D. LBJ

• September 25, 1964

• “We don’t want our American boys to do the fighting for Asian boys. We don’t want to get tied down in a land war in Asia.”

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• August 2, 1964• NV torpedo boats fire on

Maddox• Damage-1 Bullet hole!• 3 Torpedoes Missed!

• August 4, 1964• Maddox used as bait!• No one heard a single shot!

• US Response-64 planes bomb oil depot in NV.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• August 7, 1964• House 416-0• Senate 88-2

• Gave LBJ a “Blank Check”• Gave the President the right

to repel by any means necessary any attack against US armed forces.

• Grandma’s Nightshirt

Start of the Air War

• Operation Rolling Thunder• Supposed to take 6-8

weeks, lasted 4 years• Showed support for SV &

Bomb the Ho Chi Minh Trail• “We’re going to bomb

them back to the Stone Age.” –Curtis LeMay

Operation Barrel Roll

• Massive bombing of Laos/Cambodia starting in 1964.• Done in secret!• After revolution in Laos!• Boomerang Effect-

massive infiltration of troops down the trail.• 1965-8,800/month• 1967-100,000/month

Average American Soldier

• 2.6 million men served• Average Age-19, WWII-26• Vietnam-25%, WWII-66%• Poor, only 1/10 had a

college education• Thousands stayed in college

while over 50,000 went to Canada.

The Ground War

• First combat troops sent in March 6, 1965• Defensive War-learned

lessons of aggression from Korea.• Troop level increased to

550,000• Search and Destroy-Locate

enemy, call in air strike, clear ground w/troops• Problem-Never hold and

control any territory.

Body Count

• Secretary of Defense-Robert McNamara• “If it’s dead and

Vietnamese, it’s Vietcong”• Inflated Statistic• If you kill 2, say that you

killed 8 or 10.• Why?

Pacification

• A.K.A. Forced Urbanization• Moved refugees to camps

or cities and then burned their homes.

• Op. Phoenix-CIA secretly executed 20,000 SV civilians that were suspected communists-

Gen. William Westmoreland

General William Westmoreland-”I have never been more encouraged in my 4 years in Vietnam. We have reached an important point when the end comes into view.

Ho Chi Minh

• “You can kill 10 of my men for every 1 I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.”

• “I know Americans they are impatient people. They will leave.”

Tet Offensive-January 30, 1968

• Vietnamese New Year• VC attacked over 100 cities

and 12 US bases• Saigon• New embassy a symbol of

American power• One of 6 main targets

• LBJ said it was the most secure site in Vietnam• 2:45am 15 people blew a

hole in the 8 ft. wall• 9:20am Embassy was

secured!

Results of Tet

• Militarily-US lost no territory• Casualties- US (1000)• SV (2000)• NV (45,000)• Westy-Battle of the Bulge?

• Politically-hurt US confidence, losing the war• VC-Morale down, lost

confidence in leadership, doubtful of victory.

Results of Tet cont.• Walter Cronkite• “ I thought that we were

winning this war. What the hell is going on here?

• LBJ-• “If I’ve lost Walter, then its

all over. I’ve lost the average American.• Westmoreland asked for

206,000 troops• LBJ gave him 10,500