American Involvements Grows

1. American Involvements Grows By: Aydin and Preston

2. Growing American Involvement LBJ, Lyndon B. Johnson, like Eisenhower and Kennedy, believed in the domino theory. Johnson saw Vietnam as a test of resistance to the spread of communism. After LBJ took office, he increased economic aid and military advisors to the government of South Vietnam and it’s armed forces. Johnson authorized secret actions against North Vietnam. Meanwhile the Soviet Union and China were backing the North Vietnamese with arms and supplies After Diem fell, South Vietnam’s government became unstable. Military coups happened often, with leaders only staying in power for a short while. As South Vietnamese generals lost control of land to the Viet Cong, the South Vietnam’s generals were bickering back and forth between each other.

3. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident In August of 1964, an event altered the way the U.S was involved in the Vietnam War. Sketchy reports said the North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked U.S Navy destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, Of the coast of North Vietnam. However, the second reported attack may have never happened at all. Nonetheless, President Johnson was determined to act. He ordered the U.S to launch air strikes against North Vietnam. The day after, Johnson asked Congress for the ability for him to do whatever was necessary to resolve the conflict. His permission was granted. The United State’s role in the Vietnam War began to greatly increase with Jonson

4. A Massive Buildup Johnson ran for reelection in 1964, and he stated that “We are not about to send American boys…to do what Asian boys ought to be doing themselves.” He won in a landslide vote. After the events at Pleiku, U.S troops began pouring into South Vietnam. In March 1965, 3,500 marines to protect Da Nang, an American airbase. Within 6 weeks, over 50,000 U.S troops were there. By the end of the year, 184,000 troops were in the country. By the end of the decade, over half a million soldiers would be there. Meanwhile, Johnson and his advisers were working on plans to further U.S actions in Vietnam. Johnson ordered air strikes against North Vietnam after the Viet Cong attacked Pleiku, killing 8 Americans.

5. Search and Destroy When Americans entered the war, the South Vietnamese government forces got a boost. Nguyen Cao Ky, a military leader, seized power over South Vietnam in June 1965. He wasn’t democratic, but he still created a stable government. This made South Vietnam focus all of it’s attention on fighting the Viet Cong. Napalm was also used. This flammable substance that stuck to enemies was dropped out of planes. American troops were equipped with the latest high tech weapons. They also used chemical weapons against the Viet Cong, also. The most used chemical was a herbicide known as Agent Orange. It destroyed vegetation where enemy soldiers were hiding. The use of this chemical was controversial because it caused cancer, birth defects, and long term health issues with the people who handled it.

6. Search and Destroy (2) The Viet Cong, who were familiar with the swamps and the jungles, used the environment to their advantage. The guerrillas forces used run-and-gun tactics and this resulted in no clear defined battle lines. The Americans did not know what to expected when they were in the jungle. They could not decipher whether a person was an friend and foe. The Americans used new forms of warfare. They used heavily armed helicopters that transported troops from one spot to another. They would also locate enemy strongholds and gun them down with their heavy machine guns. Then they would search the area for any Viet Cong. The goal was not to gain territory, but to kill as many enemies as possible. These were called search and destroy missions.

8. The Tet Offensive On Jan. 31, 1968, the Vietnamese began celebrating. Using this holiday as cover, the North Vietnamese attacked every single major city in South Vietnam. In Saigon, the North Vietnam invaders broke through the walls of Saigon and attacked the presidential palace. Another a major assault on Hue City, an ancient capital of Vietnam. American and South Vietnamese forces were caught off guard, but they responded quickly. For weeks, the democratic forces fought back to regain what was theirs from the communists.

9. The Tet Offensive (2) By Feb. 25, U.S troops made the North Vietnamese give up the positions they gained. 40,000 Viet Cong/NVA (North Vietnamese Army) lost their lives during the Tet Offensive. By now, the President realized that support for the war was waning. The Tet Offensive marked a turning point in the war. Although marked as a U.S victory, the Tet Offensive dealt a crushing blow to the U.S in Vietnam. This shocked Americans at home because of the strength of the enemy. After the offensive, many Americans began to believe that the U.S was not going to win the war and that the U.S should pull out of the country.

10. A Nation Divided The U.S issue a draft, which 1.8 million men were drafted because of it. This angered Doves. Doves burned draft cards. Doves were conscientious objectors, people who thought war was wrong. 100,000 Americans who burned their draft cards ran away to Canada. Many people were criticizing LBJ policy of gradual escalation. People thought the U.S was fighting a war with one hand tied behind it’s back. Many Americans were now splitting into two different factions. Hawks and Doves were the two factions. Hawks were people that supported the war in Vietnam. Doves were the opposite, believing that the Vietnam was unwinnable and morally wrong. In 1965 and after, protests against the war were widespread across the nation. These protests included all walks of life. Television showed graphic images that sickened viewers. This turned most viewers against the war. Hawks wanted the U.S government to have an all out war effort to end the war as quickly as possible. Doves urged withdraw of all U.S troops. They had wide ranges of protest during the war, including marches and sit-ins.

11. Vietnam in Popular Culture The biggest video game based off of the Vietnam War is “Call of Duty: Black Ops”. Another game was “Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam” downloadable content pack. (DLC) Vietnam has effected many movies, video games, and books. Movies include “Full Metal Jacket”, “Platoon”, “The Deer Hunter”, parts of “Forrest Gump”, “Apocalypse Now”, “Hamburger Hill”, “We Were Soldiers”, and many others. Books based off of Vietnam are “Fallen Angels”, “The Short-Timers”, and “Search and Destroy”.

12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Metal_Jacket http://www.atvaudio.com/ata_vietnamwar.php http://www.forgehub.com/threads/tunnel-rats-1-2-3.5738/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_incident http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_Offensive http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm http://www.moddb.com/members/rsrobert/images/m14-m16-and-car-15for-short-vietnam http://www.rednecklatte.com/2012/01/tet-for-tat/ http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Walter-Dean-Myers/dp/0545055768 http://www.ps3hax.net/showthread.php?t=52844 http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/classic-rock/images/17458303/title/ccr-photo

13. By. Preston and Aydin “Fortunate Son” is an anti-Vietnam War song that was popular in 1969.