vietnam war military personnel involved

© 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. To feature this service person in our online Commemorate Their Service™ Gallery, we suggest you supply: View an example of how we will display your tribute online. For the most part, the Chinese stayed in the background, rebuilding areas destroyed by U.S. bombs and manning anti-aircraft batteries. The primary military organizations involved in the war were the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the United States armed forces, fighting against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (commonly called the North Vietnamese Army, or NVA, in English-language sources) and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF, more commonly known as the Viet Cong (VC) in English language … The United States and many other countries intervened, propping up both sides—but especially South Vietnam—with troops, weapons and supplies and turning what started as a small guerrilla uprising into a major Cold War-era conflict. After a while, “no one thinks they’re going to win,” says James McAllister, a political science professor at Williams College, “but they’re damn sure a loss is not going to take place under their watch.”, READ MORE: How the Vietnam War Ratcheted Up Under 5 US Presidents. During Linebacker I in 1972, the Navy flew nearly 4,000 sorties per month in order to stop the North Vietnamese attack. Korea New Zeal Philip Thai; 1959 760 243000-----1960 900 243000-----1961 3205 243000-----1962 11300 243000-----1963 But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! All these talks of material considerations and dollar windfalls, new military equipment, war trade bonanzas and pork-barrel funds–behind the Vietnam aid bills are deplorable. Elections were planned to reunite the country within two years, but Diem, with U.S. approval, never submitted to a vote that he feared losing. The withdrawal of American forces continued until March 29, 1973, when the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam and the last commander of MACV, General Frederick C. Weyand, oversaw the command’s deactivation. The CIA-sponsored "Secret Army" of Major Gen. Vang Pao at Long Cheng, where the U. S. and Laotian governments permitted newsmen a rare glimpse of the base in 1972. From two staging posts in the South China Sea, aircraft carriers provided air support to ground forces; among other campaigns, Navy units worked in partnership with the Air Force during Rolling Thunder and during the Linebacker operations. U.S. officials eventually soured on Diem, tacitly approving a 1963 coup that resulted in his death. It is important to note that several other armed forces do not appear on this list. That insurgency drew heavy U.S. bombing. Yet their support for South Vietnam never wavered, no matter who occupied the White House. If we must go to South Vietnam to help stem the tide of communist aggression and defend our security and freedom, let us do so without being coerced or pressured, without being bought or purchased.’ Type to begin searching or press esc to exit. William Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) served as the commander of the U.S. Military Assistance Compound, Vietnam (MACV) from 1964 until 1968, overseeing all American forces in Vietnam during the escalation period of the conflict. VIETNAM VETERANS. Ho Chi Minh was succeeded by Le Duan, who became head of North Vietnam’s communist party. It wanted no part of the new conflict.After World War II, France reoccupied Vietnam as part of its attempt to reclaim its prewar empire. Assuming that North Vietnam and the Viet Cong were not likely to be decrypting the United States' most secure communications and that they could not have enough spies in South Vietnam to be aware of every U.S. operation in Southeast Asia before they took place, U.S. personnel came to the conclusion that U.S. forces were themselves inadvertently revealing vital information to the opposition. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was the main fighting force of the Republic of Vietnam, or South Vietnam, during the war. In 1965, the involvement of the Marine Corps was escalated greatly and the Marines made substantial landings around the port at Da Nang as their role expanded beyond advisement and base defense. A Cold War-era billboard in Moscow showing bombs raining down on Uncle Sam reading, 'Aggressors out of Vietnam!' US military advisers flocked to South Vietnam bringing with them the machines and instruments of modern war, “from typewriters to helicopters”. Many VC soldiers intimated or attacked South Vietnamese citizens who aided the Americans, further complicating identification. Soviet and Chinese advisers and supplies enhanced the fighting strength of PAVN forces. At the height of its strength, ARVN forces included thirteen regular divisions and special forces, the Regional Forces (RF) assigned to the four tactical corps of South Vietnam, and the Popular Forces (PF) which led security operations. The combat mission in Vietnam ended in 1973, but Air Force units played a large role in the evacuation of South Vietnam in April 1975. In response to these North Vietnamese transgressions, the Americans covertly rained down billions of pounds of bombs on Laos. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. South Korea  was the main U.S. and South Vietnamese partner, contributing more than 300,000 troops to the war. At the height of the war, almost 50,000 American military personnel were stationed in Thailand, mainly airmen. American training further enhanced the ARVN troops. 521 killed, ~3,000 wounded. In addition, Russian military schools and academies trained more than 10,000 Vietnamese military personnel. Unsurprisingly, the North Vietnamese likewise moved troops and supplies through neighboring Cambodia, which, though officially neutral, tolerated the communist intrusions. The United States got involved to prevent South Vietnam from falling into communist hands. One year later, 70,000 Marines were stationed in country. In this administration, we are Vietnamizing the search for peace. RG 472 United States Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975 Additional records relating to the U.S. Army in Vietnam may be found in: 1. By 1969 more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed in Vietnam. Why Were Vietnam War Vets Treated Poorly When They Returned? Additionally, officers, reinforcements, and supplies from PAVN forces were often funneled to the Viet Cong, which operated with PAVN troops frequently. 320,000 military personnel, more than 4,000. In fact, French President Charles de Gaulle warned his U.S. counterpart, John F. Kennedy Jr., that Vietnam would be a “bottomless military and political swamp.” Though prescient, the advice ultimately went unheeded. In this lesson plan, students analyze a letter to President Kennedy from a woman who had just lost her brother in South Vietnam and consider Kennedy’s reply, explaining his … Newly communist China had supported Ho Chi Minh during the war with the French, and continued to do so during the war with the U.S. by providing weapons, expertise and manpower. U.S. bombs killed tens of thousands of Cambodians, which, some historians contend, may have increased popular support for the Khmer Rouge, a communist insurgency group that initiated a brutal genocide upon taking power in 1975. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and China poured weapons, supplies, and advisers into the North, which in turn provided support, political direction, and regular combat troops for the campaign in the South. (The two countries were undergoing a bitter split at the time.). During the first Indo-China War (1946-1954) between the communist-dominated Viet Minh and France, New Zealand accepted the British-American view that Vietnam was a crucial point on the front line against communist expansion in Asia. As Tet prompted the withdrawal of American forces and General Creighton Abrams replaced Westmoreland as head of MACV, Army forces gradually decreased while still carrying out search-and-destroy missions and assisting South Vietnamese forces. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (Aug 5, 1964 – May 7, 1975). With the coming American withdrawal, PAVN forces employed more conventional attacks, as was seen in the 1972 Easter Offensive. By 1963, there were close to 16,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Vietnam.  However, continued animosity between the South Vietnamese government and the Montagnards complicated their cooperation with the Republic of Vietnam. Nominal Rolls. The most heavily used record group is: 1. The Thai government then allowed the United States Air Force in Thailand to use its air and naval bases. Not wanting to be seen as going it alone, the Johnson administration pressured other countries to join in the Vietnam War, much as George W. Bush would later form a “coalition of the willing” to fight in the Iraq War. So, too, did a legitimate fear of Communism, Moise says. But perhaps their biggest role was preemptive: They made it clear that if U.S. ground troops invaded North Vietnam, then they would respond in kind. It wanted no part of the new conflict. In the previous administration, we Americanized the war in Vietnam. However, hundreds of Air Force aircraft would be shot down during the war, and hundreds of airmen would suffer tortuous conditions as prisoners in North Vietnam. During the Tet Offensive, Army units helped repel the overall communist attack while playing a key role in the Battle of Huế . The ARVN suffered over 200,000 fatalities by the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973, and thousands more would die by the end of the war. Poster entitled "Support Vietnam People," circa 1969, showing China's support of the Communist cause in Vietnam. demilitarised zone (or DMZ) A demilitarised zone is a broad area along a border, serving as a buffer between opposing forces. The United States responded with a secret bombing campaign that Nixon drastically ramped up in 1969. Established on the republic’s founding in 1955, ARVN began with 150,000 troops, and by 1975 included over one million men-at-arms. According to the Nominal Roll of Australian Vietnam Veterans, almost 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam. Although the group named its own soldiers the People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF), the National Liberation Front has been memorialized by the American public as the Viet Cong, a name derived from Việt Nam Cộng-sản, or “Vietnamese communist.” The Viet Cong were a continuation of the Viet Minh, and many VC leaders had fought against French forces during the First Indochina War. RG 335 Office of the Secretary of the Army 5. Thai involvement did not become official until the total involvement of the United States in support of South Vietnam in 1963. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. In all, nearly 500,000 Marines were deployed in all of Southeast Asia from 1965 to 1975. The Viet Cong (VC), or the National Liberation Front, was the main political and armed communist opposition operating within South Vietnam. The Army suffered the most casualties, 38,179 or 66% of all casualties. The RF and the PF in particular were less trained than the regular forces. How the Vietnam War Ratcheted Up Under 5 US Presidents. Navy Seabees constructed a host of infrastructure and bases across South Vietnam, while the Navy itself oversaw vast the supply and logistical operations needed to sustain the American war effort. Supplied by the Chinese and Soviets, the North Vietnamese soon developed a complex and comprehensive system armed with surface-to-air missiles. Following France’s defeat in the First Indochina War, an international agreement divided Vietnam in two. The Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans was prepared by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA). Vietnam War - Vietnam War - The United States enters the war: Between the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the U.S. presidential election in November 1964, the situation in Vietnam had changed for the worse. As the Pentagon Papers later revealed, “the Diem regime certainly, and an independent South Vietnam almost as certainly, could not have survived” without U.S. help. The nine-year campaign was so intense that, on average, a planeload of explosives fell every eight minutes, making Laos, per capita, the most heavily bombed nation on earth. Furthermore, US Army personnel in early 1962 were indeed directly participating in military operations in Vietnam, a notable upsurge from … STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY. Instead, a communist insurgency broke out, pitting the so-called Viet Cong, who were sponsored by North Vietnam, against Diem’s forces. Daniel Ellsberg was an analyst at the RAND Corporation and secretly copied the report. Though it originally took little interest in the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union secretly ramped up its aid to North Vietnam following Nikita Khrushchev’s fall from power. Among other weapons, the USSR provided surface-to-air missiles that the Chinese weren’t yet technologically capable of producing. in 1968. Even after its federation and nominal independence in 1901, Australia’s foreign policy was for years strongly influenced by Britain. In 1968, Marines nationwide fought back against the Tet Offensive with success, but the battles at Huế and Khe Sanh proved much more difficult. Beginning in September, the Khanh government was succeeded by a bewildering array of cliques and coalitions, some of which stayed in power less than a month. Additionally, low morale plagued the troops and desertion was a continual problem, as was corruption among the officers. Initially composed of forces and leaders largely drawn from South Vietnam (where many desired to overthrow the regime of Ngô Đình Diệm), the Viet Cong were increasingly supplied and directed by North Vietnamese forces in Hanoi, especially after the Tet Offensive. The conflict has deep historical roots, most recently the First Indochina War between the communist North and the French-backed South, and the subsequent splitting of Vietnam into North and South. Financial aid, along with a desire to curry favor with the United States, drew in additional countries as well. As a result, the Vietnamese suffered the highest casualties in the conflict. Marines were soon deployed to defend the vital airbase at Da Nang near the DMZ. Back home, the Vietnam War led to enormous political and public debate about New Zealand's foreign policy and place in the world. In February of 1962, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was created as the successor to MAAG, and MACV took charge over all American military operations in Vietnam. In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara commissioned a study of American political and military involvement in Vietnam. Nevertheless, the two forces remained distinct. 104 S. Michigan Ave. This alliance was made more important during the American involvement in Vietnam as the Montagnard’s position in the Central Highlands gave them great control over a troublesome part of the South Vietnam and a key ending point for the Ho Chi Minh Trail. PAVN troops earned no respite from conflict, however, and in 1978 were on the frontlines of Vietnam’s war with Cambodia. Learn more about the People’s Army of Vietnam. By 1975, when North Vietnamese troops took Saigon and reunified the nation under communist rule, an estimated 1 million to 3 million Vietnamese had perished, many of them civilians. However, American airpower and ARVN resistance stifled this attack. The United States supplied a dizzying amount of firepower and equipment to ARVN forces, providing everything from tanks, APCs, and helicopters to bullets, small arms, and rations. In the northern region of South Vietnam, Marines fought along the DMZ while attempting to interdict supplies flowing in from the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Overview. The Air Force conducted re-supply missions, medical evacuations, and rescue missions, but the most crucial part of their involvement in the war was their bombardment of enemy positions. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was the main fighting force of the Republic of Vietnam, or South Vietnam, during the war. Air Force bombardment sustained the Marines under siege at Khe Sanh, Operation Menu attacked positions in Cambodia, and the two Linebacker operations in 1972 stopped the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive and helped return Hanoi to the negotiating table, respectively. China and the Soviet Union didn’t have to do as much as the Americans, Moise explains, because they were buttressing the stronger side. When the Second Indochina War, or Vietnam War, as it’s known in the United States, began soon after, France stayed well away. Topic:Vietnam Subject Area:US History after World War II Time Required: One class period Goals/Rationale In the winter of 1963, the eyes of most Americans were not on Vietnam. At first, the United States largely operated behind the scenes. 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The roll contains information from the Service records of more than 60,000 military members who served during the Vietnam War. In 1975, Marines were instrumental in the evacuation of Saigon, while Marines also carried out the final combat operation of the Vietnam War as they retook the cargo ship SS Mayaguez in May 1975. Explore more records, information, articles and resources at the National Archives organized by subject area. As the original communist state, the Soviet Union aided North Vietnam, with increasing support in the late 1960s. Deepen your understanding and enhance your knowledge by exploring the nearly 4,000 books, photographs, programs, and other Pritzker Military Museum & Library holdings on the Vietnam War.Â, © 2020 Pritzker Military Museum & LibraryDisclaimer | Contact, CONTACT Around 2,500 American Air Force personnel would lose their lives in Vietnam. Learn more about the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam. THE VIETNAM WAR: A CHANGE OF PHILOSOPHY In Vietnam, there was a significant and basic change in the way the military treated civilian contractors. Far from being monolithic, the Vietnamese and American armed forces were each comprised of men of differing talents and abilities.Â. Army forces poured into Vietnam throughout 1966, 1967, and 1968, as troops engaged in search-and-destroy missions that often put the overwhelming firepower of the American military to use with great effect. Determined to prevent South Vietnam from falling into communist hands, the United States propped up Diem with billions of dollars in aid, as well as increasing numbers of military advisers. Making use of traps, tunnel systems, and a variety of insurgent tactics, the Viet Cong were a powerful enemy for much of the war. Learn more about the Viet Cong. Yet, as Moise points out, they both learned one important lesson: “It’s dangerous to get in a fight when the other side cares about winning more than you do.”. In all, American airpower was a defining aspect of the Vietnam War and proved decisive on numerous occasions. Yet, no matter what they tried, the Americans never succeeded in seriously disrupting North Vietnamese supply lines, nor did they prevent the fall of Laos to the communists in 1975. A short biography of their service, including awards they were given, challenges they faced, and a bit about their life before and after serving; Years of service or the wars/conflicts in which they served; Which military branch(es) in which they served (e.g., US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, US Marines, US Coast Guard). The French and American experiences in Vietnam differed in many respects. As guerilla soldiers, Viet Cong forces often hid amongst the local populace, and were hard to identify. RG 338 Records of U.S. Army Commands Three years later, however, PAVN forces had recovered from their earlier offensive, and now stood strong with 685,000 troops. Year American SVN Aust. Despite being in bad economic shape at the time, newly Communist China aided Ho during the war with the French, and did so again during the war with the Americans, providing weapons, expertise, and manpower. Nixon then sent troops across the border in 1970, taking advantage of a coup that ousted Sihanouk in favor of a pro-American general. In all, Army soldiers received 160 Medals of Honor for their actions in Vietnam, but paid a heavy price: of the nearly 58,000 Americans killed in Vietnam, around 38,000 were Army servicemen. Learn more about the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Supplies were funneled to the Viet Cong through the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which allowed VC forces to operate over the breadth of South Vietnam. The Viet Cong insurgency expanded in South Vietnam in 1962. RG 334 Records of Interservice Agencies 4. France had been a long-time occupier of Vietnam before 1954. South Korea was the main U.S. and South Vietnamese partner, providing over 300,000 troops and suffering some 5,000 deaths. Naval gunfire from offshore cruisers, destroyers, and even the reactivated battleship New Jersey provided additional artillery support for the duration of the war. Unlike during the Korean War, the United States yielded to this threat. As a branch of the US forces, however, the Marine Corps lost the highest percentage of its own men (5.0%) which in turn accounted for 25.5% of all casualties. “The French had controlled Vietnam for a couple of generations,” explains Ed Moise, a professor of history at Clemson University and author of Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Army personnel formed the core of the Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam in the 1950s, and played a large role in creating the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). American special forces began training Montagnard forces in the early 1960s. Looking for our EBSCO The North Vietnamese also came to dominate a communist insurgency against the royalist government of Prince Souvanna Phouma, relegating the local Laotian Communists to what Moise describes as “junior partners.”. Air Force advisers had served in Vietnam as part of MAAG in the 1950s, but the primary Air Force role in the war would come with full-scale American combat operations in the mid-1960s. Brutal tactics were the norm during the Vietnam War, and no one suffered more than the Vietnamese themselves, both in the North and the South. The Australian commitment consisted predominantly of army personnel, but significant numbers of air force and navy personnel and some civilians also took part. Yet the Vietnamese didn’t do all the fighting. In the Vietnam War defoliation was usually carried out with chemicals (such as Agent Orange) or incendiaries (such as napalm). He explains that they were partially motivated by a sense of obligation and ideological sympathy: After all, they could not help but notice the historical parallels between themselves and South Vietnam. U.S. military personnel began to fly combat missions and accompany South Vietnamese soldiers in ground operations to find and defeat the insurgents. In 1964, however, the so-called Gulf of Tonkin incident prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to commit combat troops and launch a massive bombing campaign, and U.S. involvement only deepened from there. Also known as the Second Indochina War or simply the American War to the Vietnamese, the epic struggle claimed the lives of more than 2 million people, including some 60,000 U.S. personnel and more than a … HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. North Vietnam immediately broke the accord, however, moving troops and supplies through Laos rather than traversing the heavily guarded demilitarized zone that separated it from South Vietnam. The Marines at Khe Sanh were locked in a 77 day siege, while the Marines in Huế suffered through brutal urban fighting as they worked to retake the city. President Johnson began Operation Rolling Thunder in 1965, instructing the Air Force to bomb North Vietnamese industrial and supply sites. Though Vietnamese communists allied with the Khmer Rouge during the Vietnam War, they eventually deposed the regime in 1979. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975. 2 8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (Aug 5, 1964 – March 28, 1973). Despite this support, ARVN troops were often poorly led and suffered from internal strife amongst the South Vietnamese high command. Australian military history overview: Vietnam War 1962-1975. The Soviets wanted to “make life difficult for the United States,” McAllister says, “but they didn’t want to do it in a way that got them in a conflict with the United States.”, Soviet involvement in the war increased in the late 1960s, just as China’s influence was lessening. Chicago, IL 60603 Unexploded munitions from the Vietnam War-era continue to kill Laotians (and Vietnamese and Cambodians) to this day. All Rights Reserved. Like the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the PAVN was divided into regular, regional, and security forces that each received different degrees of training and supplies. A converted T-28 trainer aircraft is seen near 250-pound bombs used by Meo pilots of Vang Pao's "mini-Air Force" against North Vietnamese in northern Laos. How eight countries got bogged down in the Vietnam War's Cold War proxy battle. 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. New Zealand joined its major allies in recognising the French-sponsored Bao Dai regime in 1950, but remained unsure about the strength and legitimacy of the non-communist forces in Vietnam. In the south, Marines carried out search-and-destroy missions, attempting to locate Viet Cong insurgents hidden in South Vietnamese villages and jungles. After World War II, France reoccupied Vietnam as part of its attempt to reclaim its prewar empire. The remaining number were support services personnel; quartermasters, cooks, drivers, pilots, mechanics, engineers, clerks, … In the end, almost 60,000 Australians served (521 of whom died), about 40,000 Thais served (321 of whom died), and over 3,000 New Zealanders served (37 of whom died). The role of the Navy in Vietnam is sometimes overlooked, but Navy units played a major role in the American combat mission during the war. France had been a long-time occupier of Vietnam before 1954. While national leaders decided the direction the war would take, the soldiers on the ground enacted their policy. Bombs ready to be loaded onto a French aircraft for the long drawn out Dien Bien Phu Battle of the Indochina War on April 10, 1954. Prince Norodom Sihanouk “basically felt that he was surrounded by dangerous enemies, and he had to make nice with some of them,” Moise says, adding that “he could not afford to offend” the North Vietnamese despite being “anti-communist in Cambodian politics.”. Additionally, working with the Army, Navy patrol boats operated on the river systems of South Vietnam – especially in the Mekong Delta – to inspect shipping and support combat operations. The Marines fought valiantly but suffered greatly:  over 13,000 would be killed, while another 88,000 were wounded. Learn more about the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam. Led at first by General Paul Harkins, who was succeeded by General William Westmoreland in 1964, MACV’s mission expanded from advisement to defense in 1965 as President Johnson began to change the U.S. mission in Vietnam. Floating hospitals like the USS Sanctuary provided important medical equipment and care close to the war zone. Finally, the evacuation of South Vietnam and the rescue operations that saved tens of thousands of civilians fleeing from the North Vietnamese advanced in spring 1975 could not have succeed without the U.S. Navy. The Philippines, Taiwan and Spain likewise aided the U.S. war effort, whereas on the communist side North Korea and Cuba purportedly sent token support. In 1970, taking advantage of a pro-American general 9,087,000 military personnel were stationed in Thailand mainly! Viet Cong insurgents hidden in South Vietnam never wavered, no matter who occupied the White.., while officially neutral, tolerated communist intrusions—and was bombed by the of! Pentagon Papers President Richard Nixon authorized a cross-border invasion of Laos in 1971, the,... Pavn troops suffered a significant amount of the Secretary of the South Vietnamese government the! 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