Kennedy's Involvement In The Vietnam War

Kicking it off with the President of the United States at the time of the major events in the Vietnam War was President Lyndon B. Johnson a senator from Texas, a professional politician. In November of 1963 John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Johnson the vice president was sworn in to president on the air force one plane while carrying the casket of Kennedy. Johnson could then do what he wanted as president, he wanted to focus on civil rights, but he also inherited Kennedy’s commitments, obviously Vietnam. In Johnson’s first meeting in November 1963, he said “I’m not going to allow south East Asia to go the way of china” (communist). How committed he is was debatable and because he had little foreign policy experience he took in Kennedy’s
This is where the US initiated a massive bombing campaign of North Vietnam. This was to weaken the North Vietnamese forces before the US sent their troops up north. Between 1965 and 1968 US forces waged the most intense air and ground battle of the cold war. Over 800,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Vietcong targets. More than all of the Korean War combined. For three years US airstrikes hit Vietcong bases and convoys. Airstrikes were accompanied by ground assaults in to enemy villages and defenses. Operation rolling thunder had four main goals first, was to boost the united stated moral and public opinion at home. The Vietnam War was very unpopular at home, because American citizens didn’t understand why we were involved in a country that many Americans had never even heard of. Second, was to end South Vietnamese civilian support for the Vietcong. Even in the south there were procommunist supporters because ho chi minh was a very popular leader he was a man of the people and his leadership seemed to be gaining support in the south. Third, the United States wanted to destroy Vietcong industrial bases and supply roads. Fourth, the United States wanted to cut off Vietcong’s supply lines to the south. Their goal was to starve out the Vietcong so they could no longer continue their
To eliminate the advantage of terrain in which the Vietcong would hide, the US forces employed a defoliation assault. They used chemicals to destroy jungle cover and expose enemy positions. The United States used two devastating chemical from the air in order to wipe out jungles, Agent Orange, and napalm. By 1971, 20 million gallons poison were sprayed from the air on the countries of South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. These chemicals were extremely potent and deadly. Killing thousands of civilians and giving US veterans cancer after returning from the military. Once the jungle covers were destroyed the next phase was us forces using search and destroy tactics. Villages were raided, homes and crops were burnt, and civilians were murdered. The Vietnam War had turned brutal.
On January 30, 1968 on the Vietnamese lunar New Year, Vietcong launched a surprise attack on US forces. Using the Ho chi minh trail tens of thousands of Vietcong snuck in to the south and attacked cities and us bases. 12 US bases and the US embassy were attacked and there were 3000 us casualties during the offensive. It took a month for the United States and South Vietnamese forces to drive the Vietcong out, resulting in 32000 North Vietnamese troops losing their lives. While this was technically a military victory for the United States it was devastating psychological defeat for the United States.