Vietnam War Timeline

The Viet Minh

(1941)

Viet Minh

The Viet Minh operated as a national organization that was open to a number of various political views. While the Viet Minh operated, their forces "liberated" a multitude of areas in North Vietnam. This lead the Viet Minh to take and claim the Independent Democractic Republic of Vietnam. The Viet Minh were one of the armies to fight in the Vietnam War. The Viet Minh launched a long and bloody guerilla war agaisnt the US and the French. The war agaisnt the French is what ultimately gave them their independence in the first place

Ho Chi Minh

(1945-1969)

Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh joined the communist party in which he then helped found the Viet Minh in 1941. After this, he then served as the president of North Vietnam for 25 years. During his presidency, when Amercian air strikes began in 1965, Chi Minh sent a message in 1966 that "nothing is as dear to the heart of the Vietnamese as independence and liberation" This then became the motto for the North Vietnamese people. Ho Chi Minh played an important role in the Vietnam War for, since he helped the Viet Minh gain their independence , he also was their leader for the majority of the Vietnam War.

Agent Orange

(1962-1971)

Agent Orange

Agent Orange was a mix of herbicides that the U.S. military sparyed over areas in Vietnnam. They did this in order to get rid of the forests, for the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces were hiding out in the forests. However, exposure to Agent Orange is considered to be the cause of most of the abnormamilties such as miscarriages, skin diseases, cancers, birth defects, and congential malformations. These abnormalities date back from the 1970's. Even though, Agent Orange was used in oder to help make fighting the war easier for the U.S., it hurt things more than it helped and still affects Vietnam today.

Diem Assassination

(November 2nd, 1963)

Diem Assassination

Diem's government was ovethrown by the South Vietnamese military forces the day before him and his brother were captured and killed. Ngo Dinh Diem was the politcial and presidental leader of South Vietnam. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam but plunged it into political chaos. His death escalated the Vietnam War, for it brought in more involvement from the US. They tried to stabalize the South Vietnamese government since many rebels that were communist were becoming a powerful threat.

The JFK Assassination and LBJ's Presidency

(November 22 1963)

(November 1963)

JFK and LBJ

While JFK's procession left the airport and heaed to travel the ten-mile route that wound through downtown Dallas, bullets struck the president's neck and head. JFK was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m. that day. Without the murder of JFK, the U.S. may have not have gotten as heavily involved in the Vietnam War. Once LBJ was sworn in, he was determined to prevent North Vietnamese communists from taking over the U.S. supported government in South Vietnam. Johnson steadily escalated US involvemnt and while in office, the number of troops soared from 16,000 troops to 500,000 troops. The conflict only remained a bloody stalemate and as time went on, Johnson's popularity decrased overall causing him to make the decision to not re-elect. Due to LBJ's choice of ordering armed forced in Vietnam, America was plunged into a full-scale military conflict.

The Tet Offensive

(January 21, 1968)

The Tet

The North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong break the "Tet" ceasefire. This was the Vietnamese new year that was supposedly claimed no fighting would take place on. The two armies launched a major offensive agaisnt ARVN and U.S. troops. The U.S. easily wins, however the effect that this event had on the people back home, became a turning point and sparked the anti-war movement. The people had a major loss in morale for the war and lost trust in the government since they said that no attack such as this could happen, yet it did.

My Lai Massacre

(March 16 1968)

My Lai Massacre

The My Lai Massacre was a "search and destroy" mission due to fear of Viet Cong hiding out in villages. More than 500 people were slaughtered in the massacre. This included young girls and women being reaped and mutilated before their death. It only added more fuel to the fire when the U.S. army officers covered up what happened for a year. This created more untrustworthiness in the government and made people see how brutal the U.S. can be. Lots saw the U.S. now unjustified and ruthless. This was just another factor in the anti-war sentiment.

Kent State Shootings

(May 4, 1970)

Kent State

This was an event that resulted in 4 students killed and 9 injured. These shootings occurred during a protest at Kent State University agaisnt the war. The Ohio National Guard opened fire on the crowd. The immediate aftermath that followed was a student-led strike that forced temporary closure of colleges and universities across the country. This also further galavanized the anti-war movement. These shootings further proved the unjustifiableness that the U.S. was acting upon. It showed the U.S. as more of a ruthless country as a whole than a together one during a time of war.

Pentagon Papers

(March 1971)

Pentagon Papers

The Pentagon Papers was a top secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and military involvemnt in Vietnam from 1945-1967. These papers were released by Daniel Ellsberg. He made the choice to release these papers due to his beliefs that the war was becoming unwinnable. The release of these papers confirmed the many suspicions about how active the U.S. government was in countries affairs. These papers proved that there was no trust that could be put in the government and shows how far the war was getting dragged out in which many people saw it as pointless and unwinnable.

26th Amendment

(July 5, 1971)

26th Amendment

The 26th Amendment granted 18 year olds the right to vote. During the Vietnam War, many young men saw it as unfair to be denied the right to vote especially when they didn't have the right to choose to fight for their country. Many youth voting rights activists held marches and demonstratioons to draw attention to the hypocrisy and unfariness of drafting the men who couldn't vote. This amendment helped draw attention to how the U.S. was being unfair in many aspects and was a win for the people.

The Fall of Saigon

(April 30, 1975)

Saigon

After the Paris Peace Accords were set and South Vietnam agreed to stay non-communist, the North Vietnamese Army marched into Saigon. This led the South Vietnam to fall to communism along with surrounding countries. The country became unified under a single, communist government. This was the first major loss for the U.S., for even though they had won many battles, containment had failed. This made people upset for it made it feel like the war was for nothing.

https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/1945-1964_the_road_to_war/President-Diem-is-Overthrown-and-Assassinated/#:~:text=November%202%2C%201963,Dinh%20Nhu%20in%20November%201963.&text=Generals%20in%20the%20South%20Vietnamese,his%20brother%20Ngo%20Dinh%20Nhu.

https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2020/11/without-dallas-john-f-kennedy-and-the-vietnam-war/#:~:text=Without%20the%20murder%20of%20Kennedy,a%20result%20of%20Johnson's%20misjudgments.

https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/ho-chi-minh-1

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Viet-Minh

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/viet-minh-take-control-in-the-north#:~:text=The%20Viet%20Minh%20launched%20a,Bien%20Phu%20in%20May%201954.

https://www.britannica.com/science/Agent-Orange

https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/education/teachers/curricular-resources/jfk-and-vietnam-the-september-1963-tv-interviews

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/lyndon-b-johnson

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ngo-dinh-diem-assassinated-in-south-vietnam

https://www.kent.edu/may-4-historical-accuracy

https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/kent-state-shooting

https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre-1

https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/pentagon-papers

https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/the-26th-amendment

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/south-vietnam-surrenders

Works Cited