Vietnam War Timeline of Events

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Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations...

Timeline of Events

1967

10.21.1967

Vietnam War: More than 100,000 war protesters gather in Washington, D.C.. A peaceful rally at the Lincoln Memorial is followed by a march to The Pentagon and clashes with soldiers and United States Marshals protecting the facility. Similar demonstrations occurred simultaneously in Japan and Western Europe.

11.2.1967

Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson and "The Wise Men" conclude that the American people should be given more optimistic reports on the progress of the war.

11.3.1967

Vietnam War: The Battle of Dak To begins.

11.11.1967

Vietnam War: In a propaganda ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, three American prisoners of war are released by the Viet Cong and turned over to "new left" antiwar activist Tom Hayden.

11.17.1967

Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports that he had been given on November 13, US President Lyndon B. Johnson tells the nation that, while much remained to be done, "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress."

11.21.1967

Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland tells news reporters: "I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing."

11.29.1967

Vietnam War: U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara announces his resignation.

12.4.1967

Vietnam War: US and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta.

1968

1.21.1968

Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh

1.30.1968

Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins when Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks in South Vietnam.

2.1.1968

Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. This image helped build opposition to the Vietnam War.

2.5.1968

Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh begins.

2.24.1968

Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.

3.16.1968

Vietnam War: In the My Lai massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers (men, women, and children) are killed by American troops.

4.23.1968

Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.

7.26.1968

Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzũ is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.

10.8.1968

Vietnam War: Operation Sealords

10.14.1968

Vietnam War: 27 soldiers are arrested at the Presidio of San Francisco in California for their peaceful protest of stockade conditions and the Vietnam War.

10.14.1968

Vietnam War: 27 soldiers are arrested at the Presidio of San Francisco in California for their peaceful protest of stockade conditions and the Vietnam War.

10.31.1968

Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.

11.26.1968

Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire and is later awarded the Medal of Honor.

1969

4.3.1969

Vietnam War: U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to "Vietnamize" the war effort.

4.5.1969

Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities.

5.10.1969

Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.

7.25.1969

Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the "Vietnamization" of the war.

7.30.1969

Vietnam War: US President Richard M. Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and meets with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and U.S. military commanders.

8.4.1969

Vietnam War: at the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.

10.15.1969

Vietnam War; The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was held in Washington DC and across the US. Over 2 million demonstrated nationally; about 250,000 in the nation's capitol.

11.12.1969

Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre

11.13.1969

Vietnam War: Anti-war protesters in Washington, D.C. stage a symbolic ''March Against Death''.

11.15.1969

Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 250,000-500,000 protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the war, including a symbolic "March Against Death".

11.20.1969

Vietnam War: The ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'' publishes explicit photographs of dead villagers from the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.

1970

3.10.1970

Vietnam War: Captain Ernest Medina is charged with My Lai war crimes.

4.28.1970

Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to fight communist sanctuaries in Cambodia.

4.29.1970

Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.

5.4.1970

Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: the Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, open fire killing four students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the United States' invasion of Cambodia.

5.9.1970

Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 75,000 to 100,000 war protesters demonstrate in front of the White House.

8.29.1970

Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, East Los Angeles, California. Police riot kills three people, including journalist Ruben Salazar.

9.5.1970

Vietnam War: Operation Jefferson Glenn begins: the United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province.

10.30.1970

In Vietnam, the worst monsoon to hit the area in six years causes large floods, kills 293, leaves 200,000 homeless and virtually halts the Vietnam War.

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