. -
Tet Offensive
North Vietnam and the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive, a series of attacks during Tet, the lunar New Year. -
"Vietnamization"
In the fall, Johnson and Kissinger begain the process of "Vietnamization". -
Withdrawal from Vietnam
The Paris Peace Accords called for an end to the fighting and for all foreign troops to be withdrawn from Vietnam, -
End of Vietnam War
The end finally came when Communist forces overran the South, with Saigon falling, forcing the hurried evacuation of the remainng Americans and a fraction of the Vietnamese who wanted to get out. -
Americans fleeing Saigon
Last helicopter lifted off the roof of the American embassy in Saigon carrying evacuees to nearby US warships. -
Trade Embargo lifted
President Bill Clinton lifted the US trade embargo. -
Diplomatic Relations Restored
President Bill Clinton restored diplomatic relations