The Vietnam Era, slide 1
American involvement begins with Dienbienphu, 1954 & partition - (Cold War)
Rising US presence in South Vietnam - support Diem’s regime, 1954-1963: military advisors, supplies
JFK: dramatic increase in men, support to S. Vietnamese, Diem toppled, 1963
LBJ & Gulf of Tonkin affair, resolution-8/1964: sharp military escalation of conflict
The Vietnam Era, slide 2
1965-by 12/1965: 500,000 American soldiers in Vietnam - escalation continues through 1967
War patterns: guerrilla warfare, "winning battles, losing war," weekly body counts, increasing "Viet Cong"
"tail wagging the dog" (?)
Tet Offensive, 1/68-exposes "credibility gap"of administration-tilts domestic situation towards opposition
The Vietnam Era, slide 3
1968: LBJ: war casualty-RFK & McCarthy - "peace candidates"- Nixon also professes to end conflict
12/1968 - My Lai massacre
Nixon plan: "Vietnamization" of war: gradual turnover to S. Vietnamese
5/1970: Invasion of Cambodia - (Kent State)
By 1970, war has polarized nation - by age, class, race
Vietnam Era, slide 4
War as a polarizing agent of American society:
Age: Vietnam generation vs. WWII gen, of parents
Race: Sig. issue to blacks: what connection is there to A-A priorities?
Class issues (?): soldiers largely from working class, others can receive deferments, go to Canada, etc.
Anti-war sentiment very high after Tet, 1968
The Vietnam Era, slide 5
1971-1975: gradual pull-out of forces
bombing stopped in 1973
Fall of Saigon - Spring, 1975: US evacuation
Legacies: Vietnam "syndrome" -shy approach to military intervention
Issues related to Vietnam veterans-Agent Orange, syndrome, readjustment
Has Vietnam been resolved in 1998?