Chapter 17

• Students will be able to explain the origins of American involvement in Southeast Asia especially Vietnam• Students will be able to trace the growing US participation in the

Vietnam War• Students will be able to explain the rise of the US anti-war movement

and its impact on American society• Students will be able to explain how the US exited the war and the

impact the war had on US foreign and domestic policies

• Vietnamese Nationalism Vietnam under control / influence

of China Came under control of France in

1800s as part of French Indochina Ho Chi Minh founded Vietnamese

Communist Party – led resistance movement, Vietminh, against Japanese

Received US support After WWII he declared Vietnam

independent Ho Chi Minh

French Indochina

VietnamLaosCambodia

• After WWII (1946) French troops returned to Indochina• 1949 French drove out Vietminh

and set up new colonial government• Vietminh began guerrilla war

against French – French appealed to US for help• US opposed colonialism but did not

want Vietnam to become Communist Vietminh prisoners

• Two events caused President Truman to support French- the fall of China to the Communists and the Korean war• US believed USSR was trying to

expand Communism in Asia• President Eisenhower also

supported France – eventually US paying ¾ of French war costs• Domino Theory – belief that if one

country fell to Communism then it would cause others to fall as well

• France frustrated by Vietminh guerrilla war• Wanted to draw Vietminh out into

open battle• Battle of Dien Bien Phu• French defeat caused withdrawal

from Indochina• Geneva Accords

UN divided Vietnam at 17th parallel Elections to be held to unite Vietnam

into single countryFrench troops at Dien Bien Phu

No elections held – North became Communist state under Ho Chi Minh / South led by Ngo Dinh Diem

Diem pro-West, anti-Communist, Catholic

South Vietnam supported by US War began between South

Vietnam and Communists

Ngo Dinh Diem

• Communists formed guerrilla army in the south called Viet Cong• Growing power of Viet Cong caused

US to increase support for South Vietnam• President Kennedy increased US

troop strength in Vietnam to ~15,000• Diem began Strategic Hamlet

program – fortified villages • Program unpopular with peasants Viet Cong in training

• Diem unpopular due to persecution of Buddhists• Buddhists protested• South Vietnamese generals with

CIA overthrew Diem – Diem assassinated• Coup made situation worse

Buddhist monk burns himself to death protesting Diem’s policies

• 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – authorized President Johnson to expand US military presence in Vietnam• Attacks by Viet Cong on US forces

resulted in the bombing of North Vietnam• Operation Rolling Thunder – extensive

bombing campaign against North Vietnam• Johnson sent US combat troops to fight

alongside South Vietnamese unitsUS combat planes refueling on way to targets

• Over 200,000 US troops in Vietnam by 1966• US frustrated by guerrilla tactics

and dense jungle terrain/foliage• Guerrillas blended in with

civilian population• Body counts• Search and Destroy missions• Use of Napalm and Agent

Orange (defoliant)Burned children flee accidental napalm strike by South Vietnamese Air Force

• Viet Cong suffered heavy losses but continued war against US and South Vietnam• Viet Cong supplied by North Vietnam

through network of jungle trails called Ho Chi Minh Trail• Trail bypassed much of South Vietnam

through Laos and Cambodia• North Vietnam supplied by USSR and

Communist China• Johnson refused to expand war and

allow US to use full power

Ho Chi Minh Trail

• By late 1960s many in US turned against the Vietnam War• General Westmoreland,

commander of US forces in Vietnam, assured the American public that US was winning• Daily images of war on TV news

caused credibility gap – doubt that US government was telling truth

• Protests increased as casualties mounted• Teach-In – teachers and students

abandoned classes and protested war• Exemptions to the draft seen as

impacting the poor and minorities unfairly• Black casualties protested by MLK• Many young men resisted the draft or

fled to Canada or Sweden• Hawks: pro-war / Doves: anti-war

• 1968 – The Turning Point• Tet Offensive

Massive surprise attack on South Vietnam by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army units

All major cities attacked Communists executed thousands of South

Vietnamese leaders, teachers, and foreigners

Tet was military defeat for Communists but huge propaganda victory

Mainstream media in US turned against the war

President Johnson’s popularity plummeted US soldier carrying wounded comrade during Tet Offensive

• Election of 1968 Senator Eugene McCarthy entered

Democratic primary – “peace” candidate

Robert Kennedy also entered race Johnson declined to run for another

term Robert Kennedy and MLK assassinated Violent protests staged at the

Democratic Primary in Chicago Hubert Humphrey (VP) won

nomination

Robert F. Kennedy dying on hotel kitchen floor

Martin Luther King Jr. dead on the balcony of his motel room

Richard Nixon won Republican nomination

Third Party nominee George Wallace (Segregationist)

Nixon pledged to restore law and order and end Vietnam War

Nixon won election

Richard Nixon

George WallaceHubert Humphrey

• President Nixon appointed Henry Kissinger as his special assistant• Linkage - Kissinger tried to improve

relations with USSR and China to get support to end war • Vietnamization – Nixon policy of

arming South Vietnam so they could fight the war and US could withdraw troops• Nixon increased bombing of North

Vietnam and Cambodia President Nixon and his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger

• My Lai Massacre – US troops massacred ~200 South Vietnamese villagers• US invaded Cambodia to destroy

Communist Ho Chi Minh Trail• Many saw invasion as widening

of war – protests at Kent State University resulted in death of 4 students

Bodies of villagers at My Lai killed by US troops

• The Pentagon Papers Government documents leaked by

DOD worker Daniel Ellsberg Documents showed many in

Johnson administration questioned US involvement in Vietnam while publicly supporting it

Also showed government officials lied to the press and public

• Election of 1972 – Nixon won second term• Peace talks between US and North and

South Vietnam • Communists broke off talks – Nixon

conducted massive bombing of North Vietnam – Communists resumed talks

• US pulled combat troops out of Vietnam and promised continued military supply to South Vietnam

• North Vietnam invaded the South – US Congress refused to supply South Vietnam

• South Vietnam fell to Communists in April 1975

US helicopters evacuate US and select South Vietnamese personnel from Saigon as the city falls to the North Vietnamese Army

• Aftermath Vietnam War cost billions of dollars ~58,000 US deaths About one million Vietnamese deaths (South

and North) not including civilians Changed way US looked at war Congress passed War Powers Act – President

must inform Congress of troop commitment w/in 48 hours and withdraw troops w/in 60-90 days

US citizens more cynical about government ~250,000 South Vietnamese killed by

Communists after war About two million Vietnamese “boat people”

fled Vietnam

About a million South Vietnamese flee the Communist government by boat. Thousands drown or are murdered by Cambodian pirates

Fighting soldiers from the sky Fearless men who jump and die Men who mean just what they say The brave men of the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chest These are men, America's best One hundred men will test today But only three win the Green Beret

Trained to live off nature's land Trained in combat, hand-to-hand Men who fight by night and day Courage peak from the Green Berets

Silver wings upon their chest These are men, America's best One hundred men will test today But only three win the Green Beret Back at home a young wife waits Her Green Beret has met his fate He has died for those oppressed Leaving her his last request

Put silver wings on my son's chest Make him one of America's best He'll be a man they'll test one day Have him win the Green Beret.

Ballad of the Green Beret – Sergeant Barry Sadler

Well, come on all of you, big strong men,Uncle Sam needs your help again.He's got himself in a terrible jamWay down yonder in VietnamSo put down your books and pick up a gun,We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it's one, two, three,What are we fighting for?Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,Next stop is Vietnam;And it's five, six, seven,Open up the pearly gates,Well there ain't no time to wonder why,Whoopee! We're all gonna die.

Come on Wall Street, don't be slow,Why man, this is war au-go-goThere's plenty good money to be madeBy supplying the Army with the tools of it's trade,But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,They drop it on the Viet Cong.

And it's one, two, three,What are we fighting for?Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,Next stop is Vietnam.And it's five, six, seven,Open up the pearly gates,Well there ain't no time to wonder whyWhoopee! We're all gonna die.

Fixin’ to Die Rag – Country Joe McDonald & the Fish

Well, come on generals, let's move fast;Your big chance has come at last.Now you can go out and get those reds'Cause the only good commie is the one that's deadAnd you know that peace can only be wonWhen we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

And it's one, two, three,What are we fighting for?Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,Next stop is Vietnam;And it's five, six, seven,Open up the pearly gates,Well there ain't no time to wonder whyWhoopee! We're all gonna die.

Come on mothers throughout the land,Pack your boys off to Vietnam.Come on fathers, and don't hesitateTo send your sons off before it's too late.You can be the first ones in your blockTo have your boy come home in a box.

And it's one, two, threeWhat are we fighting for ?Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,Next stop is Vietnam.And it's five, six, seven,Open up the pearly gates,Well there ain't no time to wonder why,Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

We met as soul mates on Parris IslandWe left as inmates from an asylumAnd we were sharp, as sharp as knivesAnd we were so gung ho to lay down our lives

We came in spastic like tameless horsesWe left in plastic as numbered corpsesAnd we learned fast to travel lightOur arms were heavy but our bellies were tight

We had no home front, we had no soft soapThey sent us Playboy, they gave us Bob HopeWe dug in deep and shot on sightAnd prayed to Jesus Christ with all our might

We had no cameras to shoot the landscapeWe passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapesAnd it was dark, so dark at nightAnd we held on to each otherLike brother to brotherWe promised our mothers we'd write

Goodnight Saigon – Billy Joel

And we would all go down togetherWe said we'd all go down togetherYes we would all go down together

Remember Charlie, remember BakerThey left their childhood on every acreAnd who was wrong? And who was right?It didn't matter in the thick of the fightWe held the day in the palm of our hand

They ruled the night, and the nightSeemed to last as long as six weeksOn Parris IslandWe held the coastline, they held the highlands

And they were sharp, as sharp as knivesThey heard the hum of our motorsThey counted the rotorsAnd waited for us to arrive

And we would all go down togetherWe said we'd all go down togetherYes we would all go down together

• “Ballad of the Green Beret” – 1966 Pro or anti- war? Public opinion?

• “Fixin’ to Die Rag” – 1967 Pro or anti-war? Public opinion?

• “Goodnight Saigon” – 1982 Pro or anti-war? What was message?