Nixon’s

Vietnamization

1969-1970

“Peace with Honor”Part of Nixon’s end-the-war plan wascalled Vietnamization.It involved turning overthe fighting to the SouthVietnamese as U.S. troops were graduallypulled out. This strategy,said Nixon, would bring“peace with honor.”Nixon hoped to maintainU.S. dignity in the faceof its withdrawal from war.

Invasion of CambodiaPublicly, Nixon emphasized Vietnamization: secretly, however,he planned to widen the war--into Cambodia. For years, NorthVietnamese troops had attacked South Vietnam, then retreatedto the safety of camps in neutral Cambodia. Early in 1969, Nixondecided to conduct a secret campaign to bomb these positions.

Violence on Campus

News of the bombing and invasion ofCambodia provokedoutrage in the U.S.,particularly on college campuses. On May 4, 1970, four people were killed at a Kent State University demonstration.

Pentagon PapersIn 1971, anotherincident sparked theantiwar movement.The New York Timesbegan publishing a collection of secretgovernment documentsrelating to the war.Known as the PentagonPapers, they showed that the governmenthad frequently misledthe American people about the course of thewar.

Daniel Ellsberg

No More Will To

Fight

1971-1975

Lost CauseThroughout the war,American soldiers hadfought well. But as theU.S. presence fell to140,000, few wanted todie for a cause that seemed to have lost itsmeaning. By the end of1971, four times as manyAmericans soldiers required treatment forserious drug abuse asrequired medical attention for combatwounds.

A Cease-Fire At LastOn January 27, 1973,a peace agreementwas signed. The lastU.S. ground forceswere withdrawn onMarch 29. And soonafter, Congresspassed a bill blockingany further U.S.military activity inIndochina.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Stirm, a returning POW, receivesa warm welcome from his family in 1973. The longest-heldVietnam POW was Lieutenant Everett Alvarez, Jr., ofCalifornia. He was imprisoned for more than eight years.

POW’S

Fall of Saigon

On April 30, 1975, fullcolumns of NVA soldiersentered Saigon. As the lastAmericans in Vietnam scrambled aboard any air- craft they could claw their way onto, the Communists that the U.S. spent two decades fighting finally succeeded in freeing Vietnam of foreigners

The Legacy of Vietnam*More than 58,000 killed, 300,000 wounded and 2,300 missing and presumed dead*More cautious outlook on foreign affairs– Vietnam Syndrome*More cynical about the government*Anti-war demonstrations resulted in violence and even death*Policy changes were made, such as the War Powers Act and abolition of the draft