Vietnam War

Ho Chi MinhLeader of Vietminh, later Communists

How did U.S. get involved?

• Vietnam – colony of France late 1800s to WWII

• WWII

– Japanese invaded

– U.S. supported Vietminh against Japanese

• Vietnamese want independence

How did U.S. get involved?• After WWII

– Ho Chi Minh declares the country:

“Democratic Republic of Vietnam”

– Communist government – in North

– U.S. & France won’t officially recognize

• France wants its colony back

• U.S. doesn’t want communism

– U.S. Goal: Containment

– Soviets, Chinese support North Vietnam

How did U.S. get involved?

• As China and Soviets increase support to Vietminh in North . . .

• Stage set for battle between French & Vietminh

• French take over South, with huge military & economic aid from U.S. – U.S. pays for most of France’s war. Why?

Domino Theory• Meanwhile . . .

– USSR – Communist

– N. Korea – Communist

– China – Communist

– N. Vietnam -Communist

• Domino Theory

– If one country in Indochina goes, they’ll all fall to communism

French Indochina War• By 1950 – French control major cities

• Not countryside

– Guerilla warfare• Hide – Jungle & Villages

• Hit & Run

• Underground tunnels & rooms

• Simple weapons

– Can’t kill an enemy you can’t see

French Defeated• Pacification Strategy

– Win over villages to eliminate support of guerillas

– Becomes “whack-a-mole” game

• French underestimated Vietminh

• Last battle – Dien Bien Phu – May 1954

Vietnam Divided• July 1954 Geneva Accords – peace

agreement• Divides Vietnam at 17th parallel temporarily

• Elections scheduled for 1956 to reunify• Ho Chi Minh – Controls North from Hanoi

• Ngo Dinh Diem – Leader in the South from Saigon

South Vietnam under Diem• Corrupt, unpopular w/peasants

• Won’t hold agreed upon elections to reunify country - 1956

• Relocations to “strategic hamlets”

• Forces Buddhists to obey Catholic laws - monks burn selves in protest

– Shocks world – especially Americans

Ngo Dinh Diem

Buddhist Monks Protest

End of Diem Reign

• Kennedy gives up on Diem as leader• Supports a military coup – Nov.

1963• Diem assassinated• U.S. now intricately involved• Series of unsuccessful, unpopular

leaders

Gulf of Tonkin Incident & Resolution• August 1964 - U.S.S. Maddox said fired

upon by North Vietnamese gunboats– Later retracted it

• President Johnson asks Congress for broad powers to “protect U.S. interests”

• Congress passes Resolution• By 1967, 500,000 US soldiers in Vietnam fighting• By June, Operation Rolling Thunder – sustained bombing of North Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution• Congress issues

Resolution– “take all necessary

measures to repel any armed attack against U.S. forces”

– Never declared war– U.S. fully engaged in

battle

Who’s who?

• ARVN-Army of the Republic of Vietnam – The South Vietnamese Military

• NVA-North Vietnamese Army – the North Vietnamese Military

• Vietcong – live in South VN, but on the side of the North. Look like civilians, but are plotting attacks against US & S. VN – aka National Liberation Front

US & ARVN soldiers

NVA soldiers

Vietcong soldiers

Who’s Who?

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

Secretary of State Dean Rusk

Commanding Officer in Vietnam

General Westmoreland

Guerilla Warfare• No “Front Line”

• Sneak attacks

• Booby traps everywhere

Punji traps

Land mines

Guerilla Warfare – Land Mines• Used by both sides

– VC disassembled and reused U.S. mines– Buried them on pathways/roads used by US

• Today: 3.5 million armed mines remain in VN– 160 casualties per month

• 1997 Mine Ban Treaty– Eliminated production/use of these mines– By 2000 – 139 nations agreed– NOT U.S., China, or Russia

• U.S. gives $$millions to clearing mines

Guerilla Warfare -Tunnel Network

“The more the US tried to drive us from our land, the more we burrowed into it.” VC Major

• Fighting bases, provided continuous support to troops• 200 miles at Cu Chi• Trapdoors for access everywhere• Some openings under water• Arms factories, wells, medical areas, kitchens• Hidden firing posts for offensive attacks

How did U.S. Fight Guerilla Warfare?• War of Attrition

– Wear them down, kill enough to make them give up – Leads to “Body Count”

• Winning “Hearts & Minds” – Similar to Pacification Strategy – make nice– “Search & Destroy” enemies bases in villages– “Zippo Missions” - Burned villages & livestock,

uprooted civilians – Search & Clear - Find enemy amongst civilians and

clear them out through attacks – causes >3 million S. Vietnamese refugees

How did U.S. fight Guerilla warfare?

• B52 Bombers– Smashed roads,

bridges– Saturation bombing –

tons over large areasBomb craters today

Helicopters• For the 1st time,

helicopters are used to carry out missions in a war

• They drop troops off in Landing Zone (LZ) & pick them up after the mission

• Most were Hueys

How did U.S. fight Guerilla warfare?• Fragmentation Bombs

– Thick metal in all directions

– Penetrates people, light armored vehicles• Grenade-like balls • Carries 200,000 steel

fragments, small metal darts

• Some cover size of football field

How did U.S. Fight Guerilla Warfare?

• Today, some still unexploded

• Colorful design attracts kids

Napalm• Jelly-like substance mixed with gasoline

• Sticks to whatever it touches and burns

Trang BangVillage

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Lasting Effects of Napalm

• Peace Activist

• Forgiven, but not forgotten

• Publicly pardoned person who dropped napalm on her village

• Dedicated her life to promoting peace

Kim Phuc Phan Thi

Agent Orange• Herbicide

– Kills leaves, thick vegetation

– Dropped by planes

– 20 million gallons over 6 million acres by ‘72

– Expose VC hiding spots

– Later - health problems in people, animals• Birth defects• Cancer• Skin conditions

War Proves FrustratingUS Major:

“We had to destroy the town to save it.”

McNamara :

“If I had known they could take this much punishment and fight this well, I would have

thought differently at the start.”

• US saw war as a military struggle

• Vietnamese saw it as battle for their existence. They would pay any price to win

• Meanwhile, morale and support for war are sinking

War Begins to Divide Country• TV images conflict with US

government’s war reports

• Creates “credibility gap” for Johnson• Fulbright Hearings contribute to doubts

• By 1967 Americans evenly split in support & opposition of war

–American youth begin protesting

Working-Class War• Draft - Began with all men 18-26

– Deferments

• Medical - some local draft boards more lenient than others

• Attending University

• National Guard, Coast Guard

• Later, must be student in “good standing” – leads to more protests

Poor Man’s War• Only wealthy could afford college

• Wealthy had connections to doctors, National Guard, etc.

• 80% of soldiers from lower economic levels

• African Americans – used on ground more

– 20% of combat deaths

– Yet, represented only 10% of population

• MLK speaks out against war

• Great Society falls by the wayside

1969 - Draft Lottery• Each day of year in blue

plastic capsules• Represented birthdays• 366 capsules in large glass jar• Drawn one at a time• Each assigned a draft number• If your number was called,

you were drafted• Lower than 196 - drafted

Eliminated deferments for marriage, college students

Draft Resistance

• Many avoided draft

• Fled to Canada, Sweden, other countries– Estimated 100,000

• Protest movement

– Burning draft cards

“Fortunate Son”

By Creedence Clearwater Revival

Protest Movement• New Left (Old Left = Socialism, Communism; New =

bring sweeping changes to America)

– Students for Democratic Society (SDS)

• Founded by Tom Hayden, Al Haber

• Hayden UM “Michigan Daily” Editor–Free Speech Movement

•University of California – Berkley

–Ideas spread at U.S. Universities

–Came together around War

Tom Hayden & Jane Fonda

“Hanoi Jane”

Jane Fonda sitting on a seat of an anti-aircraft gun

Jane Fonda looking admiringly at an NVA gun

crew

Protest Movement• SDS organized marches

on Washington D.C.– Burned draft cards

• 1965 UofM teach-ins• Professors taught about

war through the night

• 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention

Country Divided• Hawks

–Use full military force

• Doves–Get out of Vietnam

–Said it’s Civil War

–South no better than North

Protest Movement Grows• Many musicians write protest songs

– Joan Baez– Peter, Paul & Mary– Bob Dylan– Creedence Clearwater Revival– John Lennon– Phil Ochs– Pete Seeger– Country Joe & The Fish

1968 – A Pivotal Year• Nov. 1967 - McNamara resigns

– Clark Clifford – New Sec of Defense

• Quickly determines war is not winnable

• Johnson won’t seek reelection

– Troops feel demoralized

• April 4 – Dr. Martin L. King assassinated

– Cities erupt in riots

• June 5 – Robert Kennedy assassinated– just won CA Democratic primary race

1968 – A Pivotal Year

• Jan. 30 – Tet Offensive

–VN New Year – week long truce

–Celebrators stream into cities, funerals

–Weapons in coffins; Vietcong among civilians

–Surprise attack in >100 cities

1968 – A Pivotal Year

• Jan. 30 – Tet Offensive

–Month-long battle

–Heaviest U.S. casualties

–Public opinion turns against the war• VC & North Vietnamese Army (NVA) are stronger than U.S. government has said

–Widens the “credibility gap”

1968 Election: Democratic Nat’l Convention• Humphrey (Johnson’s VP) most likely pick for Democratic candidate• 10,000 protesters – led by SDS – want Senator Eugene McCarthy, or other anti-war politicians• Riots break out at Chicago Convention

• Splits the Democratic Party• People shocked by chaos on TV•Helps Republicans win election

Election Results

• Republican Richard Nixon beats Humphrey by close margin on popular vote

• 3rd Party Candidate – George Wallace takes 46 electoral votes– Racist Alabama Gov.,

segregationist

Withdrawal from Vietnam• Nixon & Henry Kissinger “Vietnamization”

– Kissinger, National Security Advisor– June 1969 - Remove U.S. forces – Replace with South Vietnamese soldiers

• “Peace with Honor”– Provides a way to pull out w/o losing dignity or

looking weak on Communism

• Nixon looks for support from “Silent Majority”

• Secretly bombs Laos & Cambodia

My Lai Massacre

My Lai • Nov ‘69 Americans learned of 1968 massacre• One GI wrote to President , Joint Chiefs, Sec of

Defense• US Platoon, Lieutenant William Calley, Jr• Searching for VC rebels in village• Found none, rounded up 200 villagers – men,

women, children, seniors• Fired upon them – said they were “following orders”• 25 officers charged, only Calley convicted and sent

to prison – reduced to 3.5 years house arrest

Calley’s Defense

• "I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy. That was my job that day. That was the mission I was given. I did not sit down and think in terms of men, women and children. They were all classified as the same, and that's the classification that we dealt with over there, just as the enemy. I felt then and I still do that I acted as I was directed, and I carried out the order that I was given and I do not feel wrong in doing so."

Kent State University• 1970 – war appears to be winding down,

then …

• U.S. soldiers invade Cambodia

– Ignites protests at Universities

– Kent State, in Ohio

• Students burn ROTC building

• 4 students killed, 9 wounded by National Guard (2 killed – not in protest)

“Ohio”

By Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Students set ROTC Building on Fire

National Guard in front of BurnedROTC Building

Students Gather in Protest

Jeffrey Miller (white shirt) is killed shortly after this picture

Guards ascend the commons

Guards fire tear gas to disperse students

Alan Canfora takes on National Guard

Several students on hill are shot

Joe Lewis - Dead

John Cleary - Wounded

Jeffrey Miller - Dead

15-Year Old Mary Veechio Cries for Help

“Signs, Signs, Everywhere

There’s Signs”

“Ohio”

By Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Country Continues to Divide

• Jackson State in Mississippi

– National Guard fires on crowd of students

– 12 wounded

– 2 killed – innocent bystanders

– Surveys showed many Americans supported Nat’l Guard

• “Students got what they deserved”

• “Hard Hats” demonstrate in support of gov’t

Ending America’s Involvement• Nixon loses support after bombing,

invasion of Cambodia

– From Congress as well as Americans

• Dec. 31, 1970 – Congress repeals Tonkin Gulf Resolution

• June 1971 – Daniel Ellsberg leaks “Pentagon Papers”– Revealed Johnson’s plans to conduct war in Vietnam

even as he promised not to send troops there– Also showed there was no plan to end the war

Ending US Involvement

• Pentagon Papers– They also showed that Truman

had funded France’s war there– Eisenhower was directly involved in stopping

the 1956 elections

• Nixon tried very hard to prevent them from being published, but lost. New York Times published them in a series of articles

• Result: Americans lost some confidence in US government

Daniel Ellsberg

America’s Longest War Ends• Paris Peace Talks dragging on

• Nixon faces reelection 1972

• By mid-1972 – 60% of Americans want to pull out of Vietnam

• Days before election - Kissinger announces

“Peace is at Hand”

• Nixon reelected

• Peace talks break down – Nixon orders Christmas bombing of Hanoi & Haiphong

America’s Longest War Ends• Congress and other countries call for an end

• Peace talks resume – “Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam”– NVA can stay in South Vietnam, but a cease-fire– Any violation of agreement – US will respond

with full force– US troops leave Vietnam - 1973– By March 1975, North completely invades the

South– US refuses to send troops, only $$$

Fall of Saigon

Legacy of War – U.S.• 3.3 million served, 58,000 US killed. 303,000

wounded

• Veterans treated very badly – no parades– “Baby killers”– Spit on, shunned– 15% have PTSD, drug & alcohol abuse

• Americans more cynical towards gov’t

• Draft abolished

• 1973 War Powers Act – more restrictions on President when he sends troops

• Vietnam Veterans Memorial built in 1982

“The Wall”

Legacy of War - Vietnam• More than 2 million Vietnamese killed

• 400,000 imprisoned by NVA for “reeducation”

• 1.5 million fled as refugees

• Poor people left as “boat people” – about 50,000 lost at sea

• US invasion of Cambodia sparked civil war – Khmer Rouge – communist party– Executed all professionals, anyone educated, and

those with foreign ties– Reign of terror – killed at least 1 million