Vietnam War Timeline
1 Nov 63 - S. Vietnamese President Diem and his brother are assassinated outside of Saigon. One coup follows another and weakens the war effort
Jun 64 - Henry Cabot Lodge resigned as US ambassador to Saigon
July 64 - Announcement states that US military contingent in Vietnam would increase 5,000 more to 21,000
2 Aug 64 - US Navy destroyers "Maddox" and "C. Turner Joy" are reported attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin (attacks 2 Aug + 4 Aug)
4 Aug 64 - US retaliatory strike destroyed 25 N. Vietnamese boats at their bases
4 Aug 64 - Later revealed in the "Pentagon Papers": A cable from the US commander of the destroyer task force stated, "No actual visual sighting. . . . .suggest complete evaluation before any further action."
7 Aug 64 - US Congress approves Gulf of Tonkin resolution affirming "All necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States. . .to prevent further aggression. . . (and) assist any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asian Collective Defense Treaty (SEATO) requesting assistance. . ." US Senate voted (88-2) passed - Senator Wayne Morse (D-Oregon) and Senator Ernest Gruening (D-Alaska) voted against the resolution. US House voted (414-0) passed
Fall 1964 - U.S. turns down an offer of secret peace talks with North Vietnam
7 Feb 65 - "In the early hours of February 7th, 1965, the VC upped the ante when they launched a guerilla assault against the military barracks at Pleiku where US military advisors were housed. The attack left 8 Americans dead, and President Johnson reacted as though the VC had delivered a personal insult." Johnson ordered a retaliatory air-strike against North Vietnam the next day. Operation "Rolling Thunder" began in mid-February and lasted 3 years
8 Mar 65 - "Two US Marine battalions arrived on the beach at DaNang in full battle gear. . . They were met not by enemy fire, but by curious onlookers. . . One soldier said, "The war was nowhere in sight."
16 Mar 65 - Alice Herz, an 82-year-old survivor of Nazi terror, set herself on fire in Detroit shortly after President Johnson announced major troop increases and the bombing of North Vietnam.
20 May 65 - Hanoi restates its peace proposal which "Washington" has already rejected
2 Nov 65 - Quaker Norman Morrison set himself on fire and died outside Secretary of Defense Robert McNamaras Pentagon office, a scene McNamara witnessed
9 Nov 65 - Catholic Worker Roger LaPorte immolated himself opposite the United Nations building as an anti-war protest
1965 - The US Congress provided $2.4 Billion for the Vietnam war effort, with little dissent in the US House or Senate
Amen!
NeuroHead 2 years ago