Vietnam war vocab

French Indo-China

French colonial territories in Southeast Asia (1887-1954)

• Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia

Viet Minh

communist-led nationalist organization founded by Ho Chi Minh in 1941 to fight for VN’s independence from France and JP during WWII

Bao Dai

Last emperor of VN’s Nguyen Dynasty

N.L.F.

National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) organization formed in 1960 that fought against the South Vietnamese gov. and U.S.

Gulf of Tonkin (1964)

a body of water in the South China Sea bounded by northern Vietnam and China

D.M.Z.

5 mile Demilitarized zone between north and south Vietnam,

Charlie (V.C.)

refers to the Viet Cong

17th parallel

line that temporarily separated N. and S. Vietnam

Ngo Dinh Nhu

younger brother of S. Vietnam’s first president (Ngô Đình Diệm)

• Vietnamese archivist and politician

Huey’s (L.Z.: Landing zone)

are where the helicopter (Bell UH-1) would safely land/take off to transport troops, supplies, or evacuate soldiers

N.V.A.

North Vietnamese Army

M-16 / M-60 / AK 47

M-16: Standard american rifile broke down a lot
AK 47: Light weight, cheap to make, durable, Easy to clean

F-4 phantom / B-52

fighter jet used during VN war/ long-range heavy bomber

Symbols of the Vietnam War

• hawks: pro war

• doves: anti-war (hippy)

S.A.M.’s

Surface to Air Missiles - launched from the ground to shoot down enemy aircraft.
N. Vietnamese used this against Us planes and bomers

General William Westmoreland

Commanded US and allied forces during the Vn war from 1964-1968

Le duan

Vietnamese communist politician

Annam

historical name for a region in Central Vietnam during the French colonial period

N.S.C-68

National Security Council Report 68: foundational 66pg secret policy paper issues by the US to Prez. Truman on April 14th, 1950

A.R.V.N

Army of Republic Vietnam: ground troops of South Vn

Tunnel Rats

Volunteer U.S.. Australian, and New Zealand soldiers who navigated Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army underground tunnel networks

Ho Chi Minh Trail

12,000-mile network of roads, paths, and waterways

Built from N. Vn thru jungles and mountains of Laos and Cambodia to

S. VN

capital of north Vietnam

Hanoi

capital of south Vietnam

Sai Gon

Agent Orange

• Chemical that destroyed the vegetation of vietnam

• Us forces spread this throughout the vietnamese jungles, caused lots of damage to vietnamese environment

Richard Nixon

37th US prez

• wanted to withdraw the US from VN (Vietnamization)

• escalated the conflict by secretly bombing Cambodia and then invading Cambodia and Laos to destroy N. Vn supply lines

Tet

Vietnamese Lunar New Year

Tet offensive

• January 30th, 1968

• Massive attack by the vietcong

• Vietnamese new year 

• Turning point of the vn war

• Every base in south vn was attacked by the vc

• Unpopular war, americans wanted soldiers out

• Couple yrs later, bombs vn on christmas

Fragging

a military term referring to the deliberate murder—or attempted murder—of a superior officer or fellow soldier by their own troops

Operation Rolling Thunder

• US bombing effort agaisnt the North Vietnamese

• Pres. LBJ had the operation last from 1965-1968

• Airstrikes

My Lai Massacre

• Raid on a tiny village called my lai by american soldiers in south vietnam

• Soldiers were angry and frustrated with their inability to find the vietcong so they go to the village, round up ppl and executed them (~500ppl)

• Warcrime against the south vietnamese

• News story about this published in 1969, spreads around the world

• Soldiers rped a lot of women

Search and Destroy

military tactic famousily used the U.S. forces during the VN War

• locate enemy troops → bring them to battle → destroy their forces and supplies then withdraw

chào

hi

air america

a covert airline secretly run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Vietnam War

• transported troops, supplies, and equipment in S.East Asia

• Support U.S. and allied operations in Laos, Vietnam, and surrounding regions

• Carry out secret or “unofficial” missions that couldn’t be done by the regular U.S. military

Hanoi Hilton

nickname given by American prisoners of war (POWs) to Hỏa Lò Prison in Hanoi, Vietnam, during the Vietnam War

Bob Hope

comedian

• made nine historic USO Christmas tours to Vietnam between 1964 and 1972

brinkmanship

Not backing down during a crisis, even if it means taking the country to the brink of war

Policy both the soviets and the Us had during the civil war

Malcolm X

• Converted to black muslim

• advocated for harmony

• assassinated by his own people in 1965

Ngô đình Diệm

• Unpopular south vn leader

• Wife is unpopular

Laos & Cambodia

used by the N. VIetnamese as supply routes (HCM trail) and sanctuary bases.

• the U.S. expanded the conflict into their territories with extensive bombing campaigns and ground incursions