Vietnam

1. Vietnam The 30 Year War

2. Study Guide Identifications • Vietnam, the 30 Year War • Ho Chi Minh and the Declaration of Independence • Veitminh • Ngo Dinh Diem • National Liberation Front • Gulf of Tonkin • Rolling Thunder and Operation Thayer • Anti War Protest • My Lai Nixon’s Vietnamization

3. Study Guide Questions

4. Vietnam • 2 wars lasting 30 years • First wave “French war” • Second wave “American War” • Goals of self – determination merged with those of national liberation, cold war in the background with US desire to contain communism

5. French Colonialism • Mineral extraction, rubber plantations, manufacturing • Majority peasants, wealthy Vietnamese landowners • Nationalism developed prior to WWI • Ho Chi Minh – French education and travel abroad • 1920-30’s intellectuals met to lead each other against imperialism

6. Ho Chi Minh • Inspired by Soviet revolution and became socialist, spent time in both Russia and China allying himself in those places with the revolutions transpiring there • 1930 leader of new Indochinese Communist Party • Attacked by French troops along with other nationalist groups

7. Resistance Struggle • When Japanese occupied in 1940, Nationalist groups, ICP began fighting French and Japanese • 1941 new anti-colonial, nationalist coalition group resulted –Vietminh (Ho also headed) • 1945 Japanese Defeat • Ho Chi Min • “declaration of Independence” in Hanoi • Self determination of nations

8. Partition by Imperial Powers • China assisted the North • Britain assisted the South • (divided spoils?) • British assisted the French in returning to fight the Vietminh in the south • US gave France over 2 ½ billion aid to fight, still unable to defeat the Vietminh.

9. American Perspective • United states • providing aid to France to re-colonize • gave France over 2 ½ billion aid to fight, still unable to defeat the Vietminh. • helping to stop communism in Asia, • domino theory.

10. American “Security” Interests • United States Military bases • China • Philippines • Taiwan • Japan • South Korea • Non-Western control of all of SE Asia would threaten US security interests there.

11. Natural Resources • Southeast Asia • principal production of world source • rubber • tin • producer of petroleum. • Rice • coal

12. Geneva Conference • 1954 US, France, GB, Soviet and China met and decided to partition at 17th parallel, Vietminh were forced to move north of the divide. • Land reform • France & Vietminh agreed to return to North & south base on open elections within 2 years • Elections scheduled

13. Ngo Dinh Diem • United States moved in • prevent re-unification & create sphere of interest. • U.S. supported leader of the south, • Sent aid to Deim, • who refused elections to take place • US sent advisors (15,315 illegally and against the Geneva Conventions) and troops • Escalating opposition in Vietnam to Diem and US intervention • Blocked elections with U.S. aid • Military coup overthrew Diem, US continued to support military leaders who took his place

14. National Liberation Front • 1958 resistance to Diem’s Regime emerged • 1960 the NLF formed • Supported by peasants • Social revolution • Organization and cooperation • Each village locally controlled by peasants

15. Kennedy Administration • Within the Administration: sought control of Vietnam for its resources • Publicly announced its support of Vietnams independence for 10 years, • liberty and freedom • Diem and Kennedy killed within 3 weeks of each other

16. The American War • Kennedy’s Assassination – 1963 Lyndon Johnson inherited war • Gulf Tonkin Incident • Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara told the public that Vietnamese Torpedo boats fired on US ships • U.S. destroyer Maddox underwent unprovoked attack

17. Justification for war • US escalated aid to S. Vietnam and began deciding on commitment of US troops & arms against the North • Highest ranking American officials lied to the public • Congressional resolution gave power to take military action in Southeast Asia without declaration of war. • Later Americans learned that the incident that justified war never took place

18. America’s Longest War • Vietnam had its roots in the Truman Doctrine and its goal of controlling communism (1954) • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, drafted secretly six weeks before the incident. • Johnson’s presidential campaign called for restraint in Vietnam, though he escalated involvement

19. Rolling Thunder Air Campaign • More bombs were dropped on North Vietnam alone than were used in the whole of the Second World War. • 22 tons of explosives for every square mile of territory, or 300lb for every man, women and child. • 7 million tons of bombs and defoliants were dropped in total and 2.6 million Vietnamese were killed. • The American deployment jumped from 23,300 in 1963 to 184,000 in 1966 and reached a peak of 542,000 in January 1969 under Richard Nixon's presidency.

20. “Credibility Gap” • Every night the network television news tallied the American body count, 26 per week in 1965 and 80 in 1967. • Johnson worked hard to control the media, but found himself badgered by reporters who accused him of creating a credibility gap • Early 1960s the network news ignored Vietnam or unquestioningly supported US policy • Beginning in August 1965 , CBS News Report by Morely Safer • began showing Marines setting fire to thatched homes of civilians, • Senator J William Fulbright of Arkansas, who had originally sped the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and chaired the committee became vocal critic of Johnsons war policy and concluded the war was unwinnable and destructive to domestic reform

21. Searching villagesOperation Thayer

22. Student Activism • Middle class norm – attending college • Growing awareness and criticism of status quo • Through education discovered a deeply flawed America • Raised on ideals that capitalism and democracy created a society free of poverty, inequality, and political repression that plagued other nations • Sense of purpose to force America to live up to its values

23. Generation in Conflict • 1965 – 1971, social justice movements increased • Peace movement took shape • Free Speech Movement, UC Berkeley, 1964 • Protest limitations on political activities on campus • Met by Conservative administration with intent to press criminal charges and use of police force

24. American resistance, 1965 • Civil Rights movement • Normon Morrison, 32 YR. Pacifist, father of 3, set himself aflame in front of McNamara's window • Alice Herz, age 82, burned herself to death

25. Anti-War Protests • 1965 state wide movement • 1967 anti-draft administration openly defied the draft and confronted government • “Stop the Draft Week” – Oakland Induction Center March • Protestors outnumbered police in riot gear, took over center

26. “Bring the War Home” • 1965 congressional act provided for a 5 year jail term and 10,000 $ fine for destroying the draft card • Anti Draft movement • Thousands of men burned their draft card • 500,000 refused induction • 2 Jesuit priests Daniel and Philip Berrigan raided the draft board offices in Catonsville, Maryland in May 1968 and poured homemade napalm over records • Other activists determined to “bring the war home” went beyond civil disobedience . • 40,000 bombing incidents or bomb threats took place from January 1969 – April 1970 , • $21 million in damages and 43 people were killed

27. Protest of War Related Research • From Campus protest to Mass mobilization • 3 weeks following Operation Rolling Thunder, 1965 • Day long boycott of classes, professors and students met to discuss the war • University of Ann Arbor, Michigan 3,000 people turned out • Teach –ins spread across the US, to Europe and Japan • Students for a Democratic Society mobilized 20,000 people in an anti war march on the capital

28. Dow Chemical Company • Students protested war related research on their campuses • 1967 The Dow Chemical Company, • job recruiters to the University of Wisconsin at Madison. • 300 students sat in at the building were interviews were taking place, with 2000 onlookers gathered. • Ordered by Administration to disperse the crowd • police broke glass doors, dragged students through debris and clubbed those who refused to move. • Momentum grew over 3 years, protests taking place across the country

29. Peaceful protest to Resistance • April 1967 a day long antiwar rally in Manhattans Central park drew 300,000 people. • 60,000 people turned out in SF • By Summer veterans began to organize against the war • Many demonstrators concluded that peaceful protest alone had little impact on US policy and changed tactics from protest to resistance and serve as moral witnesses

30. Escalation • Massive bombing raids, 200,000 troops sent • US faced a “peoples war” in the south, developed several methods called “counter-insurgency.” • Strategic Hamlet Policy – locked up villages • Search & destroy – napalm, agent orange, destroyed villages • Operation Phoenix – selective assassinations of Viet cong & allies (20,000 murders of civilians) • Land reclamation )

31. My Lai MassacreMurder of 504 civiliansRape, Torture (ages 1-82

33. Parallel Wars/Teenage Soldiers • Teenage soldiers: average age hovered around 19 years • Until 1969 deferments to college students and to workers in select occupations • recruited hard in poor communities and advertising the armed forces as a provider of vocational training and social mobility • Working class young men disproportionately African American and Latino, • signed up in large numbers under these inducements and more the brunt of combat. • College graduates 12% of the 2.5 million who served and 9% of those killed • Casualty rate for African Americans was 30% higher than the overall death rate for US forces in Southeast Asia

35. Tet Offensive, 1968 • Northern general, Vo Nguyen Giap, planned massive (70,000) assault against US and south Vietnamese troops • Devastating psychological impact on US soldiers • Built opposition against war in US Vietcong had hoped that their liberation of towns and cities would lead to an uprising against the Americans

36. Tet Offensive • Northern general, Vo Nguyen Giap, planned massive (70,000) assault against US and south Vietnamese troops • One of the major objectives had been to drive a wedge between the Americans and the South Vietnamese. The embassy attack was aimed at showing up the vulnerability of the American forces. • The Vietcong had hoped that their liberation of towns and cities would lead to an uprising against the Americans, they believed that the South's weary soldiers, dislocated peasantry, fractious youth and widely discontented layers of South Vietnamese society were ready to join the struggle. However this only occurred on a sporadic basis. • Devastating psychological impact on US soldiers • Built opposition against war in US

37. Bombing continued • US moved into Cambodia and Laos • American Protests escalated – Kent state police opened fire on students, killing many • Treatment of troops on return home • Flight attendant underground movement • 1973 agreement to end war • Paris Peace Accords • General cease fire and US with drawl of troop in 60 days, Release of POWs to US, all troop movements would cease

38. Nixon’s Presidency • 1968 Johnson would not run for President • Peace negotiations in Paris 1968 – no progress • Ho died in 1969, no progress in peace, until full with drawl – bombing by US resumed • 1969 Nixon Promised with drawl with Presidency • Announced Policy of “Vietnamization” or gradual withdrawal of the 541,000 troops • Left 150,000 troops there • Bombing continued • Saigon Government, Vietnamese ground troops, US money & air power would continue the war

39. Kent State • Army National Guard waiting for protestors to advance

40. Killing Students • Mary Ann Vecchio screaming as she kneels over the body of student Jeffrey Miller on May 4, 1970. National Guardsmen had fired in to a crowd of demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine.

42. 1973 • No victory in sight • Paris Peace accord signed • With drawl began (importance of protest) • Continued aid to Saigon • 1975 – Saigon finally fell to the South • Renamed Ho Chi Minh City • Unified into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

43. Winter Soldier - Vietnam

44. Military Objectors • By 1971 many GI’s were putting peace symbols on combat helmets, • joining antiwar demonstrations, staging their own events such as “Armed Farces Day” • Sometimes entire companies refused to carry out duty assignments or to enter battle. • Smaller numbers took revenge by “fragging” reckless commanding officers with grenades meant for the enemy • Some African American soldiers complained about fighting “a white mans war” and wrote on their helmets slogans such as “No Gook ever called me a nigger” • Over 40% of the 8.6 million soldiers came back with drug dependencies and PTSD symptoms, they were not met with fanfare and often had little luck re-entering the shrinking work force of the 1970s

45. Death Toll? • Estimating the number killed in the conflict is extremely difficult. • Vietnamese: • Today: remaining land minds: More than 40,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured Over • 4 million Vietnamese killed 

46. United States Casualties • The U.S. • 58,226 were killed in action or classified as missing in action. A further 153,303 injured • As of 1990, at least 150,000 Vietnam War Veterans have committed suicide since the war ended

47. Cambodia • Approximately 50,000–300,000 died as a result of U.S. bombing campaigns. • Khmer Rouge who took power after the USA • 1.7 million Cambodians were murdered or fell victim to starvation and disease before the regime was overthrown by Vietnamese forces in

48. American Unity • Americans agreed no more Vietnams • US should avoid future military involvements, • lacking clear and compelling objectives, • demonstrable public support • provision of adequate means to accomplish the war.

49. Conclusion • After troops left, two years of internal conflict • Vietnam united as one country called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

50. Vietnam • 2 wars lasting 30 years • First wave “French war” • Second wave “American War” • Goals of self – determination merged with those of national liberation, cold war in the background with US desire to contain communism