Wednesday May 8

General William Westmoreland:

Losses during Tet Offensive:

US, Korea, Australia, and South Viet Nam were the allies
North Vietnam and Viet Cong were nonallies
Still very scary to the US that they were able to regroup and attack major cities

There was an increasing sense among people that the government was misleading the American people about the war without a clear beginning or end
When General Westmoreland called for still more troops to be sent to Vietnam after the Tet Offensive, more and more people started protesting
The support of the government and war effort suffered even more when the New York Times published the Pentagon Papers
It was a top-secret historical study about the war, that showed how the government was misleading the US public in all stages of the war

Operation Rolling Thunder:

was the code name for the non stop bombing raids in North Vietnam conducted by the US armed forces
Its purpose was to destroy the will of the North to fight to destroy industrial bases and air defenses and to stop the flow of men and supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Was not successful in destroying the will of the North

Anti-War:

My Lai Massacre March 1968:

US soldiers killed 504 Vietnamese citizens
The dead civilians included 50 age 3 or younger, 69 between 4 and 7, and 27 in their 70s or 80s
Women were raped and bodies mutilated

How did people get out of serving?

Peace????

The peace agreement did not last
In March, 1975, the North invaded the South
The South was not strong enough and fell quickly
Saigon, the South's capital fell on April 30, 1975
US didn't live up to its promise to come to their aid if the North attacked
North Vietnam united both North and South Vietnam on July 2, 1976 to form the socialist republic of Vietnam
Saigon was re-named Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the former president of North Vietnam

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