The+End+of+Vietnam

The End of Vietnam Notes

Richard Nixon Elected- Promises "peace with honor" in Vietnam

Vietnamization- Nixon's policy for winding down the war
 * troops withdrawn
 * training and equipment given to South Vietnamese
 * by 1972 troops declining

Bombing raids increased, however- - hurt supply line of north Vietnam - bombing expanded to other countries- Laos and Cambodia

U.S. ground forces invaded Cambodia in Spring 1970 - leads to more domestic upheaval and student arrest - kent state massacre 4 deaths result: Nixon loses support from the public and Congress Gulf of Tonkin Resolution repealed

The Pentagon Papers- Published in NY Times front page, investigated what government was doing and what it was saying, went to court because president said they couldn't print it, court favored press, released

Peace Talks- 1972 Henry Kissinger vs. Le Duc Tho "Peace is at Hand

January 27, 1973- agreement reached on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam -Vietnam didn't completely follow agreement

But in 1975: North Vietnam military attacks, Saigon falls Vietnam is reunited under communism US LOSES WAR

Legacy of Vietnam - In Southeast Asia
 * 1.5 million Vietnamese deaths
 * countless Vietnamese civilians wounded, homeless
 * agrarian society in shambles- agriculture destroyed from agent orange and chemicals etc.
 * Southeast Asia left highly unstable

America Copes
 * 58,000 Americans killed
 * 365,000 wounded
 * $150 billion in direct costs
 * U.S. attempts to come to grips losing war