The Vietnam War was a bloody and horrifying conflict where more than 58,000 American soldiers and about two million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians died. Mortar attacks, air bombings, and gun battles, destroyed countless forests, farmlands, villages, and city neighborhoods in North and South Vietnam. As the war progressed, it took a great emotional toll on it's Vietnamese and American participants as they struggled to keep themselves, their comrades, and their families alive.
Most battles that were waged in Vietnam were violent gunfights between small groups of apposing soldiers. Both sides occasionally launched larger military campaigns. The most important and greatest of these major campaigns were called the Tet offensive. This large surprise attack by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army allies hit targets all over South Vietnam and American troops eventually pushed back the Communist attacks, delivering heavy casualties to enemy troops in the progress, the huge scale of the offensive convinced lots of disillusioned Americans that the war might continue for several more years. Following the Tet offensive, February 27, 1968, CBS newsman Walter Cronkite delivered an editorial from Vietnam, which he described the war as a bloody statement.
Throughout the Vietnam War, civilians and South Vietnamese farming families became caught in the middle of the battle for control of the country. Communist and the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies used threats and violence against peasants to gain the advantages. This caused terrible fear and suffering for Vietnamese families, many just wanted the war to end so they could return to their simple lives. In memoir 'When Heaven and Earth Changed Places,' a Vietnamese woman with the name of Le Ly Hayslip recalls what it felt like to grow up in such a dangerous environment.
When arriving in Vietnam, American soldiers found themselves in a strange land of swamps and dense jungles. Hot jungles and unfamiliar mountains of Vietnamese countryside hid dangers, from booby traps to snipers to bands of Viet Cong guerrillas. United States troops could never be sure whether the Vietnamese civilians they met were friendly to them or if they were the Communists that were trying to kill them. American soldiers became convinced and demoralized that they were risking their lives for a doomed cause. In 'A Runner of War,' Vietnam veteran, Philip Caputo, remembered all of the dangers of the war and the sorrow of losing friends in battle.
Thousands of American women went to Vietnam to care for the wounded soldiers and devastated peasant families. These women included civilian aid workers who helped run orphanages, schools, and hospitals in South Vietnam and the U.S nurses who cared for wounded soldiers.
During the Vietnam War, thousands of soldiers were captured by enemy soldiers. Most Americans who were taken prisoner of war (POWs) were pilots that were shot down in air attacks. According to the international rules of warfare, POWs are supposed to be treated humanely and given medical care and adequate food. Many American prisoners suffered and neared starvation.
In August 1964 the North Vietnamese attacked a U.S warship called the USS Maddoxin at the Gulf of Tonkin. Afterward, the U.S congress gave President Lyndon B. Johnson power to expand U.S role in war. By 1968 there were more than 500,000 U.S Troops in Vietnam. Small groups from Australia, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, and the Philippines helped the South Vietnamese, too. Communist governments of Soviet Union and China supported the Viet Cong and North Vietnam. United States warplanes dropped bombs on highways and bridges in North Vietnam. The United States bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail, too. U.S bombers were also bombing Hanoi and other North Vietnamese cities. February of 1968, during a holiday in Vietnam called Tet, communist attacked 30+ cities in South Vietnam. The Viet Cong suffered huge losses in these battles. Many U.S soldiers died, too. Some people in the U.S started thinking that the war couldn’t be won. Others protested the war.
In 1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson ended the bombing in North Vietnam. Peace talks began. In 1969, Nixon became President. He began removing U.S troops from Vietnam. He started bombing North Vietnam again. President Nixon expanded the war to other countries near North Vietnam. The South Vietnamese and U.S troops attacked the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese hiding places in Laos and Cambodia.
In January 1973, South and North Vietnam, the Viet Cong, and the U.S signed an agreement to stop fighting. The United States removed almost all of their troops from Vietnam. The war didn't end. The United States continued giving money and equipment to South Vietnam.
In August 1947 the U.S cut back on it's military aid to the South Vietnamese. The South Vietnamese army broke apart quickly after. In 1975 the North Vietnamese army launched a large invasion on South Vietnam.
On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon. The war was over, the Communist had won. In 1976, the Communist combined North and South Vietnam into one country, called Vietnam. Hanoi became the capital. Saigon was renamed as the Ho Chi Minh City, honoring Ho, who died in 1969.
Most battles that were waged in Vietnam were violent gunfights between small groups of apposing soldiers. Both sides occasionally launched larger military campaigns. The most important and greatest of these major campaigns were called the Tet offensive. This large surprise attack by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army allies hit targets all over South Vietnam and American troops eventually pushed back the Communist attacks, delivering heavy casualties to enemy troops in the progress, the huge scale of the offensive convinced lots of disillusioned Americans that the war might continue for several more years. Following the Tet offensive, February 27, 1968, CBS newsman Walter Cronkite delivered an editorial from Vietnam, which he described the war as a bloody statement.
Throughout the Vietnam War, civilians and South Vietnamese farming families became caught in the middle of the battle for control of the country. Communist and the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies used threats and violence against peasants to gain the advantages. This caused terrible fear and suffering for Vietnamese families, many just wanted the war to end so they could return to their simple lives. In memoir 'When Heaven and Earth Changed Places,' a Vietnamese woman with the name of Le Ly Hayslip recalls what it felt like to grow up in such a dangerous environment.
When arriving in Vietnam, American soldiers found themselves in a strange land of swamps and dense jungles. Hot jungles and unfamiliar mountains of Vietnamese countryside hid dangers, from booby traps to snipers to bands of Viet Cong guerrillas. United States troops could never be sure whether the Vietnamese civilians they met were friendly to them or if they were the Communists that were trying to kill them. American soldiers became convinced and demoralized that they were risking their lives for a doomed cause. In 'A Runner of War,' Vietnam veteran, Philip Caputo, remembered all of the dangers of the war and the sorrow of losing friends in battle.
Thousands of American women went to Vietnam to care for the wounded soldiers and devastated peasant families. These women included civilian aid workers who helped run orphanages, schools, and hospitals in South Vietnam and the U.S nurses who cared for wounded soldiers.
During the Vietnam War, thousands of soldiers were captured by enemy soldiers. Most Americans who were taken prisoner of war (POWs) were pilots that were shot down in air attacks. According to the international rules of warfare, POWs are supposed to be treated humanely and given medical care and adequate food. Many American prisoners suffered and neared starvation.
In August 1964 the North Vietnamese attacked a U.S warship called the USS Maddoxin at the Gulf of Tonkin. Afterward, the U.S congress gave President Lyndon B. Johnson power to expand U.S role in war. By 1968 there were more than 500,000 U.S Troops in Vietnam. Small groups from Australia, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, and the Philippines helped the South Vietnamese, too. Communist governments of Soviet Union and China supported the Viet Cong and North Vietnam. United States warplanes dropped bombs on highways and bridges in North Vietnam. The United States bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail, too. U.S bombers were also bombing Hanoi and other North Vietnamese cities. February of 1968, during a holiday in Vietnam called Tet, communist attacked 30+ cities in South Vietnam. The Viet Cong suffered huge losses in these battles. Many U.S soldiers died, too. Some people in the U.S started thinking that the war couldn’t be won. Others protested the war.
In 1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson ended the bombing in North Vietnam. Peace talks began. In 1969, Nixon became President. He began removing U.S troops from Vietnam. He started bombing North Vietnam again. President Nixon expanded the war to other countries near North Vietnam. The South Vietnamese and U.S troops attacked the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese hiding places in Laos and Cambodia.
In January 1973, South and North Vietnam, the Viet Cong, and the U.S signed an agreement to stop fighting. The United States removed almost all of their troops from Vietnam. The war didn't end. The United States continued giving money and equipment to South Vietnam.
In August 1947 the U.S cut back on it's military aid to the South Vietnamese. The South Vietnamese army broke apart quickly after. In 1975 the North Vietnamese army launched a large invasion on South Vietnam.
On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon. The war was over, the Communist had won. In 1976, the Communist combined North and South Vietnam into one country, called Vietnam. Hanoi became the capital. Saigon was renamed as the Ho Chi Minh City, honoring Ho, who died in 1969.