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The Fighting Begins
After living under French rule for decades, Ho Chi Minh creates the Viet Minh. Ho Chi Minh and his followers wish to become independent from France. The Viet Minh move on to create a new government titled Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The French government did not want to lose it colony and refused to grant Vietnam its independence. -
Geneva Peace Accords
The U.S., France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the People’s Republic of China met in Geneva, Germany to discuss unifying Vietnam. They all decided to spilt Vietnam into the Northern half and the Southern half. The Accords were meant to make peace in Vietnam. The U.S. refused to sign the document so they would not be legally bound to stay out of Vietnam’s affairs. -
Agent Orange
The dense jungle of Vietnam was difficult for U.S. troops to fight in because the Vietcong could easily ambush the men. The military started to use a herbicide called Agent Orange. Planes would spray the forest to completely eliminate the vegetation. In total, the U.S. military used 19 million gallons of Agent Orange over 4.5 million acres throughout the course of the war. Unfortunately, Agent Orange negatively affected U.S. troops causing health issues including cancer and psychological damage -
Kennedy Expansion
President John F. Kennedy strongly believed in containing communism. He agreed to expand the Southern Vietnamese army. Kennedy also sent troops to train the Southern army. These actions were not made public because they went against the Geneva Accords. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
President Lydon Johnson announced that U.S. ships have been attacked by North Vietnam. Johnson asked Congress to send U.S. planes to deal with North Vietnam. Congress supported Johnson's mission and hopped to end the problems in Vietnam. The Resolution allowed the U.S. government to continue its military involvement in Vietnam. -
Protesters in Washington
100,000 anti-war protesters gathered in Washington D.C. in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It is one of the most famous anti-war demonstrations. Later that night, 30,000 tpeople marched on the Pentagon. There was a confrontation between the protesters and soldiers and many were arrested as the result. There have been many accounts of that night and one protester wrote a book about his experience during this historic event. -
Losing Faith
American involvement in Vietnam began to appear pointless after 500,000 troops had been sent, 15,058 soldiers killed, and 109,527 soldiers wounded. The U.S. government had spent 25 billion dollars on the Vietnam War. The draft was pulling 40,000 men into service a month, which made the public less supportive of the war effort. -
Kent State Shooting
Students at Kent State were demonstrating an anti-war rally against the Vietnam War. The Ohio Guard was sent in to control the crowd of students. The Ohio Guard shot into the group of students killing four and wounding five others. The news of the shooting spread quickly across the U.S. and it is still a standing symbol for the divide between the political and social opinions of the Vietnam War. -
Cease-Fire
The U.S government and the North Vietnamese finally reach an agreement of a cease-fire. The document was signed in Paris, France. The war was not over, but the fighting stopped. Hundreds of war prisoners were released and returned to their original army 24 hours after the cease-fire had been signed. After the war had stopped, the North Vietnamese quickly over took the South and created a communist Vietnam. -
The War Ends
After lmost ten years of fighting, U.S. troops pull out of Vietnam. 58,282 American soldiers died and 303,644 were wounded throughout the course of the war. The U.S. was forced to leave Vietnam after losing support on the home front. The U.S. government made a plan to exit Vietnam as quickly as possible. The fighting still continued between Northern Vietnam and Southern Vietnam for two years before the North finally won.
