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President Harry Truman pledges that the United States would provide aid, including military, political and economic assistance to any democratic country that is under threat of becoming authoritarian. This made it clear that the US would become involved when Vietnam was under threats of communism. -
The Geneva Accords seperated Vietnam into Northern and Southern regions temporarily, giving the country two years to elect a president and reunite as a whole unit. During this time it was agreed that there would be no foreign troops allowed to be present in the country. -
The Saigon Military Mission was a secret mission to perform psychological warfare and military activities in South Vietnam. This marked the beginning of the Vietnam War. -
US military aircraft starts spraying Agent Orange all over rural areas of South Vietnam in an effort to kill any vegetation. This would not only take away the ability for the Vietnamese forces to use the vegetation as shelter for hiding but also would destroy much of the food source. -
The USS Maddox exchanged fire with North Vietnamese gunboats. The US warned Vietnam that any further unprovoked aggression would have grave consequences for them. The Tonkin Resolution was created to give the US permission to use any force necessary to ward off armed attacks against them. -
Approximately 500 unarmed civilians are killed by US Troops. Women, children and elderly are shot at close range by Charlie Company 1st battalion. Only the commander was charged with the crimes and there was a massive effort to cover up the events.