Escalation & Lies
The US destroyer involved in the initial August 1964 incident.
What is the USS Maddox?
The sustained US bombing campaign against North Vietnam that began in 1965.
What is Operation Rolling Thunder?
The village where US soldiers massacred hundreds of unarmed civilians in 1968.
What is My Lai?
The two nations (not US or Vietnam) present at the 1954 Geneva peace talks.
Who are France and China?
A general term for those who supported the war effort.
What are Hawks?
The US strategy of relying on superior firepower and high enemy losses.
What is Attrition Strategy?
The surprise, coordinated attack by the Viet Cong and NVA in January 1968.
What is the Tet Offensive?
The highly toxic chemical defoliant used to destroy jungle cover.
What is Agent Orange?
The President who introduced the concept of Vietnamization.
Who is Richard Nixon?
This became a major point of contention when young men were selected for military service.
What is the Draft (or Conscription)?
This was secretly bombed under Operation Menu, causing widespread protests.
What is Cambodia (or the Invasion of Cambodia)?
The program to train South Vietnamese forces and withdraw US combat troops.
What is Vietnamization?
A term for when US soldiers deliberately killed their own officers due to low morale.
What is Fragging?
The corrupt, Catholic leader of South Vietnam supported by the US until his assassination.
Who is Ngo Dinh Diem?
The large-scale 1969 demonstration that saw the biggest anti-war protest to date.
What is the Moratorium to End the War?
President Johnson's perceived lack of truth regarding the war led to this term.
What is the Credibility Gap?
The brutal, massive air raids on Hanoi and Haiphong in December 1972.
What are the Christmas Bombings (or Linebacker II)?
The US Army unit primarily responsible for the atrocity at My Lai.
What is Charlie Company?
The Secretary of Defense who focused on "attrition" and resigned due to the war's failure.
Who is Robert McNamara?
The growing gap between the US government's optimistic reports and the reality of the war.
What is Public Opinion?
This 1970 event saw the National Guard fire on student protesters.
What is Kent State?
The network of jungle paths used by North Vietnam to supply forces in the South.
What is the Ho Chi Minh Trail?
These documents, leaked in 1971, revealed the US government had often misled the public.
What are the Pentagon Papers?
This 1973 Act limited the President's ability to deploy troops without Congressional approval.
What is the War Powers Resolution?
The 1973 agreement that formally ended US involvement and included a ceasefire.
What are the Paris Peace Accords?