1960:
John F. Kennedy elected US president. NLF formed.
1961:
Kennedy promises more aid to South Vietnam.
1962:
American advisers in Vietnam increased from 700 to 12,000. 'Strategic hamlet" policy begins.
1963:
Buddhist protest against Diem begin - Buddhist monks commit suicide by setting fire to themselves.
Diem killed in military take-over. President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas. Lyndon Johnson becomes president. 15,000 American advisers in Vietnam.
1964:
Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. American planes bomb North Vietnam and NLF attack American air bases.
1965:
Operation Rolling Thunder begins. First US fighting troops sent to Vietnam, 184,310 US troops in Vietnam.
1966:
Johnson resumes bombing of North Vietnam. 385,300 US troops in Vietnam.
1967:
Van Thieu becomes South Vietnamese president. 485,600 US troops in Vietnam.
1968:
Tet Offensive. Major demonstrations in America against the war. Massacre at My Lai. Johnson announces that he will not
stand for re-election. Peace talks begin in Paris. Richard Nixon elected US president. 536,000 US troops in Vietnam.
1969:
Nixon begins Vietnamization program and announces troop withdrawals from Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh dies in Hanoi. 484,330 US troops in Vietnam.
1970:
In demonstrations at Kent State University, four students killed. 335,790 US troops in Vietnam.
1971:
Lieutenant Calley convicted of My Lai massacre. 158,120 US troops in Vietnam.
1972:
Nixon re-elected as President. 24,000 US troops in Vietnam.
1973:
Cease-fire signed in Paris. Last American troops leave Vietnam.
1974:
Nixon resigns over Watergate. Gerald Ford becomes President.1975:
Congress refuses to send American troops to Vietnam. Van Thieu leaves Saigon for Taiwan. Saigon falls to the NLF.
Image Library
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