Overview
 Understand the historical background
and underlying causes of the Vietnam
War
 Know the significant events which shaped
the outcome of the Vietnam War
 Understand the impact the Vietnam War
had upon the development of aviation
Road to War
 Most American wars have obvious starting points or causes: the Battles
of Lexington and Concord in 1775,, the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941,
and the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950, for
example. But there was no fixed beginning for the U.S. war in Vietnam.
 The United States entered that war incrementally, in a series of steps
between 1950 and 1965
Andrew J. Rotter; The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Ed. John
Whiteclay Chambers II. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by Oxford UP
Road to War
 In May 1950, President Harry S. Truman authorized a modest program
of economic and military aid to the French, who were fighting to retain
control of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
 The North Vietnamese Nationalist (Communist) army defeated French
forces at Dienbienphu in 1954, creating a communist North Vietnam
above the 17th parallel and a unstable democratic south.
 President Dwight D. Eisenhower stepped into South Vietnam by
fabricating a government, dispatching military advisers to train the
South Vietnamese army, and beginning a CIA lead psychological
campaign against the North.
Andrew J. Rotter; The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Ed. John
Whiteclay Chambers II. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by Oxford UP
Road to War
 President John F. Kennedy took another step in 1961,
when he sent 400 Special Operations Forces-trained
(Green Beret) soldiers to teach the South Vietnamese
how to fight what was called counterinsurgency war
against Communist guerrillas.
 When Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963,
there were more than 16,000 U.S. military advisers
in South Vietnam, and more than 100 Americans had
been killed.
 Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, committed
the United States fully to the war. In August 1964, he
secured from Congress the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
 In February and March 1965, Johnson authorized the
sustained bombing, by U.S. aircraft, of targets north of
the 17th parallel, and on 8 March dispatched 3,500
Marines to South Vietnam. The United States was now
at war.
Andrew J. Rotter; The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Ed. John
Whiteclay Chambers II. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by Oxford UP
Road to War: Tonkin Gulf
Joint Resolution of Congress H.J. RES 1145
August 7, 1964
 Congress approves and supports the President, as
Commander in Chief, to take all necessary
measures to repel any armed attack against the
forces of the United States and to prevent further
aggression.
 The United States is, therefore, prepared, as the
President determines, to take all necessary steps,
including the use of armed force, to assist any
member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia
Collective Defense Treaty requesting assistance in
defense of its freedom.
 This resolution shall expire when the President
shall determine that the peace and security of the
area is reasonably assured…
Andrew J. Rotter; The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Ed. John
Whiteclay Chambers II. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by Oxford UP
Early Stages
 June 1964: General Westmoreland is appointed U.S. Commander
 March 2, 1965: Operation Rolling Thunder begins; a gradually intensifying air
bombardment of military bases, supply depots, and infiltration routes in North
Vietnam. However the North is still able to inflict heavy casualties in South
 March 8, 1965: First conventional US Ground Troops arrive. By the end of 1965,
the U.S. has 184,300 troops in Vietnam
 By June 1965, there had been five governments in the South, and the newest
regime, headed by General Nguyen Van Thieu and Air Marshall Nguyen Cao
Ky, inspired little confidence.
1965-1968
 U.S. strategy is inconsistent, nor universally applicable to terrain or type of
warfare being conducted.
 U.S. relies on technology to offset guerilla tactics – “body counts” become the
new measuring stick for success
 By 1966, U.S. forces number 385,000; By 1967 U.S. forces number 485,600
 Civilian protests in South Vietnam increase due to widespread corruption in
government. Buddhist priests and activists use television to carry message ,
swaying world and U.S. domestic opinion on the war.
Tet Offensive
 Jan 1968: In coordinated attacks throughout
South Vietnam, the Vietcong assaulted major
urban areas and military installations in an
attempt to spark a popular uprising against the
Saigon regime and its American backers.
 While the Vietcong suffered tremendous losses,
the massive surprise attack caused the U.S. press
and public to begin to challenge the Johnson
administration's assurances of success and to
question the value of the increasingly costly war
Andrew J. Rotter; The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Ed. John
Whiteclay Chambers II. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by Oxford UP
Home Front
 In 1968, 14,000 U.S. Soldiers killed in Vietnam
 Beginning in 1966, mass demonstrations and countless
other protests are occurring throughout the U.S.
Americans begin to challenge the Johnson administration
 After 35,000 people stage a protest at the Pentagon in Oct
1967, Johnson launches a public relations campaign
emphasizing how well the war was going. When North
Vietnam launches their TET Offensive, most Americans
feel that they had been deceived by their own government.
On May 4, l970 the Ohio National Guard fired
into a crowd of Kent State University
demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine
Kent State students
Melvin Small; The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Ed. John
Whiteclay Chambers II. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by Oxford UP
Withdrawal
 President Nixon owed his political victory in 1969 partially to voter expectation that he
would end the war.
 With the ground war stalemated, the U.S. turned increasingly to air bombardment
(Linebacker Campaigns I and II) in an attempt to force the North to the peace table.
 The U.S. announces in June 1969 the first withdrawal of 25,000 U.S. troops. By Dec 1971,
U.S. forces number 156,000
 Wearied by the fighting, the United States and North Vietnamese governments agreed in
October 1972 to a ceasefire with the continuation of Thieu's government in the South
 On 27 January 1973, the United States, North Vietnam and South Vietnam sign the Paris
Peace Agreements ending the war
Thoughts….
 Should the United States have fought the war at all?
 Could Vietnam’s history, politics and rising nationalism be altered by U.S. military
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power, no matter how great
Did the United States fight the war the wrong way?
Throughout the conflict, the Saigon regime proved incapable of translating
military success into political success. What is the relationship between military
success and political success?
Public trust in its government?
U.S. Military…Soldiers vice Vietnam War
 Media/Public Perception