Vietnam war. Almanac

287 Pages·2000·4.675 MB·English

by  Kevin Hillstrom

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Vietnam War
Almanac
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Vietnam War
Almanac
Kevin Hillstrom
and Laurie Collier
Hillstrom
Diane Sawinski, Editor
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c Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom
a
Staff
n
Diane Sawinski, U•X•L Senior Editor
a
Gerda-Ann Raffaelle, U•X•L Editor
m
Carol DeKane Nagel,U•X•L Managing Editor
Thomas L. Romig, U•X•L Publisher
l
A
Rita Wimberley, Senior Buyer
Dorothy Maki, Manufacturing Manager
:
r Evi Seoud, Assistant Manager, Composition Purchasing and Electronic Prepress
a
Mary Beth Trimper, Manager, Composition and Electronic Prepress
W
Sarah Tomasek, Permissions Specialist
Michelle DiMercurio, Senior Art Director
m
Kenn Zorn, Product Design Manager
a
Dean Dauphinais, Senior Editor, Imaging and Multimedia Content
n Pamela A. Reed, Imaging Coordinator
t Robert Duncan, Imaging Specialist
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Randy Bassett, Imaging Supervisor
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V Barbara J. Yarrow, Manager, Imaging and Multimedia Content
Linda Mahoney, LM Design, Typesetting
Laura Exner, XNR Productions, Inc., Cartographer
Cover photographs reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos
and Archive Photos, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hillstrom, Kevin, 1963–.
Vietnam War : Almanac / Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom ; Diane
Sawinski, editor.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7876-4883-3
1. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961–1975—Chronology—Juvenile literature.
2. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961–1975—Juvenile Literature. 3. Vietnamese Con-
flict, 1961–1975—United States—Juvenile literature. [1. Vietnamese Conflict,
1961–1975.] I. Hillstrom, Laurie Collier, 1965– II. Sawinski, Diane M. III, Title.
DS557.7 .H556 2001
959.704'3'0202—dc21
00-056379
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright
laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and
other applicable laws. The editors of this work have added value to the
underlying factual material herein through one or more of the following:
unique and original selection, coordination, expression, arrangement, and
classification of the information. All rights to this publication will be vigor-
ously defended.
Copyright © 2001 U•X•L, an imprint of The Gale Group
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part
in any form.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Reader’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Vietnam War Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
People to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv
Words to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix
Research and Activity Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxv
Chapter 1: Vietnam and French Colonialism . . . 1 Ho Chi Minh.
Location and Geography of Vietnam . . . . . . . 2 Reproduced by permission of
Rebellion Against Chinese Rule. . . . . . . . . . 4 Archive Photos.
An Independent Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Vietnam and European Colonialism . . . . . . . 6
Suspicious of French Influence . . . . . . . . . . 7
French Colonialism Arrives in Vietnam. . . . . . 8
Life in French-Controlled Vietnam . . . . . . . . 9
Organized Opposition to Colonialism . . . . . . 12
Japanese Occupation During World War II. . . . 14
Ho Chi Minh Takes Over . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
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France Looks to Reclaim Vietnam . . . . . . . . 18
French Forces Return to Vietnam . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 2: The Indochina War (1946–54) . . . . 23
Stalemate in the Early Years. . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Cold War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
United States Provides Active
Support to France . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
French Support for War Fades. . . . . . . . . . 29
Bao Dai.
American Aid Not Enough . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Reproduced by permission
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu. . . . . . . . . . . 32
of Archive Photos.
Chapter 3: Early American
Involvement in Vietnam (1954–62). . . . . . . . 37
The Division of Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Ngo Dinh Diem Becomes Leader
of South Vietnam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Diem’s Family Dominates Government . . . . . 41
Diem Establishes Republic of Vietnam. . . . . . 42
Violence in North Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Growing American Doubts About Diem . . . . . 45
Problems in the Countryside . . . . . . . . . . 48
Communists Mobilize Against Diem. . . . . . . 49
Kennedy Pledges Support. . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Mounting Criticism of Diem Government . . . . 53
United States Increases Military
and Financial Aid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Strategic Hamlets Program . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Increase Involvement or Withdraw?. . . . . . . 58
Chapter 4: The Fall of Diem (1963). . . . . . . . 61
Viet Cong Gains in the Countryside. . . . . . . 62
Battle of Ap Bac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
American Worries About Diem Continue . . . . 65
The Buddhist Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Buddhist Suicide Shocks the World . . . . . . . 67
Demonstrations Across South Vietnam . . . . . 69
Henry Cabot Lodge Arrives in Vietnam . . . . . 70
Diem’s Last Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
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Chapter 5:Lyndon Johnson and
the Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964) . . . . . . . . 75
The Assassination of Kennedy. . . . . . . . . . 76
Johnson and the “Great Society” . . . . . . . . 77
Continued Political Problems in Saigon . . . . . 78
Warnings of Collapse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Vietnam and the 1964 Presidential Election . . . 81
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident . . . . . . . . . . 82
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . 85
Attack Probably Never Happened . . . . . . . . 86
President Lyndon B.
Johnson Beats Goldwater. . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Johnson.
Johnson Prepares to Increase American
Reproduced by permission
Presence in Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 of Corbis-Bettman.
Chapter 6: Vietnam Becomes an
American War (1965–67) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Operation Rolling Thunder . . . . . . . . . . . 93
U.S. Combat Troops Arrive in Vietnam . . . . . 96
Westmoreland’s Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Continued Troubles in Saigon. . . . . . . . . . 98
Early American Successes . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
A Frustrating Enemy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Rural Vietnamese Trapped in Warfare. . . . . . 101
War Settles Into a Stalemate . . . . . . . . . . 103
Paying for Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Rise of the Antiwar Movement. . . . . . . . . 105
“McNamara’s War” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
State of the War in Late 1967 . . . . . . . . . 110
Chapter 7: The Tet Offensive (1968) . . . . . . 113
Defending Khe Sanh . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
The Tet Offensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Struggle for the South. . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The Battle for Hue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Tet: American Victory or Defeat?. . . . . . . . 122
The Siege of Khe Sanh. . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Clifford Evaluates the War Effort. . . . . . . . 125
Johnson and the Wise Men . . . . . . . . . . 126
Johnson Makes a Surprise Announcement . . . 127
King and Kennedy Assassinated . . . . . . . . 128
Nixon Wins the Presidency . . . . . . . . . . 129
Contents vii
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Chapter 8: The American
Antiwar Movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Scattered Voices Protest Early
U.S. Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Opposition Grows After U.S. Sends
Combat Troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
March on the Pentagon . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Trouble Within the Movement. . . . . . . . . 142
Democratic Presidential Convention
of 1968. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Reproduced by permission of Nixon and Vietnamization . . . . . . . . . . 144
the Library of Congress. Kent State Tragedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
United States Ends Involvement . . . . . . . . 148
Impact of the Antiwar Movement . . . . . . . 151
Chapter 9: The American Soldier
in Vietnam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
The Draft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
A “Working-Class” War . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
The Combat Soldier’s Experience
in Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Hours of Boredom and Seconds of Terror . . . . 165
U.S. Soldiers’ Feelings About
the Vietnamese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Atrocities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Decline in U.S. Morale and Performance . . . . 170
Desertions, Fraggings, and Drug Use . . . . . . 171
Strained Race Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Chapter 10: Coming Home: Vietnam
Veterans in American Society . . . . . . . . . . 175
A Chilly Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Veterans’ Views of the Antiwar Movement . . . 179
Difficulties Readjusting to
American Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome . . . . . . . . 182
Vietnam War veteran
Doubts About Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
returning home.
Reproduced by permission of Changing American Views
AP/World Wide Photos. Toward Veterans . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
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Chapter 11: The War’s Effect on
the Vietnamese Land and People . . . . . . . . 187
U.S. Bombing Destroys Farms and Forests. . . . 188
South Vietnamese People Become Refugees . . . 191
Transformation of Saigon . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Effects on the North. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Chapter 12: Nixon’s War . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Frustrating Negotiations With the North . . . . 200
Vietnamese flee fighting.
“Vietnamization”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Reproduced by permission of
The Secret Bombing of Cambodia . . . . . . . 205
AP/World Wide Photos.
The Death of Ho Chi Minh . . . . . . . . . . 206
Moratorium Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Nixon’s “Silent Majority” . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Nixon Approves Invasion of Cambodia. . . . . 209
Nationwide Protests Against Nixon. . . . . . . 211
Anger in Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
The My Lai Massacre Revealed . . . . . . . . . 214
Chapter 13: America Withdraws
from Vietnam (1971–73). . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
U.S. Military Performance Declines. . . . . . . 219
Heavy Losses in Laos . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Nixon’s Frustrations Grow. . . . . . . . . . . 224
The Pentagon Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Peace Talks Continue . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
The Easter Offensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
U.S. Air Power Smashes Advance. . . . . . . . 227
A Major Defeat for the North . . . . . . . . . 230
Return to the Negotiating Table . . . . . . . . 230
United States Launches
Christmas Bombing . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
The Paris Peace Accords . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Thieu Forced to Go Along . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Nixon’s Record in Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . 234
Chapter 14: Victory for North Vietnam . . . . . 237
Nixon’s Final Months . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Growing Problems in South Vietnam. . . . . . 241
U.S. Financial Support Drops . . . . . . . . . 242
Contents ix
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North Vietnam Plans a New Invasion. . . . . . 243
The Capture of Phuoc Long . . . . . . . . . . 244
The Attack on Ban Me Thuot . . . . . . . . . 244
The “Convoy of Tears” . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Northern Forces Continue Their Advance. . . . 246
The Battle of Xuan Loc . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
The Fall of Saigon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Cambodia Falls to Khmer Rouge . . . . . . . . 253
Communist Triumph in Laos . . . . . . . . . 254
Visitors at the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Wall. Chapter 15: Vietnam Since the War
Unknown source. (1976–Present) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam . . . . . . . 259
South Vietnamese Are “Re-Educated”. . . . . . 260
Socialist Reforms of Agriculture and Industry . . 263
The Crisis of the “Boat People”. . . . . . . . . 264
War Returns to Indochina . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Economic and Political Problems Grow. . . . . 268
The Doi MoiEconomic Reforms . . . . . . . . 268
Vietnam Resumes Diplomatic Relations With the
United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Vietnam Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Chapter 16: America Since the War
(1976–Present) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
American Self-Image and Vietnam . . . . . . . 278
A Disillusioned Country. . . . . . . . . . . . 279
American Veterans in the 1970s . . . . . . . . 280
Changing Attitudes Toward Veterans. . . . . . 282
The Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Americans Reconsider Vietnam . . . . . . . . 284
U.S. Foreign Policy After Vietnam . . . . . . . 285
Vietnam and the 1991 Persian Gulf War . . . . 287
Reaction to the Gulf War . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Reestablishing Diplomatic Ties
with Vietnam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Where to Learn More. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxix
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlv
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Reader’s Guide
V
ietnam War: Almanacpresents a comprehensive overview
of the Vietnam War. The volume’s sixteen chapters cover
all aspects of the conflict, from the reasons behind American
involvement, to the antiwar protests that rocked the nation, to
the fall of Saigon to Communist forces. The chapters are
arranged chronologically, beginning with Vietnam’s struggles
under French colonial rule, moving through early American
involvement into the war itself, and concluding with a look at
both the United States and Vietnam since the North Viet-
namese victory in 1975. Interspersed are four chapters that
cover the growth of the American antiwar movement, the
experiences of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, Vietnam veterans in
American society, and the effect of the war on Vietnam’s land
and people.
Each chapter of the Almanac includes “Words to
Know” and “People to Know” sections that define important
terms and individuals discussed in the chapter for easy refer-
ence. In addition, each chapter features informative sidebars
containing brief biographies, excerpts from memoirs and
important documents, and interesting facts about the issues
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