The Vietnam War by Megan Wang28

Operation Rolling Thunder (Mar. 1965)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-06 01:38:53 UTC

Operation Rolling Thunder was a U.S. bombing campaign that bombed North Vietnam during the middle of the Vietnam war.

It was caused by the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) suffering many defeats in their battles against the VC (Viet Cong; the communists). Because of this, the VC decided to aim for the U.S military that was in the South, which caused the U.S to become concerned and bomb the North in 1965. However, the bombing didn't end up doing much to the North because most of their resources came from their allies.

By 1966, the number of U.S bombs dropped in the North became greater than the number of bombs dropped by the U.S in Japan during WW2.

Remembering Vietnam Exhibit (Nov. 2017 - Feb. 2019)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-06 01:48:04 UTC

The Remembering Vietnam Exhibit was in the National Archives museum in Washington D.C. The exhibit included information about the “12 critical episodes in the Vietnam War,” an interactive section to help people learn southeast asian geography and the domino theory, audio of excerpts from U.S government conversations from the war, videos of interviewed people who were related to the war, photos and documents from the Paris Peace Accords, and a legacy section with items left at the Vietnam War Memorial.

The Secret War in Cambodia & Laos (1964-1973)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-06 18:49:16 UTC

During the Secret War in Cambodia and Laos, the U.S. Air force dispersed a LOT of Agent Orange, a herbicide used to kill plants, into the dense forests of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in order to get a clearer view of the North Vietnamese soldiers who were hiding in them. This caused serious destruction to the forests and it also caused severe bad health conditions to the people who were exposed to the Agent Orange.

Tet Offensive (Jan. 1968)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-06 20:47:24 UTC

In 1967, the communists wanted to defeat the U.S. and the South and win the war, so they planned the Tet Offensive on the Lunar New Year. They started launching many small attacks on some smaller cities such as Khe Sanh to divert the U.S. troops away from their real targets, which were the more major cities and capitals.

At first, their plan worked. They gained a significant amount of power over the South. Then, the U.S and the South caught on with the distraction and overthrew the communists.

Fall of Saigon (Apr. 1975)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-06 21:08:57 UTC

In 1975, when the North launched an attack on the South, the South Vietnamese military was unable to hold them off anymore and they surrendered. The remaining U.S. soldiers escaped along with some South Vietnamese.

In 1976, Vietnam became a communist country and it's still communist to this day.

The Paris Peace Accords (Jan. 1973)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-07 14:29:19 UTC

The Paris Peace Accords was an agreement made by the U.S, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam in 1973. The agreement was that all U.S. troops would completely withdraw, all PoWs (prisoners of war) would be released, there would be peace in Vietnam, and the 17th parallel would remain.

U.S. Anti-war Protests (1964 - Mar. 1973)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-07 16:45:20 UTC

The U.S. anti-war protests began in 1967 when more and more Americans started disapproving the war, until over half of them were against the choices of the U.S. government. They wanted the war to end because the civilians of Vietnam were getting harmed and the war wasn't the U.S.'s problem.

The French Indochina War (Dec. 1946 - May 1954)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-07 16:59:32 UTC

The French Indochina war was a war between France and the Viet Minh (a group of communists) where the Viet Minh was trying to gain independence from France. After 8 years of war, France lost to Viet Minh during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

This war also caused the Geneva Accords, which set the 17th parallel as a line that divided North Vietnam from South Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Aug. 1964)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-08 02:44:48 UTC

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was a resolution that allowed President Johnson to be able to do whatever he felt was necessary in Southeast Asia.

It was caused by the attack on the USS Maddox by North Vietnamese waships because they assumed that the USS Maddox had raided them, when it was actually the South Vietnamese warships that raided them. The U.S. sent another ship called the Turner Joy, but that got attacked as well. Therefore, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was made to ensure that the North wasn't attacking when they weren't supposed to.

Vietnamization (Jan. 1969)

mxwang28_2 — 2023-11-08 02:47:09 UTC

Vietnamization was program where the U.S. troops that were in the South would start withdrawing so that South Vietnam could take on all the military responsibilities and so that it would be more peaceful.