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John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as US president.
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Self immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc in Saigon sparks outrage around the world and brings attention to the developing conflict.
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President Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu are murdered during a coup by dissident generals of the South Vietnamese army.
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Kennedy is assassinated and Johnson is sworn in as president.
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In the Ia Drang Valley, American troops fight their first large scale battles against the North Vietnamese Army.
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Hundreds of thousands of antiwar protesters gather for demonstrations in New York’s Central Park and in Washington.
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In the ancient imperial capital of Hue, communist forces execute at least 2,800 people, mostly South Vietnamese civilians.
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Nixon is elected president, promising to end the war in Vietnam.
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The first Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, a series of mass demonstrations across the United States, take place; a second happens on Nov. 15.
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Nixon goes on television to call for national solidarity on the Vietnam War effort, appealing to a “silent majority” to support his policies.
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Nixon announced the expansion of the war into Cambodia, four students at Kent State are shot by National Guardsmen during a protest.
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The South Vietnamese launch operation Lam Son 719 against North Vietnamese forces in Laos, which ends in their hasty retreat and
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The Easter Offensive invasion by North Vietnamese forces is successfully repelled by South Vietnamese.
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Cease-fire agreement is reached between U.S. and North Vietnam, U.S. POWs begin to return home.
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Last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam.
