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Gulf of Tonkin Incident
A U.S. Destroyer called Maddox was conducting electronic surveillance on North Vietnamese communications in the Gulf of Tonkin. On that same day The Maddox engaged in a brief battle with three Vietnamese Patrol boats. The Maddox was under strict orders to stay in international waters. The Maddox was 28 miles from North Vietnam when the battle began. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was started to Demoralize the Vietnamese people. It started when 100 U.S. VNAF planes started bombing an ammunition base at Xom Bang. The Vietnamese wouldnt give up a war without fighting back so it Failed both attempts. -
Operation Ceder Falls
About 16,000 U.S. soldiers join 14,000 South Vietnamese troops. This offensive, the largest of the war to date, was designed to interupt insurgent operations near Saigon. Its primary targets were the Thanh Dien Forest Preserve and the Iron Triangle, a 60-square-mile area of jungle believed to contain communist base camps and supply dumps. During the course of the operations, U.S. infantrymen discovered and destroyed a massive tunnel complex in the Iron Triangle. -
The Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a series of suprise attacks by the Vietcong. It happened on Vietnam's most importnant holiday. North Vietnamese leaders believed they could not sustain the heavy losses inflicted by the U.S. military. They had to win the war with an all-out military effort. In addition, Ho Chi Minh was nearing death, and they needed a victory before that time came. -
My Lai Massacre
US Army troops murdered several hundred Vietnamese civilians at the villages of My Lai and My Khe during the Vietnam War. The victims were mostly elderly men, women and children - all non-combatants. Many were also sexually assaulted, tortured, etc. -
The Cambodia Bombing
U.S. B-52 bombers are diverted from their targets in South Vietnam to attack communist base camps and supply areas in Cambodia for the first time in the war. Nixon approved the mission and it was called Operation Breakfast. A total of 3,630 flights over Cambodia dropped 110,000 tons of bombs during a 14-month period through April 1970. -
The Death of Ho Chi Minh
President Ho Chi Minh of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam dies of a heart attack in Hanoi. During the war, Ho and the Viet Minh entered into a loose alliance with the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), helping to rescue downed American pilots. In 1945, when the Japanese surrendered, the Viet Minh seized power and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Ho directed his forces into war against the Americans. -
The Vietnam Lotteries
The lottery drawings for the draft started December 1, 1969. At the Selective Service National Headquarters there were 366 blue plastic capsules containing birth dates placed in a large glass container. They were drawn by hand to assign order-of-call numbers to all men within the 18-26 age range.
The first capsule was drawn by Congressman Alexander Pirnie (R-NY) of the House Armed Services Committee - contained the date September 14, so all men born on September -
Kent State University Shooting
On May 4, 1970 Members of the National Guard open fired on Students at Kent State University for Anti War Protesting. Four students were shot dead and 11 students were injured. The members of the National Guard werent charged with anything. -
Cease Fire Agreement
U.S. and North Vietnam jointly announced from Paris that the terms of a cease-fire agreement had been accepted by both sides. The cease-fire agreement, negotiated between Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho, was signed in Paris on January 27, 1973, to become effective on January 28. It called for the U.S. to remove all of its forces from South Vietnam and for all POWs to be returned within 60 days -
The Fall of Saigon
The North Vietnamese army took over Saigon with little or no resistance. The U.S. quickly fled Saigon with helicoptors. On that same ay at 4:03 in the morning two U.S. Marines were killed by a rocket and were the last two americans to die in Vietnam. Later on after The Fall of Saigon North Vietnamese renamed Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City.
