The Vietnam War and America's involvement

The Vietnam War was initially a civil war aimed at reunification of Vietnam following its partition in 1954 into North (Communist) and South (Non-Communist). In the late 1960s the United States became involved militarily, and by 1969 there were some 550,000 US troops in South Vietnam. North Vietnam received aid from the USSR and China. The United States was in Vietnam not so much to stop the spread of communism as to protect its credibility as the leading noncommunist power in the postwar world order. By January of 1955 the US had replaced France as the dominant power in South Vietnam. Policy makers in the United States had the idea that the noncommunist South Vietnam was vital to the security interests of the US, and the Eisenhower administration planned United States policy accordingly. The United States sent hundreds of millions of dollars each year to South Vietnam to help out, but the American aid did little good. Efforts toward negotiated peace were begun in 1969 and a peace treaty was signed in January of 1973 by South Vietnam, the United States, North Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front. This provided for the end to hostilities and the removal of US troops. The war went on however, and in May of 1975 the South Vietnamese fell to the communist government of North Vietnam.

graphics of Vietnam War

• This is graphic #1The Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C.
• This is graphic #2The Vietnam War Memorial: The Three GI's
• This is graphic #3The Vietnam War Memorial: The Nurses

related web sites for Vietnam War

1. This is site # 1The Main reason the Vietnam War was so controversial...
2. This is site #2Vietnam Memories:photographer Neal Nulevich's archive of photos from Vietnam
3. This is site #3 More links to sites on the Vietnam War