Comprehensive Study Notes on the Vietnam Crisis and the Vietnam Era

Definitions and Linguistic Distinction of the Vietnam Conflict

• The period typically referred to as the Vietnam War is technically a conflict or "crisis" because the United States never formally declared war. Despite the lack of a formal declaration, the nation invested billions of dollars and suffered tens of thousands of casualties.

• This era is collectively referred to as the Vietnam era, encompassing the military engagements and the social changes occurring simultaneously.

Modern History and Colonial Roots of Vietnam

• Vietnam has a long history of being colonized and invaded dating back to antiquity ($BC$ times).

• In $1856$, Vietnam became a colony of France. This was part of a larger imperialist movement by France and Great Britain to establish colonies worldwide.

• Under French rule, the region was reorganized as French Indochina. This entity included several Asian nations:

  • Vietnam (comprising regions known as Tonkin, Annam, and Khochen).

  • Laos.

  • Cambodia.

• Despite being grouped into French Indochina, the native populations maintained their individual national identities. The Vietnamese people did not view themselves as French; they maintained their distinct culture, music, food, and religions.

World War II and the Rise of Ho Chi Minh

• During World War II, France fell to German forces under Hitler, which weakened French control over its colonies. Japan seized this opportunity to take control of Vietnam.

• Following the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, France attempted to regain control of Vietnam.

• Ho Chi Minh emerged as a prominent leader during this time. He was a native Vietnamese man who championed the idea of Vietnamese self-governance.

• In $1919$, Ho Chi Minh attended the Treaty of Versailles. He attempted to hand a petition signed by thousands of Vietnamese citizens to President Woodrow Wilson’s secretary, requesting liberation from French colonial rule. Wilson had publicly advocated for the liberation of colonies, but there is no evidence he ever received the petition.

• In $1927$, Ho Chi Minh was exiled from Vietnam. During his exile, he traveled to Boston, England, France, and eventually the USSR.

• While in the Soviet Union (specifically Moscow), he studied Marxism, founded by Karl Marx. He adopted Communism as his preferred political ideology.

• Ho Chi Minh's perspective on Communism was that it eliminated biological racism. He argued that democratic capitalism (represented by France) was inherently racist and that Vietnam should adopt a communist government upon gaining independence.

• He founded the Indochinese Communist Party and established the Vietnam Independence League, known more commonly as the Viet Minh.

The First Indochina War and Dien Bien Phu

• The Viet Minh operated as a rebellion military force. They developed a highly effective style of guerrilla warfare—a method involving unconventional attacks and rapid retreats to evade enemy detection.

• Initially, the US provided the Viet Minh with weapons to assist them against Japan, hoping to steer them toward democratic capitalism. However, once France attempted to reoccupy Vietnam, the US shifted support to France, which the Vietnamese viewed as a betrayal.

• A decisive battle occurred at Dien Bien Phu. The French military established a base in a low-lying region, believing they could easily defeat the Vietnamese. However, $50,000$ Viet Minh soldiers utilized the surrounding jungle mountains to trap and besiege $11,000$ French troops.

• After $50$ days of constant attack, the French were forced to surrender and withdraw from Vietnam.

The Geneva Accords and National Division

• In $1954$, the Geneva Accords were signed. Western nations, including the US, feared that a fair democratic election would result in Ho Chi Minh being elected, thereby making the entire country communist.

• To prevent this, Vietnam was split along the $17^{th}$ Parallel:

  • North Vietnam: Communist, led by Ho Chi Minh.

  • South Vietnam: Democratic Capitalist (The Republic of Vietnam).

• Citizens were given $300$ days to relocate between the north and south. Many northerners fled south to avoid living under a communist regime.

Military Factions and Political Instability in the South

Detailed understanding of the three primary military groups is required:

1. The Viet Minh: The formal military of North Vietnam.

2. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN): The formal military of South Vietnam, funded by the South Vietnamese government and the US.

3. The Viet Cong: A communist rebellion military group located within South Vietnam. Their goal was to overthrow the southern government and unify Vietnam as a communist state. They were distinct because they did not wear uniforms and looked like ordinary civilians.

• The US placed Ngo Dinh Diem in power as the president of South Vietnam. Diem was unpopular for several reasons:

  • He was Catholic (Christian) in a predominantly Buddhist nation.

  • He had supported French colonial rule.

• When general elections were scheduled after four years, the US and Diem refused to hold them because they knew Diem would lose. Diem was eventually assassinated in a coup backed by John F. Kennedy.

US Escalation and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• Following JFK’s assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) inherited the Vietnam problem. While Eisenhower and Kennedy had sent small groups of advisors, Johnson significantly escalated the conflict.

• In $1964$, US Navy ships patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin exchanged fire with North Vietnamese patrol boats on August $2$. Two nights later, on August $4$, a second incident was reported, though it was unclear if the US ships were firing at actual enemies or random objects in the water.

• LBJ publicized these incidents as acts of North Vietnamese aggression and ordered retaliatory air raids.

• Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which provided the President with a "blank check"—unlimited time, money, and soldiers to stop the spread of communism.

Escalation Statistics and Military Operations

• In January $1965$, advisors warned LBJ that the US would lose without escalation. This led to increased bombing and troop deployments.

• Operation Rolling Thunder (March $1965$): A systematic, prolonged bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Despite the massive investment, it failed to force a surrender.

• Troop Increases:

  • March $1965$: $3,500$ Marines sent to protect military bases.

  • May $1965$: $40,000$ soldiers.

  • July $1965$: $50,000$ additional soldiers.

  • $1966$: $185,000$ Americans.

  • $1968$: Total of $536,000$ soldiers deployed.

The Draft and Social Inequality

• The Selective Service (the draft) targeted the Baby Boom generation upon they turned $18$.

• Working and middle-class men were drafted most heavily. Wealthy individuals avoided the draft through college deferments, entering "critical occupations" (teachers, engineers), or using wealth to obtain medical excuses (e.g., "flat feet") from friendly doctors.

• The "poorest of the poor" often avoided the draft by failing the academic entrance exams due to a lack of education.

• Black and Hispanic men were disproportionately assigned to combat duty in the jungles rather than clerical or office positions.

Combat Conditions and Tactics

• The Vietnamese landscape is a densely foliage-covered jungle. Visibility was often limited to less than $10$ feet.

• Search and Destroy Missions: US soldiers would enter a region, burn the foliage/village, and leave. Because the US could not easily occupy territory in the jungle, they measured success through "body counts" of the Viet Cong.

• The Viet Cong utilized complex underground tunnel systems to disappear after attacks.

• Napalm and Agent Orange: The US used incendiary Napalm bombs and chemical defoliants like Agent Orange to clear the jungle. These destroyed $1/3$ of South Vietnam’s timberlands and caused long-term health issues (cancers, respiratory failures) for both Vietnamese civilians and US veterans.

The My Lai Massacre

• In March $1968$, an American unit called Charlie Company entered the village of My Lai. Under orders from Lieutenant William L. Calley, soldiers raped and murdered between $350$ and $500$ civilians, including women, elderly people, and infants.

• The military originally reported this as a victory over Viet Cong troops. The public did not learn the truth until $1969$ when a journalist and a veteran released photographs.

• Only Lieutenant Calley was convicted of premeditated murder, and his sentence was later reduced by senior officers.

The Anti-War Movement and the Home Front

• By $1967$, the conflict was costing the US $\$2,000,000,000$ ($2$ billion) per month. This was the first televised war, allowing Americans to see the carnage in their living rooms.

• The Anti-War Movement was led by "hippies," college students, and professors. A popular chant was: "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids have you killed today?"

• Kent State Massacre: In $1970$, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed student protesters at Kent State University, killing $4$ and injuring $9$.

• Internal Demographics: A division emerged between "Hawks" (pro-war) and "Doves" (anti-war). Many Vietnam veterans joined the anti-war movement, returning home with physical disabilities and severe PTSD.

• This era marked the beginning of a massive "credibility gap," where citizens stopped trusting the federal government.

The Tet Offensive and Political Shifts

• On January $30$, $1968$ (the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, known as Tet), the Viet Cong launched a surprise attack. While the US expected a holiday ceasefire, $19$ Viet Cong commandos blew a hole in the US Embassy in Saigon.

• Casualties of the Tet Offensive:

  • Viet Cong: $40,000$

  • Americans: $1,100$

  • South Vietnamese Army: $2,300$

• While militarily a US victory because of the high enemy body count, it was a political disaster. It proved the government was not close to winning the war, forcing LBJ to announce he would not seek re-election.

The 1968 Election and the Silent Majority

• $1968$ was a year of chaos: the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy (an anti-war advocate).

• Candidates for President:

  • Hubert Humphrey: Democrat.

  • George Wallace: American Independent Party; ran on a platform of segregation and southern white grievances.

  • Richard Nixon: Republican; he appealed to the "Silent Majority"—middle-class white voters who were tired of social upheaval and civil rights integration but were not as overtly radical as Wallace.

• Nixon won the election and implemented "Vietnamization"—the strategy of gradually withdrawing US troops and transferring combat responsibility to the South Vietnamese military.

The End of the Conflict

• Nixon expanded the war by attacking communist bases in Cambodia, leading Congress to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and strip the President of his unlimited war powers.

• Soldiers in the field began to resist: "Fragging" (killing one's own officers to avoid combat), widespread marijuana/drug use, and vocal resistance from Black soldiers.

• In January $1973$, a peace treaty was signed. Most troops returned home, though some aides and security remained.

• Nixon resigned in August $1974$ due to the Watergate scandal, and Gerald Ford became President.

• In January $1975$, North Vietnam invaded the South again. President Ford asked Congress for $\$1,000,000,000$ ($1$ billion) in aid, which Congress refused, citing the $\$100,000,000,000$ already spent and $55,000$ US lives lost.

• In April $1975$, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese. Remaining Americans were evacuated by helicopter from the embassy roof.

• Final Toll: $58,220$ US soldiers dead. Vietnam was reunified as a communist nation, which it remains today.

Questions & Discussion

Interviews from the Fall of Saigon:

Question/Participant 1: What was the environment like at the embassy as the North Vietnamese approached?

• Response: There were no helicopters initially. Everyone was just sitting around looking at each other, wondering if they had been forgotten. The participant got on the radio and repeated "US Navy, US Navy, American Embassy, request extraction immediate" over and over. They felt like sitting ducks on the roof. By $7:45$ AM, the North Vietnamese could be seen coming down the road.

Question/Participant 2: What were the fears regarding the North Vietnamese tanks?

• Response: The primary concern was that a tank would take one shot at the building and blow them off the roof. There was an urgency to get into the helicopters as soon as they arrived.

Question/Participant 3: How was the final departure handled?

• Response: One marine describes being the last one out. As he was putting his foot on the helicopter ramp, he fell and was hanging on while the ramp closed and the chopper took off.