The War Of The Vietnam War

Upon the French’s exit, the American involvement and commitment escalated with the use of the political establishments in South Vietnam to assist in the curbing the spread of Communism. This presented America an opportunity for them to significantly integrate themselves in the South Vietnamese government to further delay the reunification election from taking place in 1954. The attacks on the US naval vessels during the Gulf of Tonkin incident provided the U.S, under the Johnson administration, another justification for the escalated involvement of the conflict in Vietnam. In which, the U.S responded with the Gulf of Tonkin resolution to launch a full-scale military effort towards the North until their withdrawal from Vietnam in 1969. The desolate gradual departure of America in Vietnam was summarised by Senator James Buckley as “that damning silence of those who cannot find even a single word of compassion for those under Communist tyranny”. It can be inferred from this context that as the situations in Vietnam continue to evolve, the American’s participation also varied to align with these conditions.

The Vietnam War lasted longer, bloodier, and more hostile than any U.S. President or American citizen imagined. Lyndon Johnson faced many other enemies during the war such as the duration, the immense number of deaths, and for the first time in most American’s history, failure. Through deep evaluation of Lyndon B. Johnson’s foreign policies as President during the Vietnam war, failure was a recurring outcome, as he faced military and political difficulties over having complete authority over political decisions made leading to the misuse of his respective power, receiving split support through torn Americans at home, and his accord to deport so many troops into combat in Vietnam.

On May 25, 1971, Adams, a major, volunteered to fly a lightly armed helicopter mission to rescue three wounded soldiers from a besieged firebase in the Kontum Province, despite the clear weather which would provide clear visibility for the numerous enemy anti-aircraft around the location. Despite fire from

During his time in Vietnam, he fought numerous battles and, but one of the most important battles he fought in was the Tet Counteroffensive after the Tet offensive (Fattore 1). The Tet Offensive and Counteroffensive were the climactic points of the war that turned America’s hope away from an American victory, and sent troops like Sergeant Fred Fattore into reinvigorated battles against Northern Vietnam, inducing physical and mental trauma.

Two things were unusual about this American fighter pilot. First, he had passed up a sure kill. Second, he was Black. He flew with the only U.S. Fighter squad involved in World War Two that could claim to have never lost a bomber they were escorting. The Group was the 332nd Fighter Group, "The Redtails," the famed all African American outfit that fought both American racism and Nazi militarism. Under the leadership and discipline of Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, the Redtails had learned that their mission in life was to protect the bombers(Respect and Honor 1).

The United States of America, one of the most powerful nations in the world at the time, was completely unprepared for the war that it had joined in Vietnam. The terrain was unlike any we had ever fought in. From mountains to jungles to rice paddies, it was wet, hot, cold, and completely unforgiving. To say that the political situation was tenuous would be a drastic understatement. Not only could officials not make up their minds, neither could the general populace. The media had an influence in this war that was heretofore unseen. All of these factors were a great obstacle in and of themselves and then we put into play the greatest obstacle of all: the enemy. This was an enemy like we had never seen. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Vietcong (VC) were fast, agile, adaptable, and extremely unpredictable. The VC hid among the common populace and fought like demons. The NVA were well supplied, well organized, and did not restrict themselves the way many large armies do. This forced us to have to rapidly adapt and develop new tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) in order to counter all of these obstacles. Due to these needs and the rapidly advancing technology and versatility of helicopters, the Air Cavalry was born. The Air Cav was composed of several types of airframes including transport aircraft, attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft. The reconnaissance aircraft were also known as Aeroscouts and were known for their boldness, audacity,

The USA was extremely vain when going to war in Vietnam. They had extreme firepower. With a few weeks notice at the time, had the power to turn Vietnam into a region of radioactive glass. The US’s strategy of search and destroy conflicted directly with the Vietnamese’s strategy of hanging onto their belts (caplan,2012). Unlike previous American victories against

In Saigon as the situation unfolded, the general of the ARVN asked the US for help. First the US and Vietnamese Air Force were able to airlift in supplies, fresh bodies, and remove the wounded. The AH-1 Cobra were able to stop most of the tank advancement and infantry men allowing the ARVN troops on the ground to continue to defend their positions10. The VNAF, along with the US Air force and US Navy brought in planes to engage and thwart the ability of the VNA/VC advancement. Though this was successful it was found that there was not any form of battle space de-confliction. In this the pilots found themselves not only dodging the Anti-Aircraft Artillery from the VNA/VC, but as well as other aircraft in the fight. Aircraft were seen flying into direct fire from other aircraft and no one was talking to each other. Ground troops were not on the same frequency so they would stumble into the engagement area as well.

The battle started when Navy SEAL, Petty Officer First Class Neil Roberts fell from a MH-47E Chinook, on an attempted landing to an unknowingly hot LZ, when he lost his footing due to a combination of RPG blast and spilled hydraulic fluid of the mangled aircraft. Razor 03, the call sign of the Chinook was eventually forced to land putting a gap of 4 miles and several thousand feet between Roberts and the rest of his team.

Although war comes with risk, leaders often find it inevitable when it comes to assuring the safety of their citizens. The Vietnam War was a significant movement in history that extended from 1965 – 1973 through the political years of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. The antiwar movement caused division within the administration as to the deciding factors of the United States involvement in Vietnam. Their decisions caused the most traumatizing event of the 20th Century. More than two decades ago the longest war ended, yet questions remain unanswered: what was the motivation of President Kennedy and his administration (Nolting, Lodge, Rusk and McNamara) to get involved in the Vietnam War, the role of Diem and the escalation of

In total 234 men killed and more than 250 wounded in just four days and nights, in LZ X-ray alone, was a brutal reality for the American forces. For the Americans, President Lyndon Johnson ordered Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara to Saigon to meet with Maj. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard, and by LTC Moore, by President Johnson. He received a brief and opinions from them and returned to Washington D.C. He then informed President Johnson that the United States had two options, solve the conflict diplomatically or give General Westmoreland the additional 200,000 troops he had been requesting and that the North Vietnamese forces had not only met, but also exceeded our escalation. The President and his council considered the options for two days before voting unanimously in favor of further escalation of the war. (Galloway) General Westmoreland concluded that every American killed was equal to twelve NVA soldiers killed. He decided that a war of attrition was the best way to break the spirit of the North Vietnamese Army. Unfortunately, that strategy was a failure. The death toll of the North Vietnamese soldiers was compensated by the high birth rates in North Vietnam. American forces did not come close to killing enough NVA to have a great impact on the war. Every year, new draftees into the NVA filled the ranks of the deceased. On the positive side, the Americans learned the value of air mobility operations. The

”Forty-five years ago this fall, in November of 1965, a lone, under strength battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) ventured where no force—not the French, not the South Vietnamese army, not the newly arrived American combat troops—had ever gone”(Galloway 1). The battle of la Drang was the first major battle fought in the Vietnam War between the soldiers (Cav Scouts) of the US Army and the enemy (the People’s Army of Vietnam) aka the PAVN / NVA of North Vietnam. This battle took place between the dates of 14November1865 and 18November1865 at two separate LZs. These landing zones (X-Ray and Albany) were located adjacent to each other to the west of the village of Plei Me in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. The landing zones were precisely at the footstep of the Chu Pong massif. Before the battle started, close to 1,100 Americans in total had died in the United States’ involvement in the fight between South Vietnam and North Vietnam. This U.S. airmobile (1st Calvary Division) offensive operation was codenamed Operation Silver Bayonet I aka the battle of la Drang.

November 14, 1965, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) Soldiers rushed off to execute an assault by helicopters into the Ia Drang Valley of South Vietnam’s Central Highlands, where the first major battle began in the Vietnam War. The People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched multiple assaults to the outnumbered American forces, resulting in many casualties. The 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry were dropped off in Landing Zone X-ray to seek and destroy the enemy almost immediately, not knowing that they are within close proximity of three PAVN regiments. A platoon led by Lieutenant Herrick separated from the company and was soon surrounded by the North Vietnamese after chasing an encountered enemy. Lt. Herrick was among the Soldiers that got killed in the engagement,

The investigation assesses the level of success President Richard Nixon’s Vietnamization policy attained during the Vietnam War to end U.S. involvement in the war. In the strive to evaluate the level of success this policy demonstrated, the investigation evaluates the ability of the policy to equip, expand, and train Southern Vietnamese forces and allocate them to a substantial combat position, all while simultaneously reducing the quantity of U.S. combat troops in a steady manner. The Vietnamization policy is investigated and analyzed by both its causes and effects. The motivation that led to Nixon’s creation of this

On the night of November 12, Dak To received its first direct attack, a mortar barrage of forty-four rounds. Several vehicles were damaged and two men wounded. An even bigger hit took place three days later. That morning a barrage of about ten rounds hit the airfield, where several C-130s were loading elements of the ARVN 9th Airborne to return to Saigon. One plane was set on fire, wounding the battalion commander and two of his officers. Another C-130 blew up. The third plane survived, backed away by two crewmembers during a lull in the bombardment. Capt. Joseph K. Glenn and Sgt. Joseph H. Mack were awarded Silver Stars for saving the aircraft. A fourth C-130, just landing, accelerated and took off