Vietnam lasted from 1959 to 1975. It involved the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front or NLF. It also included the U.S. and the South Vietnamese forces. From about 1946 to 1945 the Vietnamese had struggled for independence from the French during the first Indochina War. When the war ended the country was split into two creating North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam soon came under the control of Vietnamese Communists who really hated France and were looking to unite Vietnam under Communist rule. South Vietnam was controlled by Vietnamese leaders who favored the French.

The reason that the U.S. entered the Vietnam War was fear of the "Domino Effect". The Domino Effect is the term used to explain that if one country falls under Communist rule than soon after the countries in that area will soon fall also. If Vietnam became a Communist state than it w

as likely that more could fall also. This is also why the U.S. supported South Vietnam. The U.S. didn't send troops in until 1965. They were sent in to keep the South Vietnamese government from collapsing but in the long run they eventually failed.

After Vietnam many people wondered what the U.S. had accomplished. Most say that if the U.S. hadn't tried to prevent a Communist Vietnam much worse of things may have occured. Others still believe today that the Vietnam war was not America's fight and that it was a waste of money, time, and most importantly American soldiers.

President Johnson felt that he had to take a forceful stance on Vietnam so that other Communist countries wouldn't think that the United States "lacked resolve". Johnson also believed that the key to success was to frighten North Vietnam's leaders with the possibility of full-scale United States military intervention. In January of 1964 Johnson approved of top-secret, covert attacks against North Vietnam, including commando raids against bridges, railways, and coastal installations. After reports of North Vietnamese gunboats attacking United States NAVY war ships Johnson went on air to get approval from the public of an attack on Vietnam. Soon after Congress gave Johnson the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave him war-making powers until such time as "peace and security" had returned to Vietnam. On March 8, 1965, 3500 U.S. Marine troops landed in da Nang. Soon after about 74,000 combat troops arrived.

When Ngo Dinh Diem came into power he used very repressive measures. These measures led to growing organized opposition within South Vietnam. Another problem was that Diem's government represented a small minority of Vietnamese who were mostly businessmen, Roman Catholics, large landowners, and others who were pro-French. At first the United States helped South Vietnam military advisors and financial assistance. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was what eventually gave President Linden B. Johnson permission to escalate the war in Vietnam.

The strategy against the United States was decided after alot of debate. Many argued that South Vietnam had to liberate themselves. Others argued that Vietnam was one nation and therefore dependent on all Vietnamese for it's dependence and reunification.

The Tet Offensive lasted untill the fall of 1968. When it was over North Vietnamese and NLF forces had suffered a small amount of losses. The U.S. Department of Defense estimated that nearly 45,000 North Vietnamese and NLF soldiers had been killed, most of the casualties were NLF soldiers. Although it was covered up for almost a year, a horrifying event struck the U.S. public. During the Tet Offensive American forces in May had destroyed and entire village called My Lai killing 500 unarmed civilians, mostly women and children.

Civilian casualties were also a factor of the air war in Vietnam. People who planned escapes for civilians tried to avoid populated areas, but when you try to people during a time that more than on

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