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Independence is declared and the French return to Vietnam. A war between the French and Vietnam is started shortly after.
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A total of 8 nations sing the US-sponsored SEATO treaty.
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NOTE: no specific month/year given
The US begins training the Vietnanmese, which the French have been previously doing. -
President Kennedy orders 100 special forces troops to South Vietnam
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The US prevented the Vietnamese from hiding in greenery by beginning to spread Agent Orange, a highly toxic subtance that kills the greenery. This later leads to birth defects.
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US Aircraft Carrier, Core, arrives in Saigon. This carreir carries 33 hellicopters and 400 air/ground crewmen.
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Maddox and C.Turner Joy, both US Navy destroyers, were reported attack by North Viet. torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin.
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US strikes back on the North Viet's by destroying 25 boats at their bases.
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After a claim from Lyndon Johnson about two US ships that were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This gave him the authority to use violence towards North Vietnam for the protection of the US.
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NOTE: No specific day given
A US bombing campaign, called the Rolling Thunder, begins in North Vietnam. -
NOTE: No specific day/month given
US Congress provided $2.4 Billion for the Vietnam war effort. -
US begins to bomb around Haiphong and Hanoi, North Vietnam.
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NOTE: No specific day given
In a effort to protest the US involvement in the Vietnam War, about 100 Vietnam veterns try to return their medals to the White House. -
In a surprise, North Vietnamese set a multi-city attack in South Vietnam. This attack was done during Tet (Lunar New Year), which is a holiday in Vietnam.
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In a claim of frustration, American military begins a massacre of 300 unarmed civilians in the city of My Lai. Commander William Calley, the person in charge, was later sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 1974 after an appeal.
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NOTE: No specific day/month given
The US Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, announced the new war policy of Vietnamization. -
President Nixon promises a reduction of 50k troops by mid-April 1970
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President Nixon sent US troops to Cambodia, which causes protests in the streets. This plunged Congress into a session-long debate over Congresstional war powers.
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NOTE: No specific day/month given
The Pentagon Papers are published. -
Last US Marines flee in helicopter as North Vietnamese tanks enter Saigon.