1965 - 1975
KIA: 58,219
WIA: 153,356
Of the 3 million American troops that would be eventually deployed--in
the longest war in U. S. history--it was the U. S. Marines who first
landed at teh Vietnamese city of Da Nang. It was March 6,1965, Greeted
by smiling officials, the landing of those forst 5,500 U. S. Marines
would prove to be a fatefull event for America.
In the first ten years that followed the first landing of the U. S.
Marines in Vietnam, America would watch three U. S. Presidents would
struggle with the handling of this controversial conflict. Over 58,000
Americans would die in defending the fragile deomcractic government
of South Vietnam. To fully understand the "complicated matter" of Vietnam,
as it is often referred to, it is very important to know the history and
events leading up to the U. S. involvement.
After winning independence from the French in 1954, Vietnam was divided--
seemingly temporarily--into a Communist north and a non-Communist south.
Ho Chi Minh would rule the North, while Emperor Bao Dei controlled the
south. In 1955, the South Vietnamese monarchy was abolished and Prime
Misiter Ngo Dinh Diem became the President of the new South Vietnamese
republic.
Elections to unify the two sides were never held because Prime Minister
Diem and President Eisenhower belived that the free elections would be
threatened by the Communist influences in the government in the south.
Conversely, free elections in the north meant forced cooperation with
Diem and his government. Similar to the arrangement with Korea, it
seemed a divived Vietnam would be the norm.
In the late 1950's, opposition to the South Vietnamese government by
the Viet Cong guerilla movementescalated. In response, then President
Eisenhower began sending military advisors in support of the government
to the south. Later, President John Kennedy would deepen America's
commitment, shipping equiptment to South Vietnam and raising U. S.
forces to 16,300.
Still, with support from North Vietnam and the USSR, the Viet Cong
guerillas continued to gain strength.
President Lyndon Johnson, who had suceeded to the Presidency afthe
Kennedy's assassination, inherited the problem of Vietnam from his
predecessors--Eisenhower and Kennedy--and he was determined as ever to
prevent a Communist victory over South Vietnam.
When two U. S. destroyers were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, Johnson
used the incident as the basis for requesting blanket authority from
the U. S. Congress to take any military action he deemed necessary in
Southeast Asia. The air war against North Vietnam escalated with the
unveiling of Operations Rolling Thunmder-a massive bombing
campaign of North Vietnam.
By the end of 1965, some 185,00 U. S. troops were engaded in fighting.
For the most part, the war was being fought in the jungles and rice
paddies, making it difficult to tell who was a friendly villiger and
who was a Viet Cong guerilla.
By 1968, over half a million American soldiers were stationed in South
Vietnam. The toll of those being killed--over 100 a week--fueled anti-war
sentiment on the home front, Because of television, the horrors of Vietnam
were brought directly into the living rooms of American families. Peace
groups demonstrated and some studnts fled into exile rather than serve in
Vietnam. World opinion, too, seemed to turn against America.
Although Johnson made many attempts to negotiate with Hanoi in 1966 and
1967, the North Vietnamese refused to talk unless the U. S. halted it's
bombing--inconditionally. The fighting continued because the U. S. would
not agree to stop bombing until the North Vietnamese curtailed all military
operations in the south. Both sides beefed up it's troop strength but, for
a time, it appeared the Communists were beaten.
On January 30, 1968, the enemy lauched the Tet Offensive in South Vietnam,
striking major cities and creating havoc in Saigon. Although the U. S.
managed to push them back, the Tet Offensive had a huge impact on the U. S.
For an enemy that was supposedly on the verge of collapse, to launch such
an offensive convinced a dejected and weary President Johnson that victory
was increasingly more difficult.
On march 31, 1968, President Johnson announced a partial unilateral halt
to the bombing of North Vietnam and invited Hanoi to the peace table. Three
days later, Hanoi agreed to take part in preliminary talks in Paris, France.
But the two sides haggled endlessly, and not until the early days of
President Richard M. Nixon's administration, did they start discussing
substantive matters. After three years of talks, North Vietnam made another
attempt at victory by launching attacks on the south. In retaliation, Nixon
authorized punishing air raids on the north and ordered Navy planes to mine
Haiphong Harbor.
The Communists suffered terrible losses and finally, on January 27, 1973,
the Paris Peace Accords were signed calling for the withdrawal of U. S. troops.
A council was created to reconcile all factions, but charges of bad faith
brought renewed fighting that ended in 1975 with the surrender of South Vietnam.
Communists rule until this day.
Source:The Military Order of the Purple Heart
Related Resources:
|
All Material © 2001-2009
Intellectual Property
Charles E. Geck III
Founder/Owner/Publisher
GlobalSpecialOperations.com (TM)
All Rights Reserved
|
