Vietnam War Years

1
Vietnam War Years
2
Background on the War

• Vietnam had been ruled by France, then Japan,
  then France again
• The U.S. backed France after WWII
• Ho Chi Minh had asked the U.S. to help them gain
  independence but was ignored
• - Ho turned to Communism and organized an army
  to fight the French,
• the Vietminh

3
Background continued

• Dien Bien Phu
• 1954 Ho and his nationalist troops defeated the
  French
• Geneva Accords 1954
• Vietnam split North was Communist with Ho as
  leader South was not, Ngo Dinh Diem was leader
• - U.S. backed Diem under Eisenhower
• - sent advisors
• - didnt support nation-wide elections
• since Ho would probably
  win

4
(No Transcript)
5
John F. Kennedy in Vietnam

• 1961 Kennedy approved more aid to Diem
• - 1963 - 16,000 advisors were in Vietnam
• Diem lacked support harsh leader Jailed many,
  oppressed Buddhism (he was Catholic)
• Buddhist monks and nuns began to burn themselves
  in the streets to protest his rule
  (self-immolation)
• Kennedy ordered a coup against Diem
• - Diem was assassinated Nov. 2nd , 1963
• - Kennedy was assassinated Nov. 22nd

6
(No Transcript)
7
Lyndon Johnsons War Policy

• Wanted to contain Communism in Vietnam but
  downplayed Vietnam in 1964 election
• As North Vietnamese (Vietminh) gained ground, LBJ
  planned to send more troops

8
LBJ Continued

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 1964
• - LBJ said US destroyers were attacked in a
  neutral area of the gulf
• - Asked Congress to allow him to act
• - The resolution gave him power to send troops
  to Vietnam without declaring war

9
Escalation

• Due to Communist success, more troops were sent
  to Vietnam under LBJ
• General Westmoreland asked for more troops in
  early 1965
• - 25,000 troops in early 1965
• - 184,000 by late 1965
• U.S. supported S. Vietnamese leaders
• Nguyen Cao Ky and Nguyen Van Thieu - they
• were not a corrupt as Diem, but still
  authoritarian

10
Ho Chi Minh Trail

• Route used by the North to get supplies to their
  supporters (Vietcong) in the south
• Trail went through Laos and Cambodia

11
Tet Offensive

• Tet is the Vietnamese New Year
• January 30th, 1968 Surprise attack by the North
  Vietnamese
• Major cities and U.S air bases were attacked
• - Took almost a month for south to regain
  control of cities
• N.V. losses were great, but it was a morale boost
  and psychological victory for them
• More in U.S. began to oppose the war

12
(No Transcript)
13
Brutality of War

• At first soldiers were enthusiastic due to Cold
  War propaganda, but conditions were harsh and
  confusing
• Battlefield Conditions
• - Jungle fighting - leeches, fever, jungle
  rot
• - Guerrilla fighting ambush attacks, booby
  traps, tunnels
• and landmines
• Vietcong South Vietnamese who supported the
  North
• - Women and children had guns, grenades, etc.
• - Could not tell allies from enemies since many
  in the south
• were U.S. enemies as well

14
(No Transcript)
15
Saturation Bombing

• Began in April of 1966
• U.S. B-52 bombers dropped 1,000 of tons of bombs
  over large areas

16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
Agent Orange and Napalm

• Agent Orange - herbicide (chemical defoliant)
  dropped by pilots to kill jungle vegetation
• - Poisoned water, killed animals, caused birth
  defects, and other
• health issues
• Napalm jelly-like fire bomb
• - Burned extensive areas of land and people

19
Effects on Civilians

• Were often killed as collateral damage
• - Bombings hit large areas
• - Search and destroy missions killed thousands
• Refugees fled to nearby countries
• Sickened by chemical weapons
• - Birth defects and badly burned bodies

20
My Lai Massacre

• March 16th, 1968
• U.S. troops were looking for Vietcong
• - Village of only women, children and old men
• Lt. William Calley ordered all prisoners to be
  killed
• - 174-400 civilians were killed
• U.S. helicopter pilots stopped the attack
• Massacre was uncovered by NY Times in Nov. of
  1969
• U.S. public was appalled
• - More began to turn against the war
• Calley received 20 years in prison served 3
  years

21
(No Transcript)
22
Student Activism
23
Student Activism

• Civil Rights movement was the model for the
  anti-war movement Students already had a
  history of getting involved
• New Left -- saw problems with poverty and racism
  in the U.S. and called for radical change
• - Saw war as a poor mans war
• Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Free
  Speech Movement (FSM) were leaders in early
  protests

24
Free Speech Movement (FSM)

• Began at UC Berkeley 1964 students were told
  they could not pass out leaflets on campus
• - Mario Savio was spokesperson
• Thousands of students conducted a sit-in at
  Sproul Hall and were arrested
• Seen as the beginning of the many student
  anti-war protests which were to follow

25
Teach-Ins

• First teach-in was at the Univ. of Michigan in
  March of 1965
• Professors taught night classes on issues
  relating to Vietnam

26
Resistance to the Draft

• Selective Service drafted 18-26 year old men
• Many began to see the practice as unfair
• -College students obtained deferments
• - Would not have to serve until they finished
  college
• Minorities were drafted in much greater numbers
• Draft protests began by SDS
• - Protest marches (200,000 in Washington, D.C.)
• - Burned draft cards
• - Vandalized draft offices

27
Draft Resistance continued

• Many found ways of getting out of the draft
• - Conscientious Objectors
• - Injured themselves, claimed mental illness,
  etc.
• - Moved to Canada
• - Went to jail instead
• (6 months to 5 years)

28
Counter Culture

• Young adults of the 60s began to feel that
  American society -- with its materialism,
  technology, and war -- was hollow
• Rejected the values of the older generation
• -Never trust anyone over 30
• Experimented with
• - New fashions
• - New music
• - Drugs
• - Peace, freedom,
• and love

29
Hippies

• Majority were not protesting the war just
  protesting old values
• - Men and women grew their hair long
• - Wore working class clothing, natural look
• - Rejected traditional family roles
• - Many lived in communes
• - Many rejected marriage

30
Drug Scene

• Timothy Leary Harvard Psychology Professor
• - Did experiments with LSD thought it would
  open peoples minds
• - Advised people to Turn on, tune in, and drop
  out
• - Fired from Harvard in 1963
• Drugs became a big part of the hippy lifestyle
• Drug related deaths common
• - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin,
• Jim Morrison, and more

31
Music

• Music was a major part of the counter culture
• British invasion in the early 60s brought many
  bands that were very influential
• - The Beatles
• - Rolling Stones
• - The Who
• American music ranged from rock, folk, Motown to
  Psychedelic (music inspired by or imitating the
  mind-altering experiences people had on drugs)
• - Bob Dylan, The Byrds, The Temptations, The
  Four Tops, Jefferson Airplane

32
Woodstock

• August 1969 3 day music festival in upstate New
  York
• - 400,000 in attendance
• All popular bands of the era played
• Conditions were not great
• - Heat, rain, mud, ODs, etc.
• No major problems proved to many that the counter
  culture was right about peace and love
• The older generation was disgusted by what they
  saw

33
(No Transcript)
34
(No Transcript)
35
Altamont

• Dec. 1969 - free Rolling Stones concert near San
  Francisco at Altamont Speedway
• - 30,000 in attendance
• Stones hired the Hells Angels as security
• - Angels beat many fans and killed one
• Seen as the end of the peace
• and love era of the 1960s

36
Johnsons Departure

• 1968 Election year
• Johnson refused to withdraw troops
• - Largest anti-war protests in history took
  place this year
• Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy would run
  against LBJ as fellow democratic candidates
• - Johnson saw that he had lost the support of
  the party
• - March 1968 LBJ decided not to run
• for re-election as President
• - May of 1968 Paris Peace Talks began

37
Richard Nixon Elected

• Robert Kennedy assassinated June 1968
• Protests at Democratic Convention in Chicago due
  to the war
• Republican Richard Nixon won the election of 1968
• - Promised to end the
• war said he had a
• secret plan

38
Vietnamization

• Nixons plan to withdraw U. S. troops and turn
  the war over to the South Vietnamese
• - 1968 543,000 troops in Vietnam
• - 1972 - 39,000 troops in Vietnam
• Bombing intensified as troops withdrew - much of
  this was unknown to the U.S. public

39
Pentagon Papers

• 1971 New York Times obtained secret documents
  that tell of secret money given to the French,
  and build- up of troops that was kept from the
  public over the decades
• Many still thought the war
• needed to be fought to
• stop Communism
• Others saw this as an example
• of just more lies told by the
• government

40
Bombing of Cambodia

• 1969 - Nixon ordered secret bombing of Cambodia
  to block N. Vietnamese movements
• April 1970 ordered invasion of Cambodia
• - Laos was also impacted
• New wave of anti-war protests swept across
  college campuses

41
Kent State and Jackson State

• May 4th National Guard were sent to Kent State,
  Ohio
• - Students had been protesting and burned the
  ROTC building
• on campus
• - Students threw rocks and tear gas canisters at
  guardsmen
• - Guardsmen fired on students
• - 4 are killed and 9 wounded
• 10 days later similar events take place at
  Jackson State, Mississippi
• - 2 killed and 12 wounded
• Mostly African American school did not get
  as much press as Kent State
• The nation was divided on the issue of Vietnam
  and government policy some think the students
  got what they deserved, others were appalled that
  this could happen in America

42
(No Transcript)
43
(No Transcript)
44
(No Transcript)
45
(No Transcript)
46
Paris Peace Talks - Success

• 1971 - 60 of Americans thought we should
  withdraw from Vietnam
• Henry Kissinger was sent to preside over ongoing
  peace talks
• Massive bombing continues
• January 27, 1973 agreement made
• - U.S. to withdraw over 60 day period
• - POWs would be released
• - Fighting would stop in Laos and Cambodia
• - 17th Parallel would separate North and South
  Vietnam
• March 29th -- the last U.S. troops left Vietnam

47
Fall of South Vietnam

• Two years of civil war continued after the U.S.
  pulled out
• April 29th, 1975, U.S. helped evacuate U.S. and
  Vietnamese personnel from Saigon the capitol
• April 30th -- North Vietnamese took over the
  entire country -- Fall of Saigon
• Today Vietnam is one united Communist nation

48
Legacy of the Vietnam Warfor the U.S.

• Longest and least successful war in U.S. history
• - U.S. losses 58,000 dead and 365,000 wounded
• - Mental and physical illness seen in returning
  soldiers
• - Some returned addicted to drugs
• - More vets committed suicide than were killed
  in the war
• - Cost of 150 billion dollars
• - Caused debt and inflation
• Public distrust of elected officials
• War Powers Act Troops cannot remain in combat
  without a declaration of war for more than 90
  days
• Vietnam Wall built in 1982 to heal the nation
• - there was controversy over the monument, but
  many find it
• a cathartic experience to visit the Wall and
  see the name of their lost
• loved one or buddy.

49
(No Transcript)
50
(No Transcript)
51
(No Transcript)
52
Legacy for Vietnam

• The Vietnamese had millions killed and wounded
• - More bombs were dropped on Vietnam than in
• Europe in all of WWII
• Land destroyed
• Illness due to Agent Orange
• Refugees fled country boat people scattered
  to
• other parts of Southeast Asia, to France, and
  to the US