VietnamAmerica shows up
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Robert McNamara, President
Johnson’s Sec. Def. advises that U.S. should step up it’s commitment in SE Asia
A U.S. Destroyer is sent off the coast of Vietnam, the U.S.S. Maddox
The Maddox was supporting S. Vietnamese operations on N. Vietnamese coastline
Sonar operators mistook signals as torpedoes & reported being attacked
The Report
Johnson’s reaction to Tonkin Pres. Johnson asked
Congress to authorize military force to keep this from happening again
U.S. Troops began arriving in Vietnam in 1964
7th Fleet steams into the Gulf of Tonkin – “Yankee Station” air strikes begin
Operation Rolling Thunder Bombing Campaign of North
Vietnam Targeted the Ho Chi Minh
Trail, a series of supply routes from the North to South Vietnam
Industrial centers & harbors were “off limits”
Chemical warfare – defoliants were sprayed – “Agent Orange”
1964 to 1967 U.S. troop strength went from
185K to 486K Many U.S. victories give the
American public confidence in the war & is widely supported at home
By the end of 1967, very little seemed to have been accomplished
“The average age was 19” Soldiers in Vietnam spent 13
months “in country” First war where soldiers
rotated in and out as single elements – units no longer shipped together
The average U.S. Soldier was less educated, younger, & Poorer
No real “front line”, you could be hit anywhere at anytime
The Media in Vietnam Vietnam was the first
“televised war”, people would tune in every night & watch the war
Overall public opinion was made from the numerous news reports
The Tet Offensive February 1968, N. Vietnam
springs the most & least effective strike
Least effective: no real damage done
Most effective: It showed that no where in Vietnam was safe for anyone at anytime
Every major urban center in S. Vietnam was hit by Viet Cong fighters
Khe Sanh: a USMC “Alamo” Khe Sanh was a village near
the DMZ U.S. Military forces (Army &
USMC) made fire bases on hill tops to protect civilian villages
Khe Sanh: 77 day siege, U.S. Marines & Army hold a strategic crossroads keeping infiltrators from Laos out
The odds of surviving were slim
Khe Sanh
Khe Sanh: Importance 5,000 USMC up against
20,000 to 40,000 NVA (North Vietnamese Army)
General Westmorland wanted to lure the NVA into a major attack to crush them using the USMC as bait
The siege lasted 77 days
Capturing the images of Khe Sanh Robert Ellison was killed
during one of many rocket
attacks. He was serving with the
Marines