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March-May 1954:
French troops are humiliated in defeat by Viet Minh forces at Dien Bien Phu. The defeat solidifies the end of French rule in Indochina. -
April 1954:
In a speech, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower says the fall of French Indochina to communists could create a “domino” effect in Southeast Asia. -
July 1954:
The Geneva Accords declares the 17th parallel as the dividing line for North and South Vietnam. The agreement also said there was suppose to be an election to unify Vietnam as one democratic country. The election never happens. -
1955:
A catholic national comes to power in South Vietnam by the name of Ngo Dinh Diem. He was supported by the United States. In North Vietnam, there was a communist leader named Ho Chi Minh. -
July 1959:
The first U.S. soldiers are killed in South Vietnam when guerrillas raid their base near Saigon. -
November 1963:
The United States backs a South Vietnam military coup against the unpopular Diem, which ends in the brutal killing of Diem and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu. Between 1963 and 1965, 12 different governments take the lead in South Vietnam as military coups replace one government after another. -
August 1964:
The USS Maddox is attacked by North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin, leading President Johnson to call for airstrikes on North Vietnamese patrol boat bases. Two U.S. aircraft are shot down and one U.S. pilot, Everett Alvarez, Jr., becomes the first U.S. pilot to be taken prisoner by North Vietnam. -
April 1975:
In the Fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam falls to North Vietnam. The United States surrenders and allows for the refugees from South Vietnam to come to the United States.