US History Lesson 50 Quiz // TERMS ONLY

"the Wall"

lists the names of U.S. soldiers killed or missing in action during the Vietnam War, memorial place

Chester Ovnand and Dale Buis

first two men listed on the Wall, according to reports they were the first to be killed during a surprise attack on their camp in 1959, Ovnand and Buis were both noncombat soldiers

- both were military advisors

Stanley Karnow

reporter who wrote a brief account of the soldiers' deaths

Ho Chi Minh

1950s and 60s; communist leader of North Vietnam; used guerilla warfare to fight anti-communist, American-funded attacks; smart strategies on Viet. side drew out war and made it unwinnable for US soldiers

- helped found the Viet Minh

Viet Minh

- communist-dominated Nationalist Movement

- leader was Ho Chi Minh

- typically dominated rural countryside areas and villages

- opposed foreign rule in Vietnam, wanted "independence and liberty for the Vietnamese people"

- controlled Northern Vietnam, aka Democratic Republic of Vietnam (country)

- named northern city of Hanoi their capital

First Indochina War

1946-1954, was fought in French Indochina between French and Vietnamese, end result was division of Vietnam at Geneva Conference

- US funded 80% of this war

- sparked US fears of the domino theory and spreading of communism

Dien Bien Phu

war began in March 1954, when the Viet Minh launched a surprise attack on a large French military base in the northern mountains of Vietnam, French loss

domino theory

the idea that if a nation falls under communist control, nearby nations will also fall under communist control

- motivation for U.S. intervention in Vietnam

Materiel

military equipment and supplies

- US feared that direct military intervention might trigger a war with communist neighbor to Vietnam, China

- way for US to aid France without being involved the war

Geneva Conference (1954)

- held in Geneva, Switzerland

- peace conference between France and Ho Chi Minh

- France wanted Ho Chi Minh to stop attacks French troops and Ho Chi Minh wanted the French troops gone

Geneva Accords

A 1954 peace agreement that divided Vietnam into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam until unification elections could be held in 1956

- temp split along the 17th parallel

Ngo Dinh Diem

- American ally in South Vietnam from 1954 to 1963

- his repressive regime caused the Communist Viet Cong to thrive in the South and required increasing American military aid to stop a Communist takeover

- catholic and strongly opposed communism

- poor leadership and corrupt government

- assassinated trying to flee Saigon

Saigon

Capital of South Vietnam

military advisers

noncombat specialists who train and equip another nation's soldiers

National Liberation Front

- Ho Chi Minh wanted to unite Vietnam under Northern rule and aided what group of communist rebels trying to overthrow Diem in the south official title of the Viet Cong

- created in 1960, they lead an uprising against Diem's repressive regime in the South

Viet Cong

- slang for Vietnamese communists

- many of its members were not communist, just didn't agree with Diem and his ways

- these people were rebels in the South acting as spies and sabotaging Southern Vietnamese agenda

insurgency

rebellion

Buddhism in Vietnam

- common religion of the people

- Diem caused tension due to him being Catholic

- at a Buddhist rally opposing Diem's policies, South Vietnamese police killed nine protestors

- several Buddhist monks publicly set themselves on fire in protest of this

Ho Chi Minh Trail

- a network of paths used by North Vietnam to transport supplies to the Vietcong in South Vietnam

- passed through parts of Laos and Cambodia

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

- allowed the president "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression."

- not a legal declaration of war, but it did enable the president to expand the U.S. role in the Vietnamese conflict

Ernest Gruening

US Senator from Alaska who was one of the only two dissenting votes on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Operation Rolling Thunder

bombing campaign over North Vietnam, supposed to weaken enemy's ability and will to fight, had no real impact on the war besides further upsetting the Vietnamese people

- home base for bombers was Da Nang

Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

the southern Vietnamese soldiers with whom U.S. troops fought against communism and forces in the North during the Vietnam War

hawks

- term used for LBJ's political advisors, or people who favored expanding U.S. military involvement in Vietnam

- leaders-argued in favor of sending U.S. ground troops to Vietnam to escalate the war

- used the domino theory to justify their argument

- argued against a policy of appeasement

George Ball

undersecretary of state spoke out against military escalation in favor of political settlement

- advocate for achieving a peaceful resolution (dove)

doves

or advocates of achieving a peaceful resolution in Vietnam through negotiation and compromise

Da Nang, South Vietnam

- first time U.S, combat troops set foot in Vietnam

- March 8, 1965, about 3,500 US marines waded ashore on a beach near Da Nang

Operation Starlite

- first major assault by U.S. ground troops

- targeted 1,500 Viet Cong

- marines successfully defeated the enemy force, killing more than 600 Viet Cong-only 45 U.S. soldiers died

- fought with wide range of weapons and strategies (transporting troops by helicopter with overwhelming firepower)

search-and-destroy missions

- U.S military raids on a south vietnamese villages

- intended to root out villagers with ties to the Viet Cong but often resulting in the destruction of the village and the displacement, murder, or rape of its inhabitants

- often included innocent women, children, and elderly