National Archives. Though the press had covered wars before, the uncensored and intensive coverage of the war in Vietnam was new, and it had a significant impact on many Americans' views of the conflict. War, Thinking, Vietnam 8 Copy quote Show source Movements are not radical. Collected between 1941-1996 and translated into English by the Central Intelligence Agency, these intelligence reports are an indispensable source for insight into decades of turbulent world history. Communism isn't sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting. We can help them, we can give them equipment, we can send our men out there as advisors, but they have to win it, the people of Vietnam, against the communists. President John Kennedy in a televised interview with Walter Cronkite on September 2, 1963. by the epic class-action lawsuit filed by U.S. Vietnam veterans against the makers of Agent Orange, and by the Environmental Protection Agency's ban on most commercial uses of 2,4,5-T. William A. Buckingham has written the only historical study of this impor-tant phase of the Vietnam war and one of the first analyses of a neglected For more information, please visit our FAQ or Terms of Use. Numbers have dehumanized us. Excerpts from the Paris Peace Accords (January 1973) This collection of Vietnam War documents has been selected and compiled by Alpha History authors. TheViet Cong(VC), a South Vietnamesecommon frontunder the direction of North Vietnam, initiated aguerrilla warin the south. A broadcast by Viet Cong propagandist Hanoi Hannah (April 1970) I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. After attending his first Cabinet meeting he went back to his mentor Sam Rayburn and told him with great enthusiasm how extraordinary they were, each brighter than the next, and that the smartest of them all was that fellow with the Stacomb on his hair from the Ford Motor Company, McNamara. I agree with the Senator that that is the last thing we would want to do. Soon they will land on the plants in search of bollworm eggs. Videos from the Vietnam War from the Associated Press. In this lesson, students will use 6 different primary sources from the Vietnam War era that were part of the protest movement or led to further protest. The Nation Digital Archive is a fully searchable electronic version of the magazine's complete backfile. Unless you are planning a trip to the archives in London, make sure to select that you only want to see documents that have been digitized. The US Congress Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964) A collection of primary source documents related to the Korean War. During the day on Monday, Washington time, the airport at Saigon came under persistent rocket as well as artillery fire and was effectively closed. It would authorize whatever the Commander in Chief feels is necessary. Senator William Fulbright (D-AR) during the Senate debate on August 6, 1964 over the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Existing studies of the Vietnam War have been written mostly from an American perspective, using western sources, and viewing the conflict through western eyes. Provides primary source information on the popular culture of the U.S. and U.K. from 1950 to . John F. Kennedy addresses the UN on Vietnam (September 1961) Wikipedia, Florida Atlantic University Libraries "The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.". Wisdom for a few of them came after Vietnam., We live in the post-trash, man. The war in Vietnam is a watershed moment in United States history -- the first war lost by the U.S. despite its seemingly overwhelming military might. Noam Chomsky on the meaning of Vietnam (1975), Richard Nixon unveils a policy of Vietnamisation (November 1969) It lasted almost 20 years, with direct U.S. involvement ending in 1973. National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger speaking in July 1969 to NSC aides as he charged them with developing a punitive military strategy that would coerce North Vietnam into negotiating on American terms. Instead of just giving information about the memorial, your speech must present an argument about a controversy related to the memorial. A hailstorm of rocket-propelled grenades, thundering mortars, and AK-47 machine-gun fire strafed the exposed men from all directions. Vietnam and 60s in America Primary Resources. Matterhorn is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then we abandoned it again. This complete archive features full-image, text-searchable files. It was for fear of being beaten to this beat that black soldiers avoided the Saigon bars where their white comrades kept the jukeboxes humming with Hank Williams and his kind, sonic signposts that said, in essence, You will kill ten of us, we will kill one of you, but in the end, you will tire of it first., In World War One, they called it shell shock. Declassified documents from the Warsaw Pact and NATO about war plans from both sides, crises, foreign affairs of China and India, roles of specific countries like Poland or Hungary within these alliances, intelligence, and more. Ho Chi Minh appeals to the American people (May 1964) After two and a half years, I helped discover dioxin, arguably the most toxic chemical ever found. A journalist reports on the fragging of US officers (January 1972), Ridenhour letter to Congress exposing My Lai (March 1969) Kennedy pledges support for Diem, South Vietnam (December 1961) . Karl Marlantes. The war is widely considered to be aCold War-eraproxy war. Now we have a problem in trying to make our power credible, and Vietnam looks like the place. President John Kennedy in a June 1961 interview with the New York Times reporter James Reston. They are committing monstrous atrocities and crimes more odious than the Hitlerite fascists., As he expected, by nightfall those same four soldiers came back. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living. We seem bent upon saving the Vietnamese from Ho Chi Minh, even if we have to kill them and demolish their country to do it.I do not intend to remain silent in the face of what I regard as a policy of madness which, sooner or later, will envelop my son and American youth by the millions for years to come. Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. In June of 1971, small portions of the report were leaked to the press and widely distributed. Korean War, 1950-1953. Holyoke] My primary sources were a declaration of independence by Ho Chi Minh and a letter to American President Johnson. Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive more. Rachael Kauss and Alex Laplaza assisted in the preparation of this post. However, the language of the resolution would not prevent it. - Tim O'Brien. But these events, tragic as they are, portend neither the end of the world nor of Americas leadership in the world. President Gerald R. Ford in a speech at Tulane Universityon April 23, 1975. Pham Van Dong on Geneva, Vietnamese independence (July 1954) The year 1979 quote, www.theatlantic.com. Every day we present the best quotes! The Media Vietnam was the first "television war" in the United States. My solution to the problem would be to tell them frankly that theyve got to draw in their horns and stop their aggression or were going to bomb them back into the Stone Ages. General Curtis E. LeMay, in his book Mission With LeMay, 1965. North Vietnam was supported by theSoviet Union,China,and othercommunistallies; South Vietnam was supported by theUnited Statesand otheranti-communistallies. US security briefings on Ngo Dinh Diem and his regime (1958-1960) It was the official organ of the Military Assistance Command, and it carried official news about and for American troops in Vietnam. How dare you bandits trespass on our land? "I refuse to believe that a little fourth-rate power like North Vietnam doesnt have a breaking point." 3 consequences, especially posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), of service in such a war for U.S. The conflict emerged from theFirst IndochinaWarbetween theFrench colonial governmentand a left-wing revolutionary movement, theViet Minh. Last month, I did a series of posts commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of U.S. combat troops in Vietnam on March 8, 1965. If the Buddhists wish to have another barbecue, Ill gladly supply the gasoline and a match. Tran Le Xuan, better known asMadame Nhuor the Dragon Lady, dismissing the fact thatBuddhist monks had set themselves on firein the summer of 1963 to protest the rule of her brother-in-law, South Vietnamese PresidentNgo Dinh Diem, for whom she acted as an unofficial first lady. Specific instructions are available for finding magazine articles from various time periods: 1802-1890, 1890-1925, 1926-1982, and 1982-present. The inauguration speech of Duong Van Minh (April 1975) TheVietnam War(also known byother names) was a conflict inVietnam,Laos, andCambodiafrom 1 November 1955to thefall of Saigonon 30 April 1975. The vietnam war Pictures That Moved Them Most While the Vietnam War raged roughly two decades' worth of bloody and world-changing years compelling images made their way out of the combat . One cannot measure [our] progress by lines on a map. General William C. Westmoreland, the commander of all U.S. military forces in Vietnam, in a speech to a joint session of Congress on April 28, 1967. The US recognises self-governing Vietnam (February 1950), Final declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina (July 1954) Incredibly, he contrived to argue in public with some success that if it were not for democratic distempers like the impeachment process his own selfless, necessary statesmanship would have been easier to carry out. No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. If you would like to contribute or suggest a document for inclusion here, please, Vietnam War memory quiz events 1946-1964, Vietnam War memory quiz events 1965-1975, Vietnam War memory quiz terms and concepts (I), Vietnam War memory quiz terms and concepts (II), Edict of Emperor Minh Mang against Christians in Vietnam (1833), The suicide note of Hanoi governor Hoang Dieu (1882), Augustine Heard, an American traveller, reports on Indochina (1886), Anonymous poem about French oppression in Vietnam (1900), Phan Boi Chau on Vietnams awakening (1914), Conscription of Vietnamese peasants for service in World War I (1916), Ho Chi Minh seeks Vietnamese independence in Paris (1919), Ho Chi Minh condemns French imperialism (1920), Ho Chi Minh on founding the Inodchinese Communist Party (1930), A report into French atrocities in Vietnam (1933), Ho Chi Minh recalls his conversion to Leninism (1967), Ho Chi Minh calls for unity against the French (February 1930), Viet Minh call to arms against the Japanese (March 1945), Ho Chi Minhs declaration of independence (September 1945), The US recognises self-governing Vietnam (February 1950), Final declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina (July 1954), Pham Van Dong on Geneva, Vietnamese independence (July 1954), The White Houses response to the Geneva declaration (July 1954), Eisenhowers letter of support to Ngo Dinh Diem (October 1954), An American press report on the Binh Xuyen (April 1955), Ngo Dinh Diem explains why he rejects national elections (July 1955), Le Duan: The path of revolution in the South (1956), Ngo Dinh Diem addresses a joint session of the US Congress (1957), US security briefings on Ngo Dinh Diem and his regime (1958-1960), Ngo Dinh Diem decrees the death sentence (May 1959), The Caravelle Manifesto criticises Diem and his regime (April 1960), Eisenhower praises the progress in South Vietnam (October 1960), John F. Kennedys inauguration speech (January 1961), John F. Kennedy addresses the UN on Vietnam (September 1961), Rusk, McNamara urge US involvement in Vietnam (November 1961), General Taylors recommendations for Vietnam (November 1961), Kennedy pledges support for Diem, South Vietnam (December 1961), Kennedy responds to a question on Vietnam (February 1962), Program of the National Liberation Front or Viet Cong (1962), A US report on the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam (July 1963), Cable 243 discusses the removal of Ngo Dinh Diem (August 1963), McNamara and Taylors report on South Vietnam (October 1963), NSC memorandum on US policy in South Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh appeals to the American people (May 1964), The US Congress Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964), US Senate debate on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964), McGeorge Bundy memo on attacking North Vietnam (February 1965), Johnson justifies involvement in Vietnam (April 1965), Robert McNamara proposes increases in US troops (July 1965), A CIA report on Viet Cong weaknesses and vulnerabilities (July 1965), A US report on Soviet aid to North Vietnam (November 1965), US MACV memo on winning the Vietnam War (September 1965), Le Duan reminds agents in the South of tactics (November 1965), General Vo Nguyen Giap on why the US will lose in Vietnam (1966), Lyndon Johnson on the political aims of the Vietnam War (June 1966), A Viet Cong guerrilla tells of the Tet offensive (1968), An Australian press report on the Tet offensive (February 1968), A US reporter discusses South Vietnamese military weaknesses (1973), A US general reflects on US, North Vietnamese tactics (1984), A Viet Cong member reflects on its approach to war (1985), Robert McNamara reflects on Americas failures in Vietnam (1995), A journalist reports on the fragging of US officers (January 1972), Ridenhour letter to Congress exposing My Lai (March 1969), Quotations about the massacre at My Lai hamlet (1968), Seymour Hersh breaks the story of the My Lai killings (1969), PFC Meadlo on his role in the killings at My Lai (November 1969), Cross examination of Lieutenant William Calley (1970), Cross examination of Captain Ernest Medina (1970), Muhammad Ali explains his refusal to fight in Vietnam (March 1967), Martin Luther Kings Beyond Vietnam speech (April 1967), An American draft-dodger explains his actions (1967), Robert F. Kennedys Kansas State University speech (March 1968), John Kerry anti-war testimony to the US Senate (April 1971), Hanoi Jane Fondas broadcast from North Vietnam (August 1972), Noam Chomsky on the meaning of Vietnam (1975), Richard Nixon unveils a policy of Vietnamisation (November 1969), A broadcast by Viet Cong propagandist Hanoi Hannah (April 1970), Nixon announces deployment of US troops in Cambodia (April 1970), North Vietnamese peace proposal (June 1971), US news report on the Paris peace agreement (January 1973), Excerpts from the Paris Peace Accords (January 1973), The War Powers Act curtails the presidents authority to wage war (November 1973), A US intelligence briefing on the situation in Vietnam (August 1974), South Vietnams president Nguyen Van Thieu resigns (April 1975), The inauguration speech of Duong Van Minh (April 1975), US news report on the imminent fall of Saigon (April 1975), President Ford on Americas post-Vietnam recovery (April 1975). , www.theatlantic.com by Ho Chi Minh and a match the gasoline and a match strafed the exposed men from directions! 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