Vietnam War: Retaliation to Tet Offensive/ My Lai Massacre May 9, 2013
Dec 24, 2015
Vietnam War: Retaliation to Tet Offensive/ My Lai Massacre
May 9, 2013
January 31, 1968: Tet Offensive• Over 1,500 Americans killed• Response: Americans bitter
1. No large scale battles2. Went against cease-fire
• U.S. looking for Vietcong– In past: many U.S. killed/ injured by Vietcong
posing as civilians• U.S. troops target South Vietnam villages that
“sympathize” with Vietcong• Told to: burn homes; kill livestock; destroy cropsCharlie Company• Previously: Suffered 30 attacks by Vietcong• Many wounded; 5 deaths• Approach village in My Lai
– Debate orders– Suspect EVERYONE of conspiring with Vietcong
• NO Vietcong soldiers or weapons
March 16, 1968: My Lai Massacre• U.S. Troops murder Vietnamese civilians
– Men, women, AND children– Sexually assaulted; mutilated; tortured
• Killed EVERYONE in the village• Burned village/ no evidence• NOT every soldier in Charlie Company committed killings• After attack…Newspapers in U.S. read:
– 128 Vietcong; 22 civilians killed– Charlie Company congratulated
• Soldiers who did NOT murder “blow whistle” on what happened in My Lai
• 14 soldiers on trial– Claim take orders of Lieutenant
• Lieutenant sentenced to life in prison– Only 4 ½ months in military prison
• U.S. count 347 dead; Vietnam claim 504 killed• Reminder: Soldier no regard for human life
Getting out of VietnamMay 15, 2013
• January 1968: Tet Offensive• March 1968: My Lai Massacre• April 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated• June 1968: Robert Kennedy assassinated• November 1968: Nixon elected presidentNixon’s Goal: Get U.S. out of Vietnam
– Peace with Honor1969: Vietnamization• U.S. gradually remove troops
– Let South Vietnam troops fight own battles1970: Nixon sick of waiting for peace• Bomb Ho Chi Minh Trail (trail that supplied Vietcong)
– 3 million tons of bombs dropped (hit Laos/ Cambodia)
• Americans outraged the war NOT over• May 1970: Kent State University
– Anti-Vietnam War protest– Students throw rocks/ bottles at Nat’l Guard– 4 students shot dead
• 1971: 2/3 Americans want troops withdrawn– Even if Communists take over
• Nixon needs to get out of Vietnam to win re-election• October 1972: U.S. & North Vietnam begin PEACE talks
again• November 1972 Election: Nixon wins re-election• January 1973: Cease fire signed (no fight)
– POWs returned (550)• March 29, 1973: last troops leave
• Advisors/ contractors stay in South Vietnam• January 1974: North Vietnam rebuild military & invade
South Vietnam• Goes against Cease-Fire
• April 29, 1975: In 18 hours, U.S. airlift 1,000 Americans & 7,000 South Vietnamese refugees out of Vietnam
• April 30, 1975: North Vietnam takes over South Vietnam• Vietnam is UNIFIED and COMMUNIST
• Death Toll– U.S. – 58,000 (300,000 injured)– Vietnam – 2 million dead
• Did Communism Spread???– Yes (but not as bad as thought)– Laos and Cambodia turn comm.
• No appreciation to returning troops– No warmth/ No parades– Physical/ psychological issues
– Post Traumatic Stress: severe anxiety after witnessing traumatic event
• $$$ + Death Toll = Distrust in Gov’t• War Powers Act: President must consult
Congress within 48 hours if send troops to foreign conflict
• Americans want No Foreign INVOLVEMENT– Don’t want another “Vietnam”