Vietnam War

1. Vietnam War • 1957-1975: The longest war in U.S. history

2. Background • 1800s- French established themselves as the new colonial power in Vietnam • In 1945, Ho Chi Minh, a communist sympathizer, declared independence from France.

3. French and Ho Chi Minh • War continued between the French and the Vietminh, followers of Ho Chi Minh, until 1954. • In 1954 the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu. • World powers held the Geneva Accords in July 1954 where they decided to divide Vietnam into two nations: North (communist) led by Minh and South (anti-communist) led by Diem • 1956 – the Accords called for elections to help reunite the country. The South refused claiming that the North would not have fair elections.

4. The U.S. • The U.S. followed their dominant policy, the domino theory, which referred to the idea that if one South East Asian country fell to communism others would fall.

5. Truman Doctrine • Under the Truman Doctrine (1948) the U.S. promised aid to anyone fighting communism. We gave the French aid to fight Ho Chi Minh. After the French loss in 1954 we continued to give aid to the anti-communist government in South Vietnam.This is how we became involved in the Vietnam War!

6. Kennedy and Diem • Diem claimed that he needed more aid to fight communism • Diem was a corrupt and cruel leader • He insisted that Buddhists follow Catholic laws • Kennedy said it would be okay if Diem was overthrown –he was assassinated and military leaders took control

7. On June 11, 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk from the Linh-Mu Pagoda in Hue, Vietnam, burned himself to death at a busy intersection in downtown Saigon, Vietnam.. Eye witness accounts state that Thich Quang Duc and at least two fellow monks arrived at the intersection by car, Thich Quang Duc got out of the car, assumed the traditional lotus position and the accompanying monks helped him pour gasoline over himself. He ignited the gasoline by lighting a match and burned to death in a matter of minutes.

8. Johnson • He favored a policy of containment in S.E. Asia • Communist guerillas in the south, the Vietcong, gained control of territory and earned the loyalty of many south Vietnamese. • Ho Chi Minh sent aid to the Vietcong • Johnson feared how the world would look at the U.S if we pulled out of Vietnam

9. Gulf of Tonkin • August 1964- Johnson reports that A U.S. ship was attacked by North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin • This never happened but Johnson uses this to deepen American involvement in Vietnam. • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: gave Johnson the authority to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression.”

10. Johnson’s Plan: Escalation • Johnson began a gradual escalation of the war • By July 1965, he doubled the men that could be drafted. • Men were drafting using the lottery system based on birthdays.

11. The Draft • Some 2.2 million men were drafted during the Vietnam war, to serve for two years. But most of those who served in Vietnam were volunteers. • There were plenty of opportunities to a deferment from the draft and avoid service. • *Minor physical problems would often do it. • *If you had kids, that would often work. • *The most controversial exception was for those enrolled in college

12. Socioeconomic status:76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working class backgrounds 75% had family incomes above the poverty level 23% had fathers with professional, managerial, or technical occupations. • Ethnic background:88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were Caucasian, 10.6% (275,000) were black, 1.0% belonged to other races 86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (including Hispanics) 12.5% (7,241) were black. 1.2% belonged to other races.

13. Johnson’s Goal and Reasoning • Lyndon Baynes Johnson, speech (July 28,1965) • “Its goal is to conquer the south, to defeat American power and to extend the Asiatic domination of Communism ... Our power, therefore, is a very vital shield. If we are driven from the field in Vietnam, then no nation can ever again have the same confidence in American promise or protection . . We did not choose to be the guardians at the gate, but there is no one else.”

14. Welcome to the Jungle • Poor leadership and lack of military training and technology in South Vietnam meant that the U.S. fought the war. • Yet, since the Viet Cong were masters at jungle warfare the U.S. could not drive them out of the South.

15. Tet Offensive • Tet is the name of the Vietnamese New Year – This offensive was launched by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese in 1968. • *It included surprise attacks on major cities and military bases in South Vietnam. • *After this offensive many in America, including President Johnson, did not believe America could win this war.

16. My Lai Massacre Lack of public support for the war intensified as evidence of the full awfulness of the war effort mounted. In March of 1968 an American unit was patrolling the village of My Lai in Central Vietnam. They had suffered recent losses, were frustrated by their inability to find the enemy and anxious for revenge. They rounded up unarmed women, children, and elderly civilians, raped the women, then opened fire. The killed over 300 Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children.

17. A Soldier Speaks about My Lai • We huddled them up. We made them squat down…I poured about four clips [several hundred bullets] into the group…the mothers were hugging their children…well we kept right on firing. They was waving their arms and begging…I still dream about it. About the women and children in my sleep. Some days, some nights, I can't even sleep.

18. My Lai Massacre in Pictures

19. Soldier’s Life • The war was tough on American GIs for several reasons. The South Vietnamese regime was unable to build extensive popular support. Ordinary people living in South Vietnam were often supporters of the NLF. So the war was fought not against a clearly defined enemy, but against an amorphous, shifting enemy that was literally everywhere. American bombings, and the slash and burn approach to ground operations US forces often took, made ordinary Vietnamese in the countryside hostile to Americans--acts of sabotage were common, as were hidden bombs, sniper attacks, and booby traps. It became difficult for Americans to tell North and South Vietnamese people apart, and after a while they stopped caring.

21. Drugs and Nam • **idleness and the declining troop morale led to escalating drug use that reached crisis proportions, but only in the last few years of the war (1972-73). •  **In 1969, a Defense Department study showed that 20 percent of US soldiers in Vietnam were using marijuana either occasionally or frequently. By 1969, military police were arresting 1,000 soldiers per week for possession. Heroin use also spread within a small group of soldiers and was readily available for only 2-3 dollars per dose. However, the majority of the soldiers did not use drugs as popular myth may suggest.

22. Student Response at Home • The country was split – some favored escalation so that the U.S could get a military victory while others were morally opposed to the war. • The country’s youth, the ones dying in the line fire, began demanding answers to Americas high profile presence in Vietnam. They wanted to know why peace talks were organized and continually failed. They wanted to know what they were fighting for.

23. Nixon • He won the election of 1968 easily because Johnson did not run again • He promised peace negotiations in Vietnam • The Paris Peace Talks failed to produce an agreement. • He struggled with how best to end the war

24. Nixon and Vietnam • Vietnamization • This was Nixon’s major policy in Vietnam. This called for replacing U.S.soldiers with South Vietnamese. By 1972, only 24,000 American troops were left . • He did not want to lose the war, so as he withdrew troops he also sent secret bombing raids on major targets. • He also expanded the war into Cambodia in 1970, the cause of the Kent State Riot.

25. Kent State: May 4, 1970 • Protests erupted at Kent State University, located in Ohio, in response to the U.S. invasion of Cambodia. • Students broke windows and burned the army ROTC building. • The governor sent in the national guard. • They hurled tear gas ordering students to disperse. • From the top of a hill, the guardsmen began firing on the crowd. • Four were dead, only two were protestors, and nine were wounded.

26. Pentagon Papers -1971 • Detailed US involvement in Vietnam since WWII • Revealed that US government had lied about numerous operations in Vietnam • – effects • Public grew more distrustful of the government

27. Legacy of the War • In 1975, the South fell to the North and Vietnam was united as one, Communist nation • More than 58,000 Americans died and over 300,000 were wounded. • The Vietnam was the longest and least successful war in American history. • The U.S. spent at least $150 billion on the war • The U.S. did not restore trade with Vietnam until 1994.

28. Vietnam Wall Memorial • A contest was held in 1979 for designing the Vietnam Memorial to honor all the soldiers who gave their life for their country during the Vietnam War. • The winner was a 21 year old college student named Maya Ying Lin. • The Wall was completed in 1982.