The Vietnam

War Years 1960)

(Early
By Danesha Prewitt

Crowder 4th
 What is the Vietnam
War?
 The Vietnam War, also known as the
Second Indochina War, is a military
struggle fought in Vietnam from 1959 to
1975. It involves the North Vietnamese
and the National Liberation Front in
conflict with the United States forces and
the South Vietnamese army.
 Where It Took Place

The Vietnam War

was fought mainly
in North and South
Vietnam from
1957
to 1975. Troops
also battled in
Laos and
Cambodia, and U.S
pilots flew
missions from
basses in Thailand.
 President Lyndon B. Johnson
 He was the thirty-
sixth president of the
United States of
America from 1963
to 1969. He began
the American
involvement in the
Vietnam War that
escalated from
16,000 American
soldiers in 1963 to to
550,000 in early
1968.
 President of Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh)
 He was a Vietnamese
revolutionary and
the President of
North Vietnam from
1946 to 1969. He
led the North
Vietnamese in the
Vietnam War until
his death in 1969.
Important people of the Vietnam War
(Ngo Dinh Diem)
 He was the first
President of South
Vietnam from 1955 to
1963. He established
the new government
called the Republic
of Vietnam. In the
Vietnam War, he was
helped the United
States.
 Vietnam War

Timeline
1957- The Viet Cong began to rebel against the South Vietnamese government headed by
President Ngo Dinh Ngo Diem.
 1963- (November 1) South Vietnamese generals overthrew the Diem government, and
Diem was killed the next day.
 1964- (August 7) Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which gave the President
power to take “all necessary measures” and “to prevent further
 aggression"
1965- (March 6) President Lyndon B. Johnson sent U.S. troops would begin to withdraw
from Vietnam.
 1968- (January 30) North Vietnam and Viet Cong launched a major campaign against
South Vietnamese cities.
 1969- (June 8) President Richard M. Nixon announced that U.S troops would begin to
withdraw from Vietnam.
 1973- (January 27) The United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Viet Cong signed
a cease-fire agreement.
 1973- (March 29) The last U.S ground troops left Vietnam.
 1975- (April 30) South Vietnam surrendered.
 The Beginnings of the Vietnam War
 The Vietnam War first began in 1959, five years after
the division of the country by the Geneva Accords.
Vietnam, a country in South Asia, had been split into
two, with a communist government in the north under
Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the
south under Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho launched a guerilla
campaign in South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units,
with the goal of uniting the country under communist
rule. The United States, seeking to stop the spread of
communism, trained the Army of the Republic of
Vietnam (ARVN) and provided military advisors to help
combat the guerillas.
What happened during the Vietnam
War?
A communist guerilla force known as the
Vietcong were trying to spread communism
throughout the world. They decided that they
should invade to spread their form of
government. The United States entered and
then it became known as a war. In August
1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked
the U.S. destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of
Tonkin. U.S. Navy planes striked back by
bombing targets in North Vietnam.
 The Causes of the Vietnam
War
The causes of the Vietnam War trace their roots
back to the end of World War II. A French
colony, Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia)
had been occupied by the Japanese during the
war. In 1941, a Vietnamese nationalist
movement, the Viet Minh, was formed by Ho Chi
Minh to resist the occupiers. A communist, Ho
Chi Minh waged a guerilla war against the
Japanese with the support of the United States.
Near the end of the war, the Japanese began to
promote Vietnamese nationalism and ultimately
granted the country nominal independence
 Vietnam War
Visual
 This is a picture of
the U.S.
paratroopers
carrying a wounded
soldier to an
ambulance
helicopter during
the Vietnam War,
1965.
 Why did the US get involved?
 The reasons for the United States to get
involved in the Vietnam War was to
prevent a Communist takeover in the
south. The U.S supported President Diem
with money, military guidance, and advice.
The Vietnam War is known longest and
most unpopular war that Americans had
ever fought.
 The Ending of the War
 In December 1974, the North Vietnamese
began their final campaign which led to
the surrender of the South Vietnamese
government, under President Duong van
Minh. In 1976 the country was united
under Communist rule. The Vietnam War
concluded with the withdrawal of the
American troops and the failure of its
foreign policy in Vietnam.
 Sources

 The Vietnam War." Wikipedia. 1 May 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vietnam_War>.
 Ho Chi Minh." Wikipedia. 6 May 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh>.
 Lyndon B. Johnson." Wikipedia. 6 May 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson
 "Vietnam War." MSN Encarta. 6 May 2008
<http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552642/Vietnam_War.ht
ml>.
 Vietnam War History." Vietnam War. 6 May 2008
http://www.vietnamwar.com/warhistory.htm
 The Lasting Effects
 Over 1.4 million military troops were killed
and it cost the lives of 58,000 Americans.
On April 30, 1975 the capital of South
Vietnam, Saigon, fell to the communist
forces of North Vietnam effectively ending
the war in 1975.
 Primary
Source
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/p

 A letter from Kennedy to Ngo Dinh Diem

about agreeing to help protect the
Republic of Vietnam protect its people and
gain its Independence on December 14,
1961.