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The Vietnam War Text and ?’s
Directions: Read each except and answer the questions that follow.
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The American Role Grows
The Communist threat in South Vietnam worried the United States. If
Communists
took South Vietnam, President Eisenhower once said, the countries of
The roots of the Vietnam War can be traced back to World War II. In that
war, Japanese forces captured the French colony of Indochina. The colony included Southeast Asia would fall to communism like a row of dominoes—one right after the
what are today the nations of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Vietnamese forces led other. This "domino theory" helped shape American policy in Vietnam for the next
20 years.
by Communist Ho Chi Minh (HOH CHEE MIHN) fought the Japanese.
To counter the Communist threat and support South Vietnam, the
Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam's independence when Japan surrendered at
Eisenhower
administration sent billions of dollars in aid. The United States also sent
the end of World War II. However, the French were unwilling to give up Vietnam
a
few
hundred
soldiers to act as advisers to the South Vietnamese government and
and the other territories. They considered Indochina a valuable colony because it
army. Like Eisenhower, President Kennedy saw Vietnam as part of the global fight
was rich in natural resources such as rice, rubber, and tin. Ho Chi Minh and his
forces fought a long, bloody war against the French. They finally achieved victory in against communism. Kennedy sent U.S. Special Forces—the Green Berets—to train
and advise South Vietnamese troops. Kennedy also pressured Diem to make reforms
1954 at Dien Bien Phu (dyehn byehn FOO).
that would make communism less appealing to the people. Diem was urged to
1. What was Indochina?
create a more democratic government and to help Vietnam's peasants. Diem did
make some reforms, but they had little effect.
Meanwhile, Diem took away the rights of many people in South Vietnam.
2. Who was Ho Chi Minh?
For example, he targeted members of the Buddhist religion, favoring Catholics like
himself. Diem claimed that Buddhists were helping South Vietnam's Communists. As
a result, he threw hundreds of Buddhists into prison and had many of them killed.
The Geneva Accords
Buddhists responded with protests, sometimes setting themselves on fire in public
In 1954 the United States, France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, China,
displays. These horrifying protests made it hard for Kennedy to continue to support
and Vietnam met in Geneva, Switzerland. A peace agreement called the Geneva
Diem, and the United States withdrew its support in 1963.
Accords divided Vietnam into two halves. Communist nationalists would control the
In November 1963, the South Vietnamese army overthrew the government.
North. Non-Communists—supported by the United States—would control the
They assassinated Ngo Dinh Diem. The United States supported the government
South. Then, in 1956, Vietnam would hold elections to decide the government for all
takeover—but did not support the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem. Days later,
of Vietnam. Although neither the United States nor South Vietnam signed the
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The question of what to do in Vietnam
agreement, they did not oppose it. The United States, however, made clear that it
fell to the succeeding president, Lyndon B. Johnson.
would act if Communist North Vietnam attacked the South.
4. Draw a chart, venn diagram, or top hat comparing Eisenhower’s and Kennedy’s
In 1955 Ngo Dinh Diem (NOH DIN ZYEHM) became South Vietnam's leader.
beliefs and involvement in Vietnam.
The Diem regime (ray • ZHEEM), or government, had the support of the United
States. Diem ignored the Geneva Accords and refused to hold elections. He also
cracked down on Communists in the South. Communists in the South responded by
forming a group known as the Vietcong. In 1959 the Vietcong, on orders from Ho
Chi Minh, began a war against the Diem regime.
3. How was Vietnam divided? How did the two Vietnams differ?
Roots of the Conflict
4. Who did the United States support? Are surprised by their choice? Why?
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The Conflict Deepens
In 1963, at the time of Kennedy's death, the United States had nearly 16,000
troops in Vietnam. They were serving as advisers. Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara told President Johnson that South Vietnam could not resist the Vietcong
without more help from the United States. In a private May 1964 conversation,
Johnson admitted doubts about the effort. "I don't think it's worth fighting for," he
said, "but I don't think we can get out." Still, as Vietcong attacks continued, the
United States took action to become more involved in the region.
President Johnson began to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam in 1965.
The increased involvement included greater numbers of ground troops as well as air
attacks. Over the next three years, the number of American troops in Vietnam rose
sharply. About 180,000 U.S. soldiers were in Vietnam by the end of 1965. Almost
400,000 were there by the end of 1966 and more than 500,000 by 1968.
The United States began a bombing campaign called Operation Rolling
Thunder in March 1965. Planes attacked the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of roads,
paths, and bridges from North Vietnam through Cambodia and Laos into South
Vietnam. North Vietnamese troops used this route to bring equipment south. Other
planes targeted bridges, docks, factories, and military bases in the North.
From 1965 through 1968, bombing increased. During this time, American
planes dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than they dropped on the Axis
powers during World War II.
5. How did President Johnson personally feel about the Vietnam War?
6. How did the US intensify their fighting with the Vietcong?
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Americans bombed areas of South Vietnam. The goal was to drive guerrillas
from their forest cover. Both sides used planes to drop napalm, an explosive that
burned intensely, to destroy jungle growth. North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces
also used napalm in flamethrowers. These devices sprayed fuel or a burning stream
of liquids.
To make it easier to see enemy troops in the forest, chemicals were sprayed
to clear out leaves and tall grasses. One chemical, Agent Orange, is believed to have
harmed many Americans and Vietnamese, causing serious health problems. Agent
Orange is a chemical herbicide used to clear out forests and tall grasses.
7. Why was Vietnam a challenging environment to fight in?
8. Identify 2 techniques or tools the Americans used to fight guerilla tactics.
Growing Discontent
The American bombing did not stop the flow of troops and equipment from
the North. Although the search-and-destroy missions killed thousands of North
Vietnamese and Vietcong troops, the troops always seemed to be replaced. What
Ho Chi Minh had said to the French became true again: "You can kill ten of my men
for every one I kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and I will win."
American soldiers grew frustrated. Read the following primary source from
an American Soldier fighting in Vietnam to his wife.
Dear Roberta,
May 25, 1968
The Difficult Fight
Today is probably one of the worst days I have ever lived in my
On the ground, American troops found Vietnam to be a challenging
environment in which to fight. Thick forests, muddy trails, swampy rice paddies, and entire, short life. Once again we are in contact with the North
the possibility of booby traps slowed troop movement. The Vietcong used guerrilla Vietnamese, and once again many soldiers were killed. The losses have
totally hit home, as my best friend, in this horrible miserable place was
methods. They attacked, and then they hid among the Vietnamese population.
st
American soldiers found it hard to tell friends and enemies apart. Soldiers described shot and killed. He was only 22 years old and was going home on June 1
to meet his wife in Hawaii. I feel that if I were only a half a second sooner
their discomforts and frustrations in letters home.
To seek out and destroy Vietcong or North Vietnamese units, the American pulling the trigger, he would still be alive.
Strange how short of a time a half a second is; the difference
forces began search-and-destroy missions. Ground troops worked in cooperation
between life and death. This morning we were talking about how we were
with aircraft. Patrols on the ground radioed their location. Then, helicopter gunships
only 2 years apart in age, and how we both had gotten married before
roared to the scene to blast the enemy.
coming to this place. You know, I can still feel his presence as I write this
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letter and hope that I am able to survive and leave this horrible place
behind.
If there is a place called Hell, I am sure this is it, we must be the
Devil’s workers doing his dirty work. I just keep asking myself how so
many people with so much to live for keep dying. I just hope their death is
for a reason.
I look forward to the day when my duty is done. I should be able to
make it home in time for our anniversary. I have spent enough time in
this place, where I should be able to pick when I get to come home. I
promise I will do everything necessary to make sure that I make that
date, and I hope tomorrow is quite. We will be going to a 30-day base
camp, so I will hope to write you a letter then. Please do not worry about
me, I will take care of myself and look forward to the day I am able to be
with you again.
Love, Stan
9. How does the soldier describe Vietnam? Be descriptive.
President Lyndon Johnson’s Speech at Johns Hopkins
University (1965)
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“We are there because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every
American president has offered support to the people of South Vietnam. We have
helped to build, and we have helped to defend. Thus, over many years we have made
a national pledge to help South Vietnam obtain its independence. And I intend to
keep that promise.
We are also there to strengthen world order. Around the globe from Berlin
to Thailand, are people whose well-being rests, in part, on the belief that they can
count on us if they are attacked. To leave Vietnam to its fate would shake the
confidence of all these people in the value of an American commitment and in the
value of America’s word. The result would be increased unrest and instability, and
even wider war.
Our objective is in the independence of South Vietnam and its freedom from
attack. We want nothing for ourselves only that the people of South Vietnam be
allowed to guide their own country in their own way. We will do everything
necessary to read that objective. “
11. What reasons does President Johnson give as to why Americans are in Vietnam?
(3 needed)
The War Ends
10. How do you think the citizens of Vietnam were affected by the war?
In 1972 Nixon was reelected president in a landslide. After this victory, he
unleashed American airpower against North Vietnam. In December 1972, the
heaviest bombing of the war took place. North Vietnam returned to peace talks.
Meanwhile, the United States pressured South Vietnam to accept peace terms. On
January 27, 1973, all the sides reached an agreement.
The United States agreed to pull its troops out of Vietnam. The North
Vietnamese agreed to return all American prisoners of war. American military
involvement in Vietnam was at an end. The conflict, however, was not over. North
Vietnam did not give up the goal of bringing all of Vietnam under its rule. In early
1975, the North launched a major offensive. Within a few weeks, its tanks were near
Saigon. As North Vietnamese forces advanced, the last Americans left the country.
Thousands of Vietnamese who had supported the Americans also fled to the United
States. On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the Communists. Soon after, South Vietnam
surrendered, and the long war was over.
12. Who do you think won the Vietnam War? Why?