The Vietnam War officially ended on January 23, 1973, there was no peace treaty signed, only some worthless pieces of paper that, for lack of a better name, were called 'Peace Accords'. But still to this day it evokes strong feelings in most Americans who are old enough to remember it and in those who served in it. It was the first time in history that the horrors of war were brought right into our own living rooms. I hope and I pray that by the time you have finished reading and viewing these four web pages I have worked so long and hard to put together, you will see these brave young men who fought in this war as the heroes they really were. Making this website was a very emotional experience for me and I hope it will tug at your emotions as you go through the pages. I am not a professional journalist or author, just an average American citizen who holds in the highest regard those who have fought and died in the name of freedom since 1776, it's to them and them alone we owe our deepest appreciation and gratitude, they have been the preservers of freedom in America, freedom that far too many Americans have come to take for granted. These freedom fighters don't start wars. it's our leaders who do that. Please keep in mind as you go through this website these brave young warriors who served in Vietnam hated war every bit as much or more than the protesters back home did. While they were risking their lives doing what they were ordered to do many back in the States were calling them murderers and baby killers .When they came home between tours they were afraid to wear their uniforms in public, uniforms they had every right to be proud to wear.
They were in Vietnam because they were sent by our government to fight a war in a foreign land thousands of miles away from home. They were sent there to help the Republic of South Vietnam fight a war against the North Vietnam Communist government, who had vowed to reunite Vietnam under Communist rule. They answered the call and they did as they were told by their Commander in Chief and their commanding officers.
Everyone who lived through the Vietnam War years will never forget hearing on the evening news about some of the horrible atrocities that occurred, things that should not have happened, that were against the rules of war. Just as they do today regarding the war in Iraq the news media covered these isolated cases extensively, who can forget the My Lai massacre? But what they didn't tell the American people was that such atrocities were common place in the North Vietnamese military, War is an ugly thing, and horrible atrocities happen, they always have and always will. When young men see their buddies being killed all around them it's not hard to see how they could be overcome with hatred for the enemy, and how they could want to get revenge Those young men faced death every day, never knowing when they themselves might be killed. War truly is Hell, a constant fight for survival, a matter of kill or be killed.
Over 58,000 of America's finest young men died in that cruel war, leaving behind wives, sweethearts, children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, and all the dreams that young men have. And I hope you will feel, as I feel, a profound sense of sadness and shame at the way these young warriors were treated when they came back home after the war was over,
Many thousands of Vietnam War veterans still suffer from the after effects of that war. Many came home minus an arm or a leg, many suffered irreversible brain damage, many more are quadriplegics. Countless thousands still to this day suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, haunted by the terrible memories that are forever etched in their hearts and minds.
C -123 Air Force Planes spraying the defoliant chemical Agent Orange
But perhaps the worst tragedy of all has been the many severe health problems that veterans of the Vietnam War have suffered , and are still suffering today, from the effects of Agent Orange. Not only have the veterans of that war suffered from exposure to the chemical but it also had affected the health of many of their children.
Home From The War
They were denied a military victory in Vietnam, and they were denied a hero's welcome home after the war, something that had never happened before in America. This country will never live down the shame for the way these young military men from all branches of the service were treated. If I hadn't of lived through this era I would not have believed that so many Americans could have been guilty of such an injustice. The wrong that was done those brave men is a wrong that can never be righted. But I hope this web site will give you a better understanding of what that long bloody war was about and will make you realize that those who fought and died in it should always be remembered and honored. And if you know any Vietnam veterans it would sure mean a lot to them if you would take the time to thank them for their service to America in the Vietnam war. And come next Veterans Day, if there is a parade in your city or town, please make plans to attend. There will probably be veterans in the parade from various wars, maybe a few dating as far back as W.W.ll, and up to and including the present day wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We, as free Americans, must never forget we owe our freedom to those who have fought and died for it for over 225 years, they need to know we care!
(The Truman, Eisenhower Years)
For those of you who may not know how or why America ever got militarily embroiled in the Vietnam war I think a brief summary of the events leading up to its involvement is in order. Whether or not it was a war the U.S. should ever have gotten into is debatable to this day, my personal opinion is that we should not have. But this page is not about that issue, it's intended rather as a tribute to all who served in that long tragic war.
Ho Chi Minh
Japan was in control of Vietnam during W.W. ll, but left the country when they lost the war. Ho Chi Minh, who had been in exile for thirty years, came back to Vietnam and began making plans to take over and proclaim it an independent country under communist rule.
Churchill, Truman, and Stalin at The Potsdam Conference
However, at the Potsdam Conference, held in Germany in July, 1945, the United States, Great Britain, and Russia, voted to divide Vietnam at the 16th parallel. They also voted to return control of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, back to France, making them once again French colonies, as they had been before the Japanese took control during W. W. ll. By this time Ho Chi Minh had succeeded in building up quite a formidable army and on Sept. 2, 1945, he declared himself President of the Democratic Republic Of Vietnam, war with France began shortly thereafter.
French soldiers taken prisoners at the battle at Dien Bien Phu, after which France withdrew from Vietnam
When the war with France began Ho Chi MInh went into hiding in the jungles of Vietnam, where he remained until the war ended. To make a very long story short, after eight long years of fierce fighting and heavy losses on both sides, the French were defeated and withdrew from Vietnam.
The Geneva Conference in Geneva Switzerland
May 8, 1954 - The Geneva Conference on Indochina begins, attended by the U.S., Britain, China, the Soviet Union, France, Vietnam (Viet Minh and representatives of Bao Dai), Cambodia and Laos, all meeting to negotiate a solution for Southeast Asia.
Emperor Boa Dai------Ho Chi Minh
On July 21, 1954, The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam in half at the 17th parallel, with Ho Chi Minh's Communists ceded the North, while Emperor Bao Dai's regime is granted the South. The accords also provided for free elections to be held in all of Vietnam within two years to reunify the country. The U.S. opposes the unifying elections, fearing a likely victory by Ho Chi Minh, the elections were never held. In October of 1954, following the French departure from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh returns after spending eight years hiding in the jungle and again assumes control of North Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem
In 1955 Emperor Boa Dai was ousted by his prime minister, Ngo Dinh Diem, in a rigged election. Diem then becomes President of the Republic Of Vietnam. and Boa Dai goes into exile in France. Diem had the full backing of the United States for the first few years but the government of South Vietnam, under Diem, became terribly corrupt and brutal, and many of the South Vietnamese people turned against him. Kennedy was told by Vietnam Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge that the war could not be won under Diem's regime. Several assassination attempts were made on his life without success. But finally on November 2nd, 1963, during John F. Kennedy's administration, mutinous South Vietnamese troops succeeded in assassinating both Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu.
Ngu Dinh Nhu
Before I go any farther with the Vietnam story I think I should stress the fact that America's military involvement in that country actually goes all the way back to 1950 and the Truman administration, it just wasn't called the Vietnam War then, it was known as the Indochina War
In 1950, during the eight year war between France and Vietnam, United States military involvement begins on July 26, as President Harry Truman authorizes $15 million in military aid to the French. American non combat military advisors will accompany the flow of U.S. tanks, planes, artillery and other supplies to Vietnam.
C-119 'flying boxcar', loaned to France during French-Vietnam war.
Over the next four years, the United States, under both the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, will spend $3 Billion on the French war and by 1954 will provide 80 percent of all war supplies used by the French.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
In 1959 the war between North and South Vietnam begins, this marks the start of what is known as 'The Vietnam War', referred to also as the Second Indochina War. The North Vietnamese Army is much better prepared, having been aided by China with the latest weapons and planes, and the war goes badly for South Vietnam. President Diem repeatedly asks Eisenhower for more military aid by sending ground troops or using atomic weapons against the North Vietnamese. Eisenhower declines to do either, but continues to provide weapons and American planes for Diem's military. Eisenhower used the phrase 'The Domino Theory' to explain his views as to why it was so important for Vietnam not to fall into communist hands. He believed that if Vietnam fell, so would the surrounding countries, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Malaya, and all of Southeast Asia. It was feared communisn could possibly spread as far as Hawaii, and even to the west coast of the United States. Before Eisenhower left office he told Kennedy he was afraid the U. S. was going to have to either send ground troops to Vietnam or withdraw..
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