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North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident).
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In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
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A sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign of North Vietnam begins (Operation Rolling Thunder).
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The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
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U.S. troops in Vietnam reaches 540,000.
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President Nixon orders the first of many U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam.
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President Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. This news sparks nationwide protests, especially on college campuses.
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The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War, ended direct U.S. military involvement, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam.
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The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.
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Vietnam is unified as a communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. is dedicated.
