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President Ngo Dinh Diem's increasing dictatorial rule in South Vietnam convinced Americans that Diem had to go. While Americans never disclaimed information about its involvement in Diem's assassination, it was later revealed that American officials actually encouraged the coup that overthrew Diem.
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The destroyer USS Maddox exchanged fire with North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Maddox reported coming under fire two days later. Although it was concluded by historians that the second round of attacks never happened, it caused a major increase in tension in the Vietnam War.
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North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack more than 100 towns in South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese victory marked the beginning of a painful American withdrawal from the region.
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A company of American soldiers killed much of the population of the South Vietnamese hamlet My Lai. It is believed that as many as 500 people were killed in the massacre.
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After three years of bombing North Vietnamese targets, Operation Rolling Thunder failed to achieve its goals of putting military pressure on North Vietnam. The U.S. lost hundreds of planes because of North Vietnam's sophisticated air-defense system.
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President Ho Chi Minh of North Vietnam dies of a heart attack. He was the core of the Vietnamese communist movement since it began.
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South Vietnam surrenders to the communists, marking the end of the Vietnam War. It led to the unification of Vietnam as a communist country in 1976.
