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    The United StatesGets Involved in Vietnam

    515The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    51

    C H A P T E R

    Materials

    History Alive! Pursuing

    American Ideals

    Transparencies 51A

    and 51B

    Placard 51 (6 copies)

    Lesson Masters

    Notebook Guide 51

    (1 per student)

    Student Handout 51A

    (6 copies)

    Student Handout 51B

    (1 for every 3 stu-

    dents) Information Master 51

    (1 transparency)

    Why did the United States increase its military

    involvement in Vietnam?

    Overview

    Students learn about the beginning stages of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

    Preview Students view images of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, read names

    from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names, and learn how long it

    would take to read all the inscribed names.

    Reading Students create a bar graph of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam and

    annotate a timeline of key events from the period.

    Activity In a Response Group activity, students participate in a national security

    meeting to advise President Johnson on whether to increase military involvement

    in Vietnam.

    Processing Students respond to this question: What if President Johnson had

    decided not to increase U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?

    Objectives

    Students will

    investigate the Essential Question: Why did the United States increase its

    military involvement in Vietnam?

    complete a timeline of key events in Vietnam from 1945 to 1965 and create a

    bar graph showing increases in U.S. military personnel.

    analyze primary source excerpts and debate whether the United States should

    increase its involvement in Vietnam in 1965.

    learn and use the Key Content Terms for this chapter.

    Vocabulary

    Key Content Terms Viet Minh, First Indochina War, Geneva Accords, Viet Cong,

    Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    Social Studies Terms domino theory, materiel, military adviser, insurgency,

    escalate, surveillance

    R e s p o n s e G r o u p

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    Preview

    1 Prepare the room. Before class, post sets ofStudent Handout 51A: Vietnam

    Veterans Memorial Directory of Names and Placard 51: Detail of the Vietnam

    Veterans Memorial on the walls to create six stations around the room.

    2 Introduce students to the memorial. Create a dramatic mood by loweringthe lights. Project Transparency 51A: Veteran Visiting the Wall, and help stu-

    dents analyze the photograph by asking,

    What is this a photograph of? the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, also known

    as the Wall

    Where is it located? Washington, D.C.

    What is engraved on the Wall? the names of U.S. veterans killed or missing

    in action during the Vietnam War

    3 Have students analyze a list of names from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

    Directory of Names. Send students to the stations in groups of three. Havethem carefully analyze Student Handout 51A and discuss these questions:

    What observations can you make about the people from this part of the

    Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names?

    Try to find at least one person on the list with whom you can make a

    personal connection, such as someone from your home state or with your

    birthday. Who is the person, and what connection do you share?

    4 Have students read names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Instruct

    students to take turns reading each of the names on the detail of the wall

    shown on Placard 51 in a low, clear voice. (Note: Alternatively, read the

    names out loud yourself or have a couple of students with strong dramatic

    voices read them.)

    5 Give students more information about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

    Share this additional information with them:

    The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 13, 1982.

    A 21-year-old undergraduate at Yale University, Maya Ying Lin, born in

    Athens, Ohio, in 1959, designed the memorial.

    The memorial is constructed from two 75-meter-long black granite walls.

    The granite came from Bangalore, India. The names of 58,253 Americans killed or missing in action in the Vietnam

    War are engraved on the Wall. Reading one name every 2 seconds nonstop

    would take approximately 32 hours.

    6 Have students complete Preview 51. Project Transparency 51A again.

    DistributeNotebook Guide 51, and ask students to complete the Preview

    assignment. Have volunteers share their responses with the class.

    516 Chapter 51

    P r o c e d u r e s

    Student Handout 51A and Placard 51

    Transparency 51A

    Notebook Guide 51

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    7 Explain the purpose of Chapter 51. Tell students they will now learn about

    the early involvement of the United States in Vietnam. They will take on the

    role of national security advisers to President Johnson in 1965 and debate

    whether the United States should increase its involvement in Vietnam.

    Reading

    1 Introduce the Essential Question. Ask students to turn to Chapter 51 and

    consider possible answers to the Essential Question: Why did the United

    States increase its military involvement in Vietnam?

    2 Introduce the Key Content Terms and social studies terms for Chapter 51.

    Preteach the boldfaced vocabulary terms in the chapter, as necessary, before

    students begin reading.

    3 Have students read Section 51.1.Afterward, ask them to find sentences in

    the reading that correspond with visual details in the photograph that opens

    the chapter. Have volunteers read a sentence and point out the corresponding

    detail in the image.

    Response Group

    1 Place students in mixed-ability groups of three and introduce the activity.

    Tell students that they will now take on the role of national security advisers

    and participate in a meeting in which they will advise President Johnson on

    whether the United States should increase its military involvement in Vietnam.

    2 Have groups read and complete the Reading Notes for Sections 51.2 and

    51.3. Explain that this information will help them prepare for the national

    security meeting. Have students follow the directions on Notebook Guide 51

    to create a timeline and bar graph of the information in Sections 51.2 and

    51.3. Use Guide to Reading Notes 51 to review their answers as a class, par-

    ticularly the arguments from hawks and doves.

    3 Have groups analyze primary source excerpts.Distribute Student Handout

    51B: Primary Sources on Vietnam Involvementto each group, and review the

    directions at the top of the handout. Consider analyzing Excerpt 1 as a class

    before having groups continue on their own.

    4 Have groups discuss the critical thinking question. Tell groups that theymust now craft a recommendation for President Johnson on this question:

    Should the president significantly increase U.S. military involvement in

    Vietnam? They will need to analyze information from their Reading Notes and

    the primary sources to form their recommendation and at least two supporting

    arguments. (Note: If you anticipate that nearly all groups will be making the

    same recommendation, consider assigning some groups to be hawks and some

    to be doves, selecting groups with strong debating skills for each side.)

    517The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    P r o c e d u r e s

    Student Handout 51B

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    518 Chapter 51

    P r o c e d u r e s

    Information Master 51

    Transparency 51B

    5 Prepare for the national security meeting.

    Have groups position their desks as shown.

    ProjectInformation Master 51: National Security Meeting Agenda and

    review the directions for the meeting.

    Have each group fold a sheet of paper lengthwise and writeHawks orDoves on it, in large bold letters, to indicate their position. Have students

    prop these nameplates on their desks for everyone to see.

    6 Project Transparency 51B: President Johnson in the Oval Office and facil-

    itate the meeting. Follow these tips to make the meeting lively and engaging:

    Alternate calling on presenters from hawk groups and dove groups.

    Make sure presenters address their comments to the president and begin by

    saying, Mr. President or President Johnson.

    During the rebuttal phase, make sure groups use new presenters and that

    these presenters first paraphrase the argument from the other side and thenpresent their rebuttal.

    End the meeting by saying, Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your

    recommendations. This meeting is adjourned.

    7 Have groups read and complete the Reading Notes for Section 51.4.

    Tell students they will now find out whose advice President Johnson took.

    Once students complete these Reading Notes, review the answers as a class.

    Finally, ask students what connections they can make between the events on

    the timeline and the bar graph. Students should note that the graph indicates

    that soon after late 1964 and early 1965, when the Johnson administration

    was debating the issue, LBJ had clearly made the decision to increase U.S.

    involvement in Vietnam.

    8 Debrief the activity. Ask students to consider this question:Did President

    Johnsons decision to increase U.S. military involvement in Vietnam support

    or undermine American ideals? Then ask,How might hawks respond to this

    question, and why? How might doves respond? How would you respond?

    Processing

    Have students complete Processing 51 in their notebooks.

    Assessment

    Masters for the unit assessment appear in theLesson Masters. Unit 15 Assessment

    scoring information appears after Chapter 53 in this Lesson Guide.

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    English Language Learners

    Option 1 Review the excerpts on Student Handout 51B as a class. For each

    excerpt, follow these steps:

    Read through the excerpt carefully, out loud.

    Explain or define any challenging words or phrases. Ask groups to summarize the speakers argument in their own words.

    Ask groups to determine whether the speaker is arguing for or against the

    president increasing military involvement in Vietnam.

    Option 2 Before beginning the class discussion, have each group neatly write

    their answer to the critical thinking question. Make sure they include at least one

    or two arguments to support their position. Allow presenters to read their answer

    when it is their turn to speak.

    Learners Reading and Writing Below Grade Level

    Help students analyze the excerpts on Student Handout 51B by highlighting key

    words and phrases that indicate whether each speaker supported increased U.S.

    military involvement in Vietnam. For example, you might highlight Excerpt 1

    as follows:

    While the military and political costs of a big US investment in [South Vietnam]

    may be high, I cannot think of a better place for our forces to be employed to

    give so much future national security benefits to the United States. Thus my

    conclusion is that we . . . must go all out on all three tracks: counterinsurgency,

    covert countermeasures, and military pressures by US forces.

    Learners with Special Education Needs

    Create a transparency of the graphic organizer for the Reading Notes, and model

    how to annotate the timeline for one of the key events from Section 51.2, such as

    U.S. military aid for French Indochina (see the Guide to Reading Notes). Write

    the name of the event, the year(s) it occurred, and a short summary of the event

    inside a box, and connect the box with a line to the appropriate year(s) on the

    timeline. Also model how to complete one of the bars on the graph.

    Advanced Learners

    For the national security meeting, assign students to either the Hawk position

    or the Dove position. Then, instead of using Student Handout 51B, have stu-

    dents research at least three primary sources from late 1964 to mid-1965 that

    they can use to support their recommendation. Encourage them to quote short,

    key excerpts from these sources during the class discussion.

    519The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    D i f f e r e n t i a t i n g I n s t r u c t i o n

    Emerging Reader

    Vocabulary

    aspire: to have a strong

    desire to achieve something

    contemplation: seriousthought about something you

    want to do or understand

    erroneous: false

    unify: to combine the parts of

    a country, an organization, or

    the like to make a single unit

    Scholastic Aptitude Test

    Vocabulary

    ambivalent: uncertain how

    you feel about something

    funereal: of or suggesting

    a funeral

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    Online Resources

    For related research materials on U.S. involvement in Vietnam, refer students

    to Online Resources at www.teachtci.com.

    Using Film

    Please be aware of school and district guidelines about showing movies in

    the classroom.

    Born on the Fourth of July (R) A young marine, Ron Kovic, returns from

    Vietnam as a paraplegic. After months of rehabilitation and soul-searching, he

    discovers new meaning in his life when he begins to protest against the very war

    that he had fought in. You might begin by showing only the opening scenes, in

    which an idealistic Kovic prepares to leave for the war. After Chapter 53, con-

    trast those scenes with later scenes in the film of antiwar protests.

    Fog of War: Eleven Lessons Learned from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

    (PG-13) Robert McNamara, former secretary of defense for Presidents Kennedyand Johnson, played a central role in developing the Vietnam policy of both

    administrations. This film has extensive archival footage and interviews. Show

    students the section that deals with Lesson 7: Belief and Seeing Are Both Often

    Wrong. This 15- to 20-minute segment deals with Johnsons decision to increase

    U.S. military involvement in Vietnam and the details of the Tonkin Gulf crisis.

    Civic Learning

    You may wish to have students investigate primary source documents relevant

    to this chapter. The Our Documents initiative is a cooperative effort of the

    National Archives and Records Administration, National History Day, and the

    USA Freedom Corps. At its Web site, www.ourdocuments.gov, you can down-

    load images and transcripts of the 100 milestone documents chosen for the

    initiative, along with teaching tools and resources. The document most relevant

    to this chapter is the following:

    Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 1964 This resolution authorized the president to

    take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of

    the United States. President Johnson used this authorization to expand U.S.

    involvement in Vietnam.

    520 Chapter 51

    E n h a n c i n g L e a r n i n g

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    Section 51.2

    Vietnam declares independence, 1945

    On September 2, Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Vietnamese

    independence movement, quoted from the Declaration of

    Independence when he declared Vietnamese independence

    from foreign rule. Members of this independence move-

    ment became known as Viet Minh.

    U.S. military aid to French Indochina, 19501954

    President Truman, seeing the First Indochina War as a fight

    against the spread of communism, called for increased

    military aid to French Indochina. Aid increased from

    $10 million in 1950 to more than $100 million in 1951.

    Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954

    Viet Minh forces launched a surprise attack against a large

    French military base at Dien Bien Phu and surrounded

    more than 12,000 French troops. President Eisenhower

    considered sending in U.S. bombers to save the French

    troops, but he decided not to increase U.S. involvement.

    The Viet Minh overran the base, and France began

    pulling out of Vietnam.

    Geneva Accords, 1954

    Under the Geneva Accords, the First Indochina War ended

    and Vietnam was split temporarily along the 17th parallel.

    The Viet Minh moved north of that line; the French

    moved south.

    Section 51.3

    Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964

    On August 2, North Vietnamese patrol boats fired on a

    U.S. destroyer off the coast of North Vietnam. Two nights

    later, U.S. sailors thought they had been attacked again;

    in fact, no attack had taken place. Nevertheless, LBJ used

    these attacks as justification to push the Gulf of Tonkin

    Resolution through Congress. This resolution, passing

    with just two votes against, allowed the president to take

    all necessary measures to prevent further aggression

    by the North Vietnamese.

    Debate on Vietnam involvement:

    Arguments from hawks, 1965

    Hawks argued

    that if Vietnam fell to communists, it would trigger

    the collapse of other countries and communism would

    spread across the region (the domino theory).

    against a policy of appeasement, pointing to what had

    happened with the Munich Pact of 1938, which was

    intended to appease Hitler.

    that the U.S. had to maintain its credibility among its

    alliesother countries needed to know that the U.S.would stand by them in times of crisisand that LBJ

    could not be seen as soft on communism.

    Debate on Vietnam involvement:

    Arguments from doves, 1965

    Doves argued

    that sending in more U.S. troops to fight a guerrilla

    war in unfamiliar jungle terrain would be difficult and

    deadly, and the financial cost would jeopardize LBJs

    Great Society programs. that Vietnams strategic value was insignificant and

    that the U.S. should focus its attention elsewhere.

    that increasing U.S. involvement might draw China or

    the Soviet Union into the conflict.

    521The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    G u i d e t o R e a d i n g N o t e s 5 1

    Following are possible summaries for each key event in the Reading Notes.

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    Section 51.4

    First U.S. combat troops land in Vietnam, 1965

    On March 8, about 3,500 marines arrived in Da Nang,

    South Vietnam. Their job was to defend the air base there,

    whose planes were bombing sites in the north. Soon,however, they were sent out to find and eliminate enemy

    forces. These search-and-destroy missions led to the first

    firefights with the Viet Cong.

    Operation Starlite, 1965

    The first major assault by U.S. ground troops in Vietnam

    took place in August against 1,500 Viet Cong who were

    preparing to attack a U.S. air base near the coast. Supported

    by tanks and fighter planes, the marines killed more than

    600 Viet Cong, while 45 of their own soldiers died.

    The completed bar graph should display the following

    information:

    522 Chapter 51

    G u i d e t o R e a d i n g N o t e s 5 1

    U.S. Advisers and Troops

    in Vietnam, 19591967

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    N O T E B O O K G U I D E

    The United StatesGets Involved in Vietnam

    Teachers Curriculum Institute 483The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    51

    C H A P T E R

    Why did the United States increase its military

    involvement in Vietnam?

    K e y C o n t e n t T e r m s

    As you complete the Reading Notes, use these

    Key Content Terms in your answers:

    Viet Minh

    First Indochina War

    Geneva Accords

    Viet Cong

    Gulf of Tonkin

    Resolution

    R E A D I N G N O T E S

    Copy this diagram onto two pages

    of your notebook. Then follow the

    directions for Sections 51.2, 51.3,

    and 51.4 to complete your time-

    line and bar graph.

    1945 1950 1955 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967

    500,000

    400,000

    300,000

    200,000

    100,000

    50,000

    10,000

    1960

    NumberofMilitaryAdvisersandTroops

    1959 1961 1962 1 963 1 964 1965 1966 19671960

    Timeline of Key Events in Vietnam

    Bar Graph of U.S. Forces in Vietnam

    P R E V I E W

    Answer these questions in your notebook:

    1. What observations did you make about the people

    whose names are listed in the Vietnam Veterans

    Memorial Directory of Names?2. What personal connections did you make with any

    of those people?

    3. What emotions did you feel when you saw the

    photograph and read the names of the people listed

    on the Wall?

    4. What emotions might the Vietnam veteran you see

    be feeling and why?

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    Section 51.2

    Read this section. Add bars to your graph to show the

    number of U.S. military advisers in Vietnam for each of

    the years from 1959 to 1962. See the example below.

    Next, annotate your timeline by doing the followingfor each key event listed below:

    Write the name of the event and the year(s) it

    occurred.

    Write a short summary of the event.

    Draw a box around the name and summary, and

    connect it with a line to the appropriate year(s) on

    the timeline.

    See the example below.

    Key Events

    Vietnam declares independence

    U.S. military aid to French Indochina

    Battle of Dien Bien Phu

    Geneva Accords

    Section 51.3

    Read this section. Add bars to your graph to show the

    number of U.S. military advisers in Vietnam for the

    years 1963 and 1964. Then annotate your timeline for

    these key events:

    Gulf of Tonkin Incident

    Debate on Vietnam involvement:

    Arguments from hawks

    Debate on Vietnam involvement:

    Arguments from doves

    Section 51.4

    After the national security meeting, read this section.

    Add bars to your graph to show the number of U.S.

    advisers and troops in Vietnam for the years 1965 to1967. Then annotate your timeline for these key events:

    First U.S. combat troops land in Vietnam

    Operation Starlite

    P R O C E S S I N G

    What if President Johnson had decided notto increase

    U.S. military involvement in Vietnam in 1965 or had

    even decided to reduce or withdraw U.S. forces?

    Select one of the topics below and write one or two

    paragraphs in which you hypothesize what would have

    happened if Johnson had made a different decision.

    Be sure to discuss short-term and long-term effects of

    the decision.

    Effects on spread of communism in Asia and around

    the world

    Effects on relations between the U.S. and its allies

    Effects on Johnsons Great Society programs

    484 Chapter 51 Teachers Curriculum Institute

    N o t e b o o k G u i d e 5 1

    1945 1950 1955 1959 1960 1961

    500,000

    400,000

    300,000

    200,000

    100,000

    50,000

    10,000

    1960

    NumberofMilitaryAdvisersandTroops

    1959 19611960

    Timeline of Key Events in

    Bar Graph

    Example Event 1

    Summarize the event

    here.

    Example Event 2

    Summarize the event

    here.

    Examplebar graph

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    S t u d e n t H a n d o u t 5 1 A

    Teachers Curriculum Institute 485The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names

    NAME

    CODY CLYDE TERRY

    CODY FRANCIS WARREN

    CODY HOWARD RUDOLPH

    CODY PETER GIRARD

    CODY ROBERT DEAN

    CODY WESLEY OTERIA

    CODY WILLIAM DE BRECE

    COE BENNY BOB

    COE HEWETT FRANK EVASTUS

    COE KENNETH EUGENE

    COE PAUL THOMAS

    COE RONALD RAY

    COEN HARRY BOB

    COEN LOVELL FRANKLIN

    COEN ROGER LEE

    COEN WILLARD GILSON

    COERS BARRY BRYANT

    COFER ARTHUR WILLIAM

    COFER EVERETTE EARL

    COFER JAMES TERRELL

    COFFARO ANTHONY CHARLES

    COFFELT BOBBY J

    COFFEY BILLY RAY

    COFFEY EDWARD AUBREY

    COFFEY EDWARD VINCENT

    COFFEY JERRY EAIRD

    COFFEY JESSE J

    COFFEY RICHARD ARTHUR

    COFFEY ROBERT ALLEN

    COFFEY ROBERT DANIEL

    COFFEY ROBERT WILLIAM

    COFFEY STEVEN LYNN

    COFFEY WILLIAM LOUIS

    COFFIELD JOHN DAVID

    COFFIN DONALD A

    COFFIN JEFFREY ALAN

    COFFINO THOMAS PAUL

    COFFMAN CHARLES EUGENE

    COFFMAN CLYDE LEE

    COFFMAN DOUGLAS DAVIS

    COFFMAN FREDDIE LEE

    COFFMAN ROGER LEROY

    COFFROTH ALFRED PATRICK L

    COFIELD EDWARD CHARLES JR

    COFIELD JESSIE CLIFFORD

    COFRAN WILLIAM EARL

    COFRANCESCO LOUIS J JR

    COGDELL WILLIAM KEITH

    COGDILL RANDY RALPH

    COGGESHALL WILLIAM AYER

    COGGINS JAMES TERRY

    COGGINS LARRY FRANKLIN

    COGGINS TERRY LEE

    COGGINS WILLIAM RAY

    COGHILL JOHN WESLEY

    COGHILL MILO BRUCE

    COGILL PETER

    COHAN STEPHEN

    COHEN CHARLES MITCHELL

    COHEN GARY MARTIN

    COHEN GERALD

    COHEN HARRY

    COHEN LOUIS GEORGE

    COHEN ROBERT BRUCE

    COHEN SHELDON ROBERT

    COHEN SIDNEY

    COHN WILLIAM PAUL JR

    COHRON JAMES DERWIN

    RANK

    SSGT

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    PALMYRA

    KNOXVILLE

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    PHILADELPHIA

    LITTLE FALLS

    FLAGSTAFF

    NEW YORK

    PEORIA

    WARRENSBURG

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    COLUMBUS

    SEATTLE

    WASHINGTON

    NEWNAN

    HOMEWOOD

    PATERSON

    GREENTOWN

    SEVIERVILLE

    MARSHFIELD

    GRIFFIN

    TROY

    WILMER

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    MIAMI

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    LEVITTOWN

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    PHILADELPHIA

    LOS ANGELES

    CHELSEA

    CAMDEN

    OLD MYSTIC

    CENTERVILLE

    STATE

    FL

    OR

    MS

    MI

    IN

    AR

    IL

    OK

    SC

    KS

    CA

    OH

    WY

    KY

    NE

    WA

    AL

    IL

    MS

    GA

    NJ

    TX

    TX

    PA

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    CA

    KY

    KY

    IN

    AZ

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    PA

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    AZ

    NY

    IL

    MO

    OR

    WV

    OH

    WA

    DC

    GA

    IL

    NJ

    IN

    TN

    MA

    GA

    NC

    TX

    TN

    IL

    VA

    MA

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    PA

    MA

    NY

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    PA

    CA

    MA

    NJ

    CT

    IA

    PANELNO.

    36E

    31W

    1E

    17E

    33W

    7W

    28W

    4E

    1E

    22E

    6W

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    58E

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    31W

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    24E

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    DATE OFBIRTH

    21 JUL 42

    31 OCT 48

    05 SEP 34

    12 JUN 45

    24 DEC 44

    23 AUG 49

    05 SEP 45

    13 JUL 45

    21 JUL 26

    15 DEC 45

    21 DEC 48

    24 JUL 47

    22 SEP 48

    09 JAN 20

    23 MAY 48

    28 FEB 26

    01 OCT 48

    07 DEC 41

    05 SEP 35

    13 AUG 47

    31 JAN 45

    04 DEC 46

    05 JUN 49

    08 JAN 34

    09 JUN 47

    31 MAY 44

    06 OCT 35

    21 OCT 41

    14 SEP 50

    05 NOV 49

    01 AUG 37

    21 JAN 51

    29 AUG 43

    31 MAR 31

    06 MAY 49

    14 SEP 50

    16 MAR 51

    24 JUN 48

    03 NOV 49

    17 OCT 46

    13 APR 49

    03 MAR 45

    27 AUG 47

    18 MAY 34

    02 AUG 46

    22 MAR 47

    08 JUN 48

    15 MAR 38

    05 DEC 47

    14 AUG 46

    17 JUL 49

    27 JUN 45

    14 AUG 49

    28 JAN 38

    29 AUG 43

    18 JUN 30

    08 JAN 47

    04 JAN 39

    30 JAN 49

    14 MAR 49

    01 SEP 45

    08 FEB 33

    17 JUL 49

    10 MAR 45

    05 NOV 43

    27 JAN 31

    20 MAY 47

    11 NOV 38

    LINENO.

    47

    44

    35

    34

    25

    9

    57

    4

    9

    99

    58

    22

    32

    82

    15

    77

    111

    100

    87

    38

    82

    7

    75

    99

    14

    94

    71

    17

    45

    79

    40

    18

    29

    80

    75

    76

    60

    84

    91

    106

    3

    111

    3

    52

    65

    19

    67

    42

    90

    88

    8

    99

    27

    31

    104

    5

    88

    18

    87

    37

    17

    40

    4

    1

    117

    53

    10

    35

    MIA

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    Primary Sources on Vietnam Involvement

    Follow these steps to analyze the quotations that follow:

    Create a T-chart in your notebook with the headings Hawks and Doves.

    With your group, carefully read each excerpt to determine whether the speaker supports

    (Hawk) or does not support (Dove) increased U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

    On the appropriate side of your T-chart, write the number of the excerpt and a short summary

    in your own words of the argument(s) the speaker uses to support his position.

    Your group will use this information to help form a recommendation on this question: Should the

    president significantly increase U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?

    Excerpt 1

    While the military and political costs of a big US investment in helping [South Vietnam] may be high,

    I cannot think of a better place for our forces to be employed to give so much future national security

    benefits to the United States. Thus my conclusion is that we . . . must go all out on all three tracks:

    counterinsurgency, covert countermeasures, and military pressures by US forces.

    CIA Deputy Director Ray Cline, September 8, 1964

    Excerpt 2

    The critical moves are, I believe, these: the introduction of . . . ground forces in South Viet Nam and . . .

    the introduction into the Pacific Theater of massive forces to deal with any escalatory response . . .

    They [North Vietnamese and supporters] will not actually accept a setback until they are absolutely sure

    that we really mean it. They will be as searching in this manner as [Soviet leader] Khrushchev

    was before he abandoned the effort to break our hold on Berlin . . . The odds are pretty good, in my

    view, that, if we do these things in this way, the war will either promptly stop or we will see the . . .

    fragmentation of the Communist movement in South Viet Nam . . . At this stage of history we are the

    greatest power in the worldif we behave like it.

    State Department Official Walter Rostow, November 23, 1964

    Excerpt 3

    I would like to share with you my views on the political consequences [to the United States] of certain

    courses of action that have been proposed in regard to U.S. policy in Southeast Asia . . . If we were to

    get involved in a large-scale land warand a consequent increase in defense expenditures; it would tend

    to shift the Administrations emphasis from its Great Society oriented programs to further military

    outlays . . . From a political viewpoint, the American people find it hard to understand why we risk

    World War III by enlarging [this] war . . . If . . . we find ourselves . . . embroiled deeper in fighting with

    Vietnam over the next few months, political opposition will steadily mount . . . with direct spill-over

    effects politically for all the Democratic . . . programs to which we are committed.

    Vice President Humphrey to President Johnson, February 17, 1965

    486 Chapter 51 Teachers Curriculum Institute

    S t u d e n t H a n d o u t 5 1 B

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    S t u d e n t H a n d o u t 5 1 B

    Teachers Curriculum Institute 487The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    Excerpt 4

    The President questioned me concerning consequences of our [possible] withdrawal from Vietnam and

    I said that it would pave the way toward Communist takeover of all of Southeast Asia.

    CIA Director John McCone, February 3, 1965

    Excerpt 5

    Why we have not withdrawn from Vietnam is, by all odds, one reason: (1) To preserve our reputation

    as a guarantor [strong ally], and thus to preserve our effectiveness in the rest of the world . . . At each

    decision point we have gambled; at each point, to avoid the damage to our effectiveness of defaulting

    on our commitment, we have upped the ante . . . It is important that we behave so as to protect our

    reputation.

    Assistant Secretary of Defense John McNaugton, March 24, 1965

    Excerpt 6

    I think what we are doing in starting on a track which involves ground force operations . . . [will mean]

    an ever-increasing commitment of U.S. personnel without materially improving the chances of victory . . .

    In effect, we will find ourselves mired down in combat in the jungle in a military effort that we cannot

    win, and from which we will have extreme difficulty in extracting ourselves.

    CIA Director John McCone, April 2, 1965

    Excerpt 7

    Should we limit our liabilities in South Viet-Nam and try to find a way out with minimal long-termcosts? The alternative . . . is almost certainly a protracted war involving an open-ended commitment

    of US forces, mounting US casualties, no assurance of a satisfactory solution, and a serious danger of

    escalation [with China or the Soviet Union] at the end of the road.

    Undersecretary of State George Ball, June 30, 1965

    Excerpt 8

    We must not create an impression that we have decided to replace the South Vietnamese and win a

    ground war in Vietnam . . . A failure to engage in an all-out war will not lower our international pres-

    tige. This is not the last inning in the struggle against communism. We must pick those spots where

    the stakes are highest for us and we have the greatest ability to prevail . . . [I] dont believe we can win

    in South Vietnam. If we send in one hundred thousand more [troops], the North Vietnamese will meet

    us. If the North Vietnamese run out of men, the Chinese will send in volunteers . . . If we lose fifty

    thousand men it will ruin us. Five years, billions of dollars, fifty thousand men, it is not for us.

    Unofficial presidential adviser Clark Clifford, July 25, 1965

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    National Security Meeting Agenda

    I n f o r m a t i o n M a s t e r 5 1

    Teachers Curriculum InstituteChapter 51488

    The White House

    Washington

    Agenda item: Should the President significantly increase U.S. militaryinvolvement in Vietnam?

    Meeting Protocol

    1. Select a presenter for your group.

    2. When called upon, have your presenter share your groups

    recommendation to the president. Begin your comments with

    Mr. President or President Johnson.

    3. After all presenters have reported to the president, huddle brieflywith your group and prepare one or more rebuttals to arguments

    made by advisers on the other side (the Hawks or the Doves).

    Select a new presenter to share your rebuttal arguments.

    4. When called upon, have the new presenter share one of your

    groups rebuttal arguments. State the other sides argument first

    and then deliver your rebuttal.

    5. When the president adjourns the meeting, stand up and say,

    Thank you, Mr. President.

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    Unit15The VietnamWar51 The United States Gets

    Involved in Vietnam

    52 Facing Frustration in Vietnam

    53 Getting Out of Vietnam

    655

    U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, 1965

    Vietnam War protest, 1971

    19541975

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    51.1 Introduction

    In Washington, D.C.s Constitution Gardens, not far from the Lincoln Memorial,

    sits a long, sloping wall made of polished black granite. Etched into the wall are

    thousands of names. Visitors file past this stark monument at a funereal pace.

    Here and there, some stop to touch a familiar name. Many simply stand in con-

    templation or quiet prayer, while others shed tears. Some leave letters, flowers,

    or personal objects, including medals, at the base of the wall.

    The official name of this monument is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, but

    it is more commonly known as the Wall. The Wall lists the names of U.S.

    soldiers killed or missing in action in the Vietnam War. The first two men listed,

    Chester Ovnand and Dale Buis, were the first U.S. soldiers to die in Vietnam,

    according to official records. They were noncombat troops killed in a surpriseattack on their camp in 1959. At the time, few Americans were paying any

    attention to this faraway conflict. Later, reporter Stanley Karnow, who had

    written a brief account of the soldiers deaths, mentioned their names at a

    congressional hearing. He said, I could never have imagined that these were

    going to be at the head of more than 58,000 names on the Wall.

    Today many young people visit the Wall. Some of them wonder why a list

    of names carved in stone has such a strong impact on other, older visitors. They

    wonder why the remembrance of this war provokes not only tears but also anger.

    The answer is complicated. It has to do with painful memories of loss, with Cold

    War policies, and with social rebellion. It has to do with American GIs fighting

    and dying in a war far from home, for reasons many did not entirely understand.

    Before the United States entered the war, politicians and their advisers

    argued about the wisdom of getting drawn into the conflict. During the war,

    Americans bitterly debated U.S. policy. The war divided the country more than

    any other issue since the Civil War. Today, many are still asking the question:

    Did the United States have good reasons for getting involved in Vietnam?

    The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

    657

    Chapter 51

    The United StatesGets Involved in Vietnam

    Why did the United States increase its military involvement

    in Vietnam?

    19541967

    The Vietnam Veterans Memorial lists thenames of 58,253 Americans killed or missing in

    the Vietnam War. For many Vietnam veterans,

    the Wall is a place for healing. Visiting the

    monument helps them come to terms with

    their experiences during the war, including

    the loss of close friends and family members.

    Above is a replica of the Wall that is part of a

    traveling exhibit.

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    51.2 Three Presidents Increase Involvement in Vietnam

    From the 1880s up until World War II, Vietnam was part of French Indochina, a

    French colony in Southeast Asia that also included Cambodia and Laos. During

    World War II, Japanese troops occupied part of French Indochina. But Vietnam

    had a 2,000-year history of resisting foreign rule. In 1941, a Vietnamese commu-

    nist, Ho Chi Minh, drew on that history to stir up nationalist feelings. In northern

    Vietnam, he helped found a group to oppose foreign occupation. Members of

    this independence movement became known as the Viet Minh.On September 2, 1945, the same day that Japan formally surrendered to the

    Allies, Vietnam declared its independence. Ho Chi Minh made the announce-

    ment. In what seemed like a bid for U.S. backing, he began his speech with

    words from the Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal, he

    said. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that

    among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Ho ended his

    speech with words that might have stirred the hearts of the original American

    patriots. The entire Vietnamese people, he said, are determined to mobilize

    all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in

    order to safeguard their independence and liberty. Hos followers would show

    their determination over the next three decades. First they fought France when it

    tried to reestablish colonial rule. Later they would fight the United States, whichsaw them as a communist enemy. In the early stages of the war, three presidents

    would set the pattern for deepening U.S. involvement.

    Truman Chooses Sides in the First Indochina War The Viet Minh called their

    country the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The northern city of Hanoi was

    their capital, and Ho Chi Minh was their president. France, however, refused to

    accept Vietnamese independence and set out to eliminate the Viet Minh. First,

    French troops drove the rebels out of the southern city of Saigon, the French

    colonial capital. Then the French launched attacks on Viet Minh strongholds in

    the north. In November 1946, French warships opened fire on the port city of

    Haiphong, killing some 6,000 Vietnamese civilians. The following month, the

    Viet Minh attacked French ground forces. These incidents marked the start of

    the First Indochina War. This war would continue for eight years.

    Some American officials saw this conflict as a war between a colonial

    power and nationalists who aspired to govern themselves. They urged France

    to set a goal of complete independence for Vietnam. Others, including Presi-

    dent Truman, held views of the conflict that were more colored by the Cold War.

    They believed that the Viet Minh intended to create a communist dictatorship.

    Although Truman suspected the French might be fighting to preserve their

    empire, he chose to see their efforts as a fight against communism.

    For Truman, containing communism was more important than supporting

    a nationalist movement. By 1951, thousands of U.S. soldiers had already died

    in Korea trying to halt the spread of communism. Truman was determined toblock any further communist advance in Asia. For this reason, he called for an

    increase in military aid to French Indochina. This aid rose from $10 million in

    1950 to more than $100 million in 1951. By 1954, the United States was pay-

    ing 80 percent of the cost of the war in Indochina.

    Ho Chi Minh was president of North Vietnam

    from 1945 to 1969. He fought for an independ-

    ent, unified Vietnam. At first he sought support

    from the United States, but his communist ide-

    ology aroused U.S. hostility. Though considered

    a freedom fighter by many, he ordered the

    killing of thousands of North Vietnamese

    landowners as class enemies.

    Chapter 51658

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    Eisenhower Considers Increased American Involvement Despite U.S. aid,

    the First Indochina War dragged on. The French controlled the cities in both

    northern and southern Vietnam, but the Viet Minh dominated the countryside.

    The Viet Minh took control of rural villages, often by assassinating local leaders

    with close ties to the French. They gained the support of Vietnams peasants,

    who made up around 80 percent of the population, in part by giving them land

    taken from the wealthy.

    The decisive battle of the war began in March 1954, when the Viet Minh

    launched a surprise attack on a large French military base at Dien Bien Phu,

    in the mountains of northern Vietnam. They soon had the base surrounded. By

    April, the more than 12,000 French soldiers at Dien Bien Phu appeared ready

    to give up. Now Trumans successor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, faceda dilemma. A loss at Dien Bien Phu might knock the French out of the war.

    Eisenhower briefly considered sending B-29 aircraft to bomb Viet Minh positions,

    but he did not want to act alone. What he really wanted was a commitment

    from Britain and other allies to take unified military action to stop communist

    expansion in Vietnam and elsewhere in Indochina.

    In a news conference on April 7, Eisenhower warned that if Vietnam fell to

    communism, the rest of Southeast Asia would topple like a row of dominoes.

    Even Japan, he said, might be lost. In the years to come, this domino theory

    would provide a strong motive for U.S. intervention in Vietnam. But for now,

    just months after the Korean War had ended, neither the United States nor its

    allies were prepared to fight another ground war in Asia. Senator John F. Kennedy

    reflected the mood of Congress when he said, To pour money, materiel, and

    men into the jungles of Indochina without at least a remote prospect of victory

    would be dangerously futile and self-destructive. Materiel is military equip-

    ment and supplies. Other policymakers feared that direct military intervention

    might even trigger a war with Vietnams communist neighbor, China.

    The key battle of the First Indochina War took

    place between March and May 1954, when

    Viet Minh troops attacked the French strong-

    hold at Dien Bien Phu. The French lost the

    battle and began to withdraw their forces

    from Vietnam.

    The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam 659

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    On May 7, 1954, the Viet Minh finally overran the French base, ending the

    Battle of Dien Bien Phu and shattering French morale. The French, lacking

    public support at home for the war, began pulling out of northern Vietnam. The

    final act of the First Indochina War would be played out at a peace conference

    in Geneva, Switzerland.

    Geneva Peace Conference Splits Vietnam in Two Representatives of France

    and the Viet Minh began talks in Geneva the day after the French loss at Dien

    Bien Phu. France wanted to maintain some control over southern Vietnam.The Viet Minh demanded that France leave the country completely and that the

    Democratic Republic of Vietnam be recognized as an independent nation.

    As negotiations dragged on, China and the Soviet Union put pressure on

    the Viet Minh to compromise. They did not want to antagonize the United

    States, fearing it would intervene militarily. Finally, in July 1954 the French

    and Viet Minh signed the Geneva Accords. Under this agreement, the fighting

    stopped, and Vietnam was split temporarily along the 17th parallel. The Viet

    Minh moved north of that line, while the French withdrew to the south. Under

    the accords, national elections to reunify Vietnam were scheduled for 1956.

    As France prepared to leave Vietnam, the United States began moving in.

    American officials believed they could form a strong noncommunist state inSouth Vietnam. In 1955, the United States used its influence to put an anti -

    communist South Vietnamese leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, in charge. Diem began

    building an army. To help shape this army, Eisenhower provided some 350 U.S.

    military advisersnoncombat specialists who train and equip another nations

    soldiers. Chester Ovnand and Dale Buis, the first U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam,

    were military advisers.

    As the election to unify north and south approached, Ho Chi Minh seemed

    likely to win. Diem, with U.S. approval, blocked the national vote, thus reject-

    ing the Geneva Accords, and held elections only in the south. In October 1955,

    he declared himself president of South Vietnam. Diem began returning land to

    wealthy landlords and drafting young men from the countryside into his army.

    He ruthlessly attacked opponents and jailed thousands of people without puttingthem on trial or charging them with a crime.

    Viet Minh communists still living in the south launched a guerrilla war

    against Diems brutal government. Their strategy included terrorism and assas-

    sination. In 1960, the Viet Minh formed a group called the National Liberation

    Front and invited all opponents of Diem to join. Diem referred to the group

    as Viet Cong, slang for Vietnamese communists, even though many of its

    members were noncommunists. By now, North Vietnam was supplying and

    supporting these rebels. The stage was set for the Second Indochina War, also

    known as the Vietnam War.

    Kennedy Tries to Prop Up South Vietnam The Viet Cong insurgency, or

    rebellion, threatened to overwhelm the South Vietnamese army. Many army

    officers, like many leaders of South Vietnams government, were incompetent

    and corrupt. Some officers even sold weapons to the Viet Cong. When Kennedy

    became president in 1961, he sent an inspection team to South Vietnam to

    evaluate the situation.

    Chapter 51660

    The Geneva Accords of 1954 split Vietnam

    temporarily at the 17th parallel. The French

    moved into South Vietnam, and the Viet Minh

    moved into North Vietnam. The Viet Minh left

    a political network in the south, however, in

    the hope of winning victory in the national

    unity election set for 1956. They also left

    weapons hidden in the south.

    Vietnam After the

    Geneva Accords, 1954

    Gulf ofTonkin

    CHINA

    LAOS

    SOUTHVIETNAM

    NORTHVIETNAM

    17th parallel

    THAILAND

    CAMBODIA

    20N

    15N

    10N

    105E 110E

    Hanoi

    Saigon

    N

    S

    EW

    0 100 200 km

    0 100 200 mi.

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    Kennedy had originally opposed U.S. military intervention to help the

    French. As the years passed, however, his ideas about the strategic importance

    of Vietnam shifted. In 1956, he offered his own version of the domino theory.

    JFK called Vietnam the cornerstone of the Free World in Southeast Asia, the

    keystone in the arch, the finger in the dike. As president, he continued to

    favor a policy of containing communism.

    When Kennedys inspection team returned from Vietnam, they told the

    president that South Vietnam was losing the war. They recommended more

    economic and military aid, including the use of U.S. combat troops. However,some political advisers urged him to pull out of Vietnam completely. JFK, unsure

    of the best course, opted to send more weapons and equipment and more tech-

    nicians and military advisers. By mid-1962, the number of military advisers had

    soared to around 9,000. But JFK resisted calls to send U.S. soldiers into combat.

    This policy was designed, according to one policy memo, to help Diems army

    win its own war.

    Diem was losing not only the war but also the respect of his people. Besides

    being corrupt and brutal, Diem discriminated against the Buddhist majority.

    In May 1963, at a Buddhist rally opposing Diems policies, South Vietnamese

    police killed nine demonstrators. Several Buddhist monks protested by publicly

    setting themselves on fire. Kennedy realized that Diem had failed as a leader.In November, a group of South Vietnamese generals staged a coup, with the tacit

    approval of U.S. officials. Diem was assassinated as he tried to flee Saigon.

    In 1963, photographs of Buddhist monks burn-

    ing themselves to death in South Vietnamshocked the world. The monks were protest-

    ing the corruption and brutality of the Diem

    regime. Diem had taken power with U.S. sup-

    port, but his actions embarrassed the United

    States and led to his overthrow.

    The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam 661

    U.S. Advisers in Vietnam,

    19591962

    The United States began sending military

    advisers to Vietnam to help the French in

    the early 1950s. The number of advisers

    increased rapidly in the early 1960s. Theseadvisers were not combat troops, but they

    played a key role in the military buildup in

    Southeast Asia.

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    51.3 Johnson Inherits the Vietnam Problem

    Three weeks after Diems death, Kennedy was also assassi-

    nated. The growing problem in Vietnam thus fell into the

    lap of a new president, Lyndon B. Johnson. LBJ knew that

    Vietnam was a potential quagmire that could suck the United

    States into protracted conflict. But he also believed that the

    communists had to be stopped. In May 1964, he expressed

    his ambivalent feelings about Vietnam to an adviser. I dontthink its worth fighting for, he said, and I dont think we

    can get out.

    LBJ was first and foremost a politician. He knew how

    to get things done in Congress and how to win elections.

    During the 1964 campaign, his opponent, Barry Goldwater,

    insisted that the United States should take a more active role

    in the war. Johnson responded, We are not about to send

    American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home

    to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.

    This moderate approach to Vietnam boosted LBJs appeal

    to voters. Yet the president had already begun making plans

    to escalate, or increase, U.S. involvement in the war. InMarch 1964, he asked the military to begin planning for the

    bombing of North Vietnam.

    Gulf of Tonkin Incident Riles the U.S. For years, North

    Vietnam had been sending weapons and supplies south to

    the Viet Cong over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This network of

    footpaths, roads, bridges, and tunnels passed through the

    mountainous terrain of eastern Laos and Cambodia. In mid-

    1964, regular units of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA)

    began heading south along this route. Johnson knew that

    South Vietnams weak and ineffective army would be hard-

    pressed to stop this new offensive. The United States had to

    do more, he believed, or risk losing Vietnam to communism.

    In July 1964, Johnson approved covert attacks on radar

    stations along North Vietnams coast. The CIA planned the

    operation, but South Vietnamese in speedboats carried out

    the raids. U.S. Navy warships used electronic surveillance,

    or close observation, to locate the radar sites. On August 2,

    in response to the raids, NVA patrol boats struck back. They

    fired machine guns and torpedoes at a U.S. destroyer in the

    Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam. The ship

    was not damaged.

    LBJ chose not to retaliate, but he sent a message to Hanoiwarning the North Vietnamese government that further

    unprovoked attacks would bring grave consequences.

    On the night of August 4, in stormy weather in the Gulf of

    Tonkin, American sailors thought their destroyer was again

    The Ho Chi Minh Trail was actually a network of some 12,000

    miles of trails. Soldiers and supplies traveled the route on foot

    and by bicycle, oxcart, and truck. The trip south, through the

    rugged mountains of Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam,

    could take as long as three months.

    Chapter 51662

    N

    S

    EW

    0 100 200 km

    0 100 200 mi.

    LAOS

    CAMBODIA

    THAILAND

    SOUTHVIETNAM

    NORTHVIETNAM

    17th parallel

    Ho

    Chi

    MinhT

    ra

    il

    20N

    15N

    10N

    105E100E 110E

    Saigon

    Hanoi

    Ho Chi Minh Trail

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    under attack. They fired back, although they never saw any enemy boats. In fact,no attack had taken place.

    Back in Washington, D.C., officials quickly studied accounts of the incident.

    Based on erroneous evidence, these officialsand the presidentconcluded

    that a second attack had occurred. LBJ immediately ordered air strikes against

    naval bases in North Vietnam. The next day, August 5, he asked Congress to

    approve those air strikes and to give him the power to deal with future threats.

    Two days later, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This reso-

    lution allowed the president to take all necessary measures to repel any armed

    attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.

    The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was not a legal declaration of war, but it did, in

    effect, give the president permission to expand the U.S. role in the conflict.

    Only two members of Congress, both in the Senate, voted against the reso-

    lution. One of them, Ernest Gruening of Alaska, explained his opposition in a

    speech on the Senate floor:

    [Authorizing this measure] means sending our American boys into combat

    in a war in which we have no business, which is not our war, into which

    we have been misguidedly drawn, which is steadily being escalated. This

    resolution is a further authorization for escalation unlimited.

    Senator Ernest Gruening, August 1964

    The U.S. Reaches a Crisis Point in Vietnam The escalation that Senator

    Gruening feared began on February 7, 1965, after the Viet Cong attacked a

    U.S. air base in the south. LBJ responded by ordering the bombing of barracks

    and military staging areas north of the 17th parallel. We have kept our guns over

    the mantel and our shells in the cupboard for a long time now, the president

    said of his decision. I cant ask our American soldiers out there to continue to

    fight with one hand behind their backs.

    The Gulf of Tonkin Incident provoked an

    escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

    On August 2, 1964, North Vietnamese boats

    fired on a U.S. ship, causing little damage.

    Two days later, false reports of a second

    attack prompted the United States to launch

    air strikes against North Vietnam.

    The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam 663

    U.S. warship surveillance route,July 31August 2

    Target of South Vietnamesespeedboat raids, July 31

    U.S. warship attacked, August 2

    Alleged attack of U.S. warship,August 4

    Target of retaliatory U.S. air raids,

    August 4Gulf ofTonkin

    SOUTHVIETNAM

    NORTHVIETNAM

    17th parallel

    Hanoi

    20N

    15N110E

    N

    S

    EW

    0 50 100 km

    0 50 100 mi.

    Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 1964

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    The number of U.S. military advisers in Vietnam

    continued to grow in the mid-1960s. By 1964,

    there were more than twice as many advisers

    in the country as there were two years before.

    The figure was more than 30 times the number

    in 1959.

    The February bombing raid led to a series of massive air strikes called

    Operation Rolling Thunder. Most of the presidents advisers believed that this

    action was needed to give a boost to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam

    (ARVN) and to avoid the collapse of South Vietnam. The government, plagued

    by coups and corruption, was in turmoil. It had little support outside Saigon and

    other large cities. The military, too, was in rough shape. Units of the ARVN

    rarely had success against the enemy forces that roamed the countryside. ARVN

    soldiers deserted by the thousands each month.

    Besides attacking staging areas, U.S. planes began intensive bombing of theHo Chi Minh Trail, hoping to cut off supplies and soldiers streaming in from the

    north. But the flow of men and materiel from the north continued, as did the

    war. In light of these results, the Johnson administration decided to reexamine

    U.S. policy in Vietnam.

    Johnsons Advisers Debate Increased Involvement President Johnson

    believed in a limited war to secure South Vietnams independence. His foreign

    policy team debated what actions were necessary to reach that objective.

    Most of LBJs political advisers were hawks, people who favored expanding

    U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. In their eyes, the defense of Vietnam

    was crucial in the wider struggle to contain communism. In policy debates, thehawksa group that included Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and

    Secretary of State Dean Rusk, along with top military leadersargued in favor

    of escalating the war by introducing U.S. ground troops. One of their arguments

    had been heard many times before: the domino theory. The fall of Vietnam,

    they asserted, would trigger the collapse of Cambodia, Laos, and the rest of

    Southeast Asia. Under this scenario, communism would spread across the

    entire region and beyond.

    The hawks also argued against a policy of appeasement. They recalled the

    Munich Pact of 1938, which was intended to appease Hitler but allowed for the

    continued aggression that led to World War II. LBJ understood their point. The

    central lesson of our time, he said, is that the appetite of aggression is never

    satisfied. To withdraw from one battlefield means only to prepare for the next.A third argument of the hawks stressed American credibility. They said that

    allies must be able to rely on the United States, the leader of the free world, to

    stand by them in times of crisis. Only then, the hawks claimed, could the United

    States count on allied support in the worldwide battle against communism. They

    also argued that the United States had to make clear to the communists that it

    Chapter 51664

    President Johnson relied on advisers to help

    formulate Vietnam policy. Here he is shown

    in a meeting with military experts, including

    Defense Secretary Robert McNamara (with

    arm outstretched), in 1965. McNamara, like

    many of LBJs advisors, was a hawk who

    favored sending more troops to Vietnam.

    Other advisers, known as doves, urged the

    president to seek more peaceful means to

    resolve the Vietnam conflict.

    U.S. Advisers in Vietnam,

    19591964

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    would meet any challenge to its power. A related argument was purely political.

    During the Cold War, politicians were expected to take a hard line against the

    communist threat. LBJ could not afford to lose domestic support by being

    branded soft on communism.

    Not all of LBJs advisers took such a hard line. Some, such as Undersecretary

    of State George Ball, were dovesadvocates of a peaceful solution in Vietnam

    through negotiation and compromise. Previously they had argued against wide-

    spread bombing. Now, in policy debates, they made the case against escalating

    the conflict further by sending in U.S. combat troops.

    The doves contended that escalating the war would not guarantee victory,

    arguing that the war was unwinnable. They pointed to the case of Korea, where

    U.S. troops had fought a costly war for three years but achieved little. Fightinga guerrilla war in the unfamiliar jungle terrain of Vietnam, the doves predicted,

    would prove even more difficult and deadly. In addition, the expense of such a

    war would undermine LBJs top priority, his Great Society programs.

    The doves also argued that involvement in the war was not in the nations

    interest. They said the United States had no business becoming entangled in

    someone elses civil war. In addition, they questioned the strategic value of

    Vietnam to the United States. The huge investment the United States was mak-

    ing in Southeast Asia, they argued, was diverting attention from more important

    problems both at home and abroad.

    Furthermore, the doves pointed out that direct U.S. involvement in Vietnam

    might draw China or even the Soviet Union into the conflict. Both countries

    were supplying North Vietnam with military aid, and China was building an

    air base just inside its border with North Vietnam. The doves feared that China

    might counter the entry of U.S. ground troops with combat forces of its own.

    Increased U.S. involvement, they claimed, would not reassure its allies but

    instead make them more anxious that a major war could erupt in the region.

    665The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    The Domino Theory

    Some critics of the Vietnam War believed that

    the conflict could not be managed successfully.

    This cartoon shows President Johnson cling-

    ing desperately to the tail of a tiger, represent-

    ing Vietnam, as it whips him through space.

    The cartoonist is implying that Vietnam could

    not be controlled.

    The domino theory was a key rationale

    for increasing U.S. military involvement

    in Vietnam. According to this theory, the

    fall of Vietnam to communism would

    lead to communist advances throughout

    Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

    Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and

    Kennedy, along with Johnson, were all

    strongly influenced by the domino theory.

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    51.4 Johnson Americanizes the War

    After weighing all the advice he received about American involvement in

    Vietnam, Johnson decided to send troops. On March 8, 1965, about 3,500 U.S.

    marines waded ashore at a beach near Da Nang, South Vietnam. This was the

    first time U.S. combat troops had set foot in Vietnam. The marines received a

    warm greeting from local officials. Several Vietnamese girls placed garlands of

    flowers around the soldiers necks.

    The marines knew this was no time to celebrate, though. They immediatelybegan digging foxholes on the beach, preparing to defend against a Viet Cong

    attack. The next day, they continued bringing equipment and supplies ashore,

    including tanks equipped with flamethrowers. The marines job was to defend

    the air base at Da Nang, the home base for bombers taking part in Operation

    Rolling Thunder. Soon their orders changed, however. They were sent on patrol

    to find and eliminate enemy forces. These search-and-destroy missions led to

    the first firefights with Viet Cong guerrillas. Until the following month, LBJ

    kept this shift to combat status a secret from the American people.

    Johnson Dramatically Increases Troop Levels By the end of April, President

    Johnson had approved the dispatch of 60,000 more combat troops to Vietnam. In

    July, after conferring with advisers, he publicly announced that he was boosting

    U.S. troop levels dramatically, to 125,000 men. We cannot be defeated by force

    of arms, he said. We will stand in Vietnam. LBJs actions and words revealed

    that the United States was about to undertake a full-scale war. Yet the president

    did not officially declare war or ask Congress for permission to expand troop

    levels. He based his authority to act on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

    In the months that followed, the air war continued to intensify, and the pace

    of the ground war accelerated. The first major assault by U.S. ground troops,

    called Operation Starlite, took place in August 1965, against 1,500 Viet Cong

    who were preparing to attack a U.S. air base near the coast. The battle started

    with bomb and artillery attacks on Viet Cong positions. Helicopters flew many

    of the 5,500 marines to the battle site, and otherscame ashore from ships. Supported by tanks and

    fighter planes, the marines successfully smashed

    the enemy force. In this American victory, marines

    killed more than 600 Viet Cong, while 45 U.S.

    soldiers died.

    This pattern of delivering troops by helicopter

    while battering the enemy with overwhelming

    firepower would continue throughout the war.

    So would the lopsided pattern of casualties.

    Although many U.S. and ARVN soldiers would

    die in Vietnam, four times as many enemy

    troops would perish. Despite huge losses, how-ever, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese man-

    aged to produce enough new fighters to keep

    the war going.

    The first U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam

    on March 8, 1965, on a beach near Da Nang.

    Before long, U.S. forces had taken charge of

    the war. As the war became Americanized, the

    South Vietnamese played less and less of a role.

    Chapter 51666

    U.S. troop levels in Vietnam rose rapidly after

    the first soldiers arrived in 1965. Four months

    later, the number of young men drafted into

    the armed forces doubled, to 35,000 a month,

    to meet the demand for new soldiers.

    U.S. Advisers and Troops in

    Vietnam, 19591967

    Source: U.S. National Archives.

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    After World War II, nationalist and communist rebels in the French colony of Vietnam

    fought for their independence. A 1954 agreement ending this colonial war split the

    country into communist North Vietnam and democratic South Vietnam. When France

    pulled out the following year, the United States stepped in to prop up South Vietnam.

    Over the years, American involvement grew and eventually led to the introduction of

    U.S. ground forces.

    First Indochina War In this first phase of fighting, which lasted from 1946 to 1954, Ho Chi

    Minh led Viet Minh insurgents in the struggle to end French rule in Vietnam.

    Geneva Accords The First Indochina War ended with a 1954 agreement known as the GenevaAccords. The accords split Vietnam into north and south but called for elections to reunify the

    country. The United States backed South Vietnam financially and militarily.

    Viet Cong Insurgents in the south, known as the Viet Cong, worked to overthrow the nominally

    democratic but corrupt government of South Vietnam. The Viet Cong received aid from commu-

    nist North Vietnam.

    Gulf of Tonkin Resolution An alleged attack on U.S. ships off the coast of North Vietnam led

    Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This resolution gave President Johnson broad

    powers to expand the U.S. role in Vietnam. Massive air strikes against North Vietnam followed.

    Ho Chi Minh Trail By 1965, North Vietnamese Army troops were moving south along the

    Ho Chi Minh Trail to help the Viet Cong. The United States feared that South Vietnam would

    fall without more direct support.

    Americanization In March 1965, the United States began sending ground troops to fight the

    Vietnam War. The war quickly became an American conflict.

    The United States, too, relied on ever-increasing numbers of ground troops

    to sweep through jungles and rice paddies and root out the enemy. By the end

    of 1965, U.S. combat soldiers numbered more than 184,000. That figure more

    than doubled in 1966, to 385,000. By late 1967, nearly half a million Americans

    were serving in Vietnam, and more were streaming into the country.

    An American War Starting in 1965, with the landing of the first combat forces,

    the conflict in Vietnam changed. The United States took over the main responsi-

    bility for fighting the war, adopting a two-pronged strategy. First, U.S. marineswould take key cities and other vital sites along the coast and transform them

    into modern military bases. They would then use those bases to launch search-

    and-destroy missions against the Viet Cong. From that time forward, the South

    Vietnamese would play only a supporting role.

    This change in strategy represented the Americanization of the Vietnam

    War. As one of LBJs advisers, Horace Busby, put it, This is no longer South

    Vietnams war. We are no longer advisers. The stakes are no longer South

    Vietnams. The war is ours.

    667The United States Gets Involved in Vietnam

    Summary

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    President Johnson in the Oval Office

    90History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals Teachers Curriculum Institute History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals

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