The document summarizes key events in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968, including the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Operation Rolling Thunder bombing campaign, Operation Barrel Roll bombings in Laos and Cambodia, the escalating US troop presence and search and destroy missions, issues with body counts and pacification programs, the Tet Offensive in 1968, and the impact of Tet on public opinion in the US.

1. D. LBJ
• September 25, 1964
• “We don’t want our
American boys to do
the fighting for Asian
boys. We don’t want to
get tied down in a land
war in Asia.”

2. Gulf of Tonkin Incident
• August 2, 1964
• NV torpedo boats fire on
Maddox
• Damage-1 Bullet hole!
• 3 Torpedoes Missed!
• August 4, 1964
• Maddox used as bait!
• No one heard a single shot!
• US Response-64 planes
bomb oil depot in NV.

3. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• August 7, 1964
• House 416-0
• Senate 88-2
• Gave LBJ a “Blank Check”
• Gave the President the right
to repel by any means
necessary any attack
against US armed forces.
• Grandma’s Nightshirt

4. Start of the Air War
• Operation Rolling
Thunder
• Supposed to take 6-8
weeks, lasted 4 years
• Showed support for SV &
Bomb the Ho Chi Minh
Trail
• “We’re going to bomb
them back to the Stone
Age.” –Curtis LeMay

5. Operation Barrel Roll
• Massive bombing of
Laos/Cambodia starting
in 1964.
• Done in secret!
• After revolution in Laos!
• Boomerang Effect-
massive infiltration of
troops down the trail.
• 1965-8,800/month
• 1967-100,000/month

6. Average American Soldier
• 2.6 million men served
• Average Age-19, WWII-26
• Vietnam-25%, WWII-66%
• Poor, only 1/10 had a
college education
• Thousands stayed in college
while over 50,000 went to
Canada.

7. The Ground War
• First combat troops sent in
March 6, 1965
• Defensive War-learned
lessons of aggression from
Korea.
• Troop level increased to
550,000
• Search and Destroy-Locate
enemy, call in air strike, clear
ground w/troops
• Problem-Never hold and
control any territory.

8. Body Count
• Secretary of Defense-
Robert McNamara
• “If it’s dead and
Vietnamese, it’s
Vietcong”
• Inflated Statistic
• If you kill 2, say that you
killed 8 or 10.
• Why?

9. Pacification
• A.K.A. Forced
Urbanization
• Moved refugees to camps
or cities and then burned
their homes.
• Op. Phoenix-CIA secretly
executed 20,000 SV
civilians that were
suspected communists-

10. Gen. William Westmoreland
 General William
Westmoreland-”I have
never been more
encouraged in my 4 years in
Vietnam. We have reached
an important point when
the end comes into view.

11. Ho Chi Minh
• “You can kill 10 of my
men for every 1 I kill of
yours, but even at those
odds, you will lose and I
will win.”
• “I know Americans they
are impatient people.
They will leave.”

12. Tet Offensive-January 30,
1968
• Vietnamese New Year
• VC attacked over 100 cities
and 12 US bases
• Saigon
• New embassy a symbol of
American power
• One of 6 main targets
• LBJ said it was the most
secure site in Vietnam
• 2:45am 15 people blew a
hole in the 8 ft. wall
• 9:20am Embassy was
secured!

13. Results of Tet
• Militarily-US lost no
territory
• Casualties- US (1000)
• SV (2000)
• NV (45,000)
• Westy-Battle of the Bulge?
• Politically-hurt US
confidence, losing the war
• VC-Morale down, lost
confidence in leadership,
doubtful of victory.

14. Results of Tet cont.
• Walter Cronkite
• “ I thought that we were
winning this war. What the
hell is going on here?
• LBJ-
• “If I’ve lost Walter, then its
all over. I’ve lost the average
American.
• Westmoreland asked for
206,000 troops
• LBJ gave him 10,500