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Defending the Dominoes.
In the wake of Korea and the
historic loss of the French at
Dien Bien Phu, The U.S saw
Indochina as the next test of
America’s will to contain
Communism.
Vietnam was divided at the 17th
Parallel. China and The Soviets
were supplying the Commuist
North, encouraging insurgencies
against the U.S-backed
government of South Vietnam.
U.S. combat troops entered the
war in 1965 after the Gulf of
Tonkin. 3,500 troops gradually
escalated to over 420,000 before
President Nixon began troop
reductions in 1969.
The Vietnam War caused serious
political division in the United
States, especially after
Communist successes during the
Tet Offensive and the expansion
of the war to Cambodia and Laos.
Despite opposition at home, U.S.
forces under Generals
Westmoreland and Abrams won most
of the military battles of the
War, incurring decisive defeat
on North Vietnamese troops at
Khe Sanh and the Battle of the
Ia Drang Valley.
58,226 U.S. soldiers died in
Vietnam. 153,303 were wounded. |
