8. May 1954—Dien Bien Phu fell and the French were forced to leave VietnamFrench Soldiers surrender at Dien Bien Phu
9.
10. US feared Ho Chi Minh taking communist power and believed in the domino theory: US followed the idea that if Vietnam fell, then all other countries in Southeast Asia would fall as well
11.
12. NON-COMMUNIST SOUTH VIETNAM South Vietnam was led by a repressive regime run by Ngo Dinh Diem. The US supported him because he was fighting North Vietnam, not because he was a good leader. On Nov. 3rd 1963 he was assassinated by a CIA backed coup.
13. The Ultimate Anti-Government Protest One of the reasons US supported the assassination of Diem was world opinion questioned the US support of an oppressive government. Questions arose after Vietnamese Buddhists Monks set them selves on fire and burned in the streets as a way to protest Diem’s government. (Ironically, 20 days later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in the U.S.
22. search and destroy: bombed enemy positions to try to forced soldiers out into open combat
23. Napalm: jellied gasoline that explodes, clings, and burn whatever it touches
24.
25. AGENT ORANGE Agent Orange was a chemical/pesticide used to burn the leaves off trees Used in both Korean and Vietnam War. By 1967--1.5 million acres were being doused annually.
35. Vietnamization had two phases—phased withdrawal of US troops and training and equipping South Vietnamese to replace US troops
36.
37. As the North Vietnamese moved into Saigon, supporters of the US scrambled to get out of the capital.
38.
39. A SHAMEFUL HISTORY American Soldiers returned home from Vietnam to a hostile public. Soldiers were harassed, spit on, called “baby killers” There were no welcome home parades.