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** Vietnam War Events: 1961-1970 ** [|photo source]

Operation Sunrise was a program created during 1962 which consisted of the Strategic Hamlet  resettlement program. This program took place in South Vietnam when many peasants were forced to move into hamlets. These peasants had no free choice whether they wanted to move or not. The U.S. sometimes even destroyed peasant homes in an attempt to force the peasants to relocate to their lot. These villages were defended by local militia. This program was created in an attempt to defend the South Vietnam public from Communist influence. By relocating the peasants to these hamlets, the U.S. believed they were helping to defend South Vietnam, and fight the Communist party. However this program failed after being taken over by the Viet Cong, who either killed or intimidated village leaders of the few established hamlets. Osborne Milton. //Strategic Hamlets in South Vietnam: A Survey and Comparison.// Cornell University Southeast Asia Program Publications June 1, 1970. __The History Place: Vietnam War, America Commits 1961-1964.__ //History Place 1999. []//
 * Operation Sunrise [|photo source]**
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** Overthrow and assassination of Diem [|photo source]** Ngo Dinh Diem was the leader of South Vietnam during the course of the Vietnam War. Beginning with the French-Indochina War, Diem left for the U.S. where he was inspired by influential leaders like John F. Kennedy. Diem established firm anti-Communist beliefs, and refused to take the advice of Vietnamese people. Many of the decisions which Diem made upset the South Vietnamese people, and several failed attempts were made to overthrow him. The Vietnamese people became even angrier when it was made clear that Diem had no interest in holding elections to unit Vietnam. His political opponents began considering ways in which they could obtain their objectives. Ngo Dinh Diem was also a devout Catholic, even while the main religion in Vietnam was Buddhist. The Buddhist people became outraged when their religious views became suppressed by Diem and his government. Therefore it was not a big shock that in November of 1963 Diem was overthrown by a Vietnamese military coup, with the support of the U.S. The generals had promised Diem that he would be allowed to leave the country, but changed their mind soon afterwards and killed him. His position was soon replaced by a man named Nguyen Van Thieu. Simkin John//. Spartacus Educational.// Retrieved (05/14/09) [] __American History 102: Civil War to the Present.__ "Ngo Dinh Diem." __ushistoryedu__ November 18, 1998. []
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** Gulf of Tonkin incident ** The Gulf of Tonkin incident was an incident that occurred between the U.S. and North Vietnam naval forces. The U.S. had been increasingly placing military pressure on North Vietnam with a series of aggressive attacks. America was hoping that North Vietnam would bend to the pressure placed on them. In August of 1964 The destroyer //USS Maddox// entered the Gulf of Tonkin located along the North Vietnamese coast, in order to gather various types of intelligence. North Vietnam's leaders who had decided to refuse to give in to U.S. pressure, organized an attack on the American destroyer. On the August 1964 afternoon, the //USS Maddox// was attacked by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The American destroyer quickly called for support from the carrier //Ticonderoga,// which attacked the three boats and left one destroyed, and burning in the water. After this occurrence, both sides quickly separated. Shortly after this occurrence, the //USS Maddox// resumed its mission, this time accompanied by the destroyer //Turner Joy.// The South Vietnamese intelligence informed U.S. ships that North Vietnam was yet again planning a naval attack. U.S. navy then used radar to detect and fire on potential North Vietnamese threats. However, later facts indicated that the North Vietnamese navy had never planned such an attack, and U.S. efforts were merely wasted. [|video source] media type="youtube" key="AXmxfCvO7lA" height="344" width="425"

__USS //Maddox// 1944-1972: Actions in the Gult of Tonkin, August 1964.__ //history.navy// Retrieved (05/14/09) [|http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/] Marolda, Edward. __Tonkin Gulf Crisis, August 1964.__ "Summary of the Tonkin Gulf Crisis of August 1964" //history.navy// [|www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq120-1.htm]
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A free-fire zone was a control measure used by the U.S. military for the coordination between adjacent combat units. These zones were designated areas where weapons were able to be fired freely without any coordination with the establishing headquarters. These areas were suspected of enemy combat activity, and soldiers sent to these zones were meant to fire freely at all people found there. These areas were meant to be cleared of civilians in able to allow aircraft bomb disposal before landing. The free-fire zones had established curfews, and soldiers were expected to shoot anyone wandering around these areas after the set curfew. Also, anyone who was unidentified on the unit was considered an enemy. This sometimes resulted in the death of innocent civilians, and was a violation of the Geneva Convention.
 * Free-fire Zones** [|photo source]

Whittiker, Ron. __Free Fire Zones.__ Retrieved (05/15/09) [] __Free Fire Zones? We called it Indian Country. America's Vietnamese Killings.__ //iwchildren// [|http://www.iwchildren.org/veterans/]
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**Operation Rolling Thunder** Operation Rolling Thunder was the bombing campaign launched against North Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder was a series of American aerial attacks on North Vietnam, with the goal to demoralize the North Vietnamese people, and undermine their government. The operation started on February of 1965, and lasted until October of 1968. A series of bomb campaigns was launched on North Vietnam, but the effort to stop Ho Chi Minh from attempting to take over South Vietnam was little achieved. Operation Rolling Thunder had little order, and the target of the bombing campaigns frequently changed. Once the operations objectives were clearly not being obtained, the purpose of the campaign began to change. Bombing campaigns began to be directed towards the flow of men and supplies in the North. However President Johnson later set serious restrictions on the bombing in order to persuade the North Vietnamese people to negotiate. Serious negotiations began in January 1969, and the campaign finally ended.

Trueman, Chris. __The Vietnam War: Operation Rolling Thunder.__ //Historylearningsite. [|http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk].// Pike, John. __Military: Operation Rolling Thunder.__ //GlobalSecurity 2005.// [|http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops]
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**March 8, 1965** [|photo source] March 8, 1965 was an important day in the Vietnam War's history, it was the day that the first U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam. They joined 3,500 marines who landed at China Beach to defend the American air base at Da Nag, and 23,000 military advisers who were already in Vietnam. This marked the beginning of the serious war effort, and American military involvement.

__ROK Army and Marines prove to be rock-solid fighters and allies in Vietnam War.__ //TalkingProud.// [|http://www.talkingproud.us/] __The History Place: Vietnam War, The Jungle War 1965-1968.__ //History Place 1999. [|http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/]//
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**Hoa Lo Prison** The Hoa Lo Prison was a prison used by the French for the early Vietnam political prisoners, and later used by North Vietnam for the prisoners of the Vietnam War. The U.S. POWS who were sent to the prison endured horrible conditions. These conditions included poor food, unsanitary living conditions. The prisoners sent to the Hoa Lo Prison were often interrogated and even tortured. The torture methods included rope bindings, irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement. The Vietnamese people did this for the sole purpose of obtaining written or recorded confessions criticizing the U.S. conduct during the War, and praising the North Vietnamese people. When the prisoners of the war were finally released, their testimonies revealed the abuse of the prisoners of war.

__The Hanoi Hilton.__ //Farfromglory// 2004. Retrieved (05/15/09) [] Bush, Henry. __Hanoi Hilton: Images of Life in the Infamous Hoa Lo POW Camp in Hanoi.__ //HanoiHilton 1996.// []
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**Tet Offensive** The Tet Offensive was a series of surprise military attacks by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, launched on several South Vietnamese cities, towns, and hamlets. The North Vietnamese leaders believed they could not the losses they experienced due to the U.S. military attacks, and believed they had to win the war with an intense military effort. The surprise attacks began on January of 1968, and it took weeks for the U.S. and South Vietnamese army to recapture all of the overtaken areas. The Tet Offensive was a military failure for the North Vietnamese, however it strengthened for them a positive outlook on the war. It also proved that North Vietnam had a strong military, and was willing to go to extensive measures to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. The U.S. was surprised by this action by the North Vietnamese people, and soon after the Tet Offensive, President Johnson reduced the air-raids on North Vietnam intending to seek a negotiated peace. __Tet Offensive. Wars and Battles, 1968.__ //U-S-History.// Retrieved (05/15/09) [|http://www.u-s-history.com/pages] Simkin John//. Spartacus Educational.// Retrieved (05/15/09) []
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**My Lai Massacre** The My Lai Massacre was an unfortunate incident, which included a mass murder of unarmed South Vietnam citizens by U.S. soldiers. The event occurred on March 16, 1968 when soldiers of the Charlie Company arrived at My Lai located in the northern part of South Vietnam. The soldiers involved were originally meant to target the enemy who had launched strong attacks during the Tet Offensive incident. However, most of those who were killed were innocent civilians, many of whom were women, elderly, and children. The U.S. soldiers did not receive any resistance, and they killed up to 504 citizens. In addition to these killings, many of the women were raped, and other civilians received torturous treatment before their ultimate death. The soldiers later tried to cover up the amount of deaths that occurred, but the incident was ultimately discovered for the harsh truth. As the incident became public, it caused public outrage and greatly reduced the support of the War. __Explorations, The Vietnam War as History:__ "My Lai Massacre." //Digital History.// Retrieved (05/15/09) from [|www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_] __American Experience: The My Lai Massacre.__ //PBS.// WGBH Educational Foundation 1996. Retrieved (05/15/09) [|http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/]
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**Vietnamization** [|photo source] President Nixon shortly after taking office, announced his new policy of "Vietnamization." The plan for this policy was to encourage the South Vietnamese army to take on more responsibility for fighting in the war. The policy called for the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops, and it was hoped that this would lead to the complete withdrawal of all American troops in Vietnam. In June of 1969, President Nixon announced the first withdrawal of American troops. The army of 540,000 was reduced by 25,000. Another 60,000 were scheduled to withdraw the following December. This policy was controversial because, many people believed it was wrong for Nixon to simply abandon the former Presidential policies of committing U.S. troops to prevent Communism. However, a vast majority of people in America opposed the war and found hope in Nixon's new policy.

Simkin John//. Spartacus Educational.// Retrieved (05/15/09) [] __The Vietnam War. Nixon and Vietnamization: 1969-1975.__ //Sparknotes LLC 2009.// [|http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/]
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In late 1969, under the persuasion of Henry Kissinger, President Nixon decided to launch a massive bombing campaign on Cambodia. President Nixon claimed that the North Vietnamese were becoming more and more aggressive, and that this action was absolutely necessary. He also announced that the operation would provide six to eight months of time dedicated to training the South Vietnamese forces, and thus would shorten the war for America. However this bombing campaign received high controversy, especially in a time where many people were protesting the war. President Nixon had recently announced his policy of Vietnamization where he promised to withdraw troops from Vietnam. However despite this unpopularity, Nixon firmly stood by his decision to invade Cambodia, claiming that by not taking some action he was putting the American troops still in Vietnam, in unnecessary danger. This outraged the protestors, and caused the antiwar movement to develop more rapidly. [|video source] media type="youtube" key="KKTmYKjvwBM" height="344" width="425"
 * Invasion and Bombing of Cambodia** [|photo source]

__Vietnam War: Nixon Defends Invasion of Cambodia.__ //Thisdayinhistory.// //A&E Television Networks// //1996.// [|http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history] __Nixon Announces Invasion of Cambodia.__ //chmn.// Retrieved (05/15/09) []
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