Vietnam War: Retaliation to Tet Offensive/ My Lai Massacre

May 9, 2013

January 31, 1968: Tet Offensive• Over 1,500 Americans killed• Response: Americans bitter

1. No large scale battles2. Went against cease-fire

• U.S. looking for Vietcong– In past: many U.S. killed/ injured by Vietcong

posing as civilians• U.S. troops target South Vietnam villages that

“sympathize” with Vietcong• Told to: burn homes; kill livestock; destroy cropsCharlie Company• Previously: Suffered 30 attacks by Vietcong• Many wounded; 5 deaths• Approach village in My Lai

– Debate orders– Suspect EVERYONE of conspiring with Vietcong

• NO Vietcong soldiers or weapons

March 16, 1968: My Lai Massacre• U.S. Troops murder Vietnamese civilians

– Men, women, AND children– Sexually assaulted; mutilated; tortured

• Killed EVERYONE in the village• Burned village/ no evidence• NOT every soldier in Charlie Company committed killings• After attack…Newspapers in U.S. read:

– 128 Vietcong; 22 civilians killed– Charlie Company congratulated

• Soldiers who did NOT murder “blow whistle” on what happened in My Lai

• 14 soldiers on trial– Claim take orders of Lieutenant

• Lieutenant sentenced to life in prison– Only 4 ½ months in military prison

• U.S. count 347 dead; Vietnam claim 504 killed• Reminder: Soldier no regard for human life

Getting out of VietnamMay 15, 2013

• January 1968: Tet Offensive• March 1968: My Lai Massacre• April 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated• June 1968: Robert Kennedy assassinated• November 1968: Nixon elected presidentNixon’s Goal: Get U.S. out of Vietnam

– Peace with Honor1969: Vietnamization• U.S. gradually remove troops

– Let South Vietnam troops fight own battles1970: Nixon sick of waiting for peace• Bomb Ho Chi Minh Trail (trail that supplied Vietcong)

– 3 million tons of bombs dropped (hit Laos/ Cambodia)

• Americans outraged the war NOT over• May 1970: Kent State University

– Anti-Vietnam War protest– Students throw rocks/ bottles at Nat’l Guard– 4 students shot dead

• 1971: 2/3 Americans want troops withdrawn– Even if Communists take over

• Nixon needs to get out of Vietnam to win re-election• October 1972: U.S. & North Vietnam begin PEACE talks

again• November 1972 Election: Nixon wins re-election• January 1973: Cease fire signed (no fight)

– POWs returned (550)• March 29, 1973: last troops leave

• Advisors/ contractors stay in South Vietnam• January 1974: North Vietnam rebuild military & invade

South Vietnam• Goes against Cease-Fire

• April 29, 1975: In 18 hours, U.S. airlift 1,000 Americans & 7,000 South Vietnamese refugees out of Vietnam

• April 30, 1975: North Vietnam takes over South Vietnam• Vietnam is UNIFIED and COMMUNIST

• Death Toll– U.S. – 58,000 (300,000 injured)– Vietnam – 2 million dead

• Did Communism Spread???– Yes (but not as bad as thought)– Laos and Cambodia turn comm.

• No appreciation to returning troops– No warmth/ No parades– Physical/ psychological issues

– Post Traumatic Stress: severe anxiety after witnessing traumatic event

• $$$ + Death Toll = Distrust in Gov’t• War Powers Act: President must consult

Congress within 48 hours if send troops to foreign conflict

• Americans want No Foreign INVOLVEMENT– Don’t want another “Vietnam”