|
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War has gained
notoriety as a long and costly war for the US, with numerous
losses and ultimate defeat. In 1954, Communist armies in
northern Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh crossed into southern
Vietnam, which France had governed as their territory for
100 years. As French troops found themselves overpowered
by the larger Communist army, France requested a peace treaty,
giving birth to the Geneva Peace Accords. Because of tensions
between Communist nations and the United States, a French
ally, the Communists agreed to stay in North Vietnam, leaving
South Vietnam to a Western power.
The Geneva Accords stipulated
that Vietnam would hold national elections in 1956, uniting
the country. To prevent the Communists from taking the entire
country, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower recommended the
formation of a government, created through agreements that
formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). This
government, supported by the United States, became the Government
of the Republic of Vietnam, or South Vietnam, and its resulting
election introduced Ngo Dinh Diem as its first president.
Thus, the US assumed the position of overseer that France
had previously held.
Diem, an autocrat himself,
immediately made enemies. As he tried to quell his opponents
by imprisoning them, even non-Communists opposed him. After
several unsuccessful attempts to seize Diem's government,
Communists in South Vietnam joined North Vietnam in raising
arms against the government. By December 1960 the Communist
Party formed the National Liberation Front (NLF), attracting
many non-Communists who wished to overthrow Diem's government
as well. The US called this group "Vietcong," short for
Vietnamese Communist.
President John F. Kennedy,
concerned that Communist forces would overtake the democratic
government, sent a team to Vietnam to assess conditions.
Although the resulting report called for a large-scale assault,
the United State increased military support by sending arms
and Green Berets, but not troops. As Diem's support continued
to decrease, his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu decided to seize
Buddhist pagodas in South Vietnam that he reported harbored
Communists, an act to which the monks responded by setting
themselves on fire. Pictures of this caused such an outrage
that the Kennedy administration immediately withdrew their
support of Diem and allowed a coup by his own generals,
who eventually succeeded in capturing and executing both
Diem and his brother in November 1963. That same month,
President Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullet.
As President Lyndon Johnson
assumed the Presidency, US aggressions in Vietnam increased.
After attacks on a US destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin, Congress
passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving the President
the power to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed
attack against forces of the United States and to prevent
further aggression." After attempting some limited attacks
that failed, Johnson called for full-scale bombing campaigns.
After President Richard Nixon
entered office, he promised to end the war quickly by employing
a policy called "Vietnamization," begun during Lyndon Johnson's
last month, a process that recalled American troops to the
United States and substituted South Vietnamese soldiers.
As the war continued and American public support continued
to wane, in January 1972 Nixon proposed a peace plan with
the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, or North Vietnam. However,
all attempts at peace failed. After anti-war sentiment reached
a peak in the US, President Richard Nixon began withdrawing
US soldiers from Vietnam--soldiers who received a cold greeting
from the American public after returning from an impossible
war.
The Grahams' Involvement
When Billy visited Vietnam in 1966 and 1968 to preach
to the troops, reporters questioned him about his support
of President Johnson's policy. Billy's answer: "My
only desire is to minister to our troops by my prayers and
spiritual help wherever I can." He and Ruth vocalized
their continued support upon the soldiers' return.
Holocaust
| Korean War | JFK's
Assassination | Vietnam War
| Civil Rights Movement
Watergate | Televangelist
Scandals | Oklahoma City Bombing
|
