Vietnam War

1955-1975

The Vietnam War was a long, costly, and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people, including over 58,000 Americans, were killed in the Vietnam War, and more than half of the dead were Vietnamese civilians. Opposition to the war in the United States bitterly divided Americans, even after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973. Communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South Vietnam in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year.

1954-1964

With the Cold War intensifying worldwide, the United States hardened its policies against any allies of the Soviet Union, and by 1955 President Dwight D. Eisenhower had pledged firm support to South Vietnam. With training and equipment from the American military and the CIA, South Vietnam’s security forces cracked down on North Korean sympathizers in the south. President John F. Kennedy, working under the “domino theory,” which held that if one Southeast Asian country fell to communism, many other countries would follow, increased U.S. aid, though he stopped short of committing to a large-scale military intervention. By 1962, the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam had reached some 9,000 troops, compared with fewer than 800 during the 1950s.

Kenneth Conboy: War in Laos 1954-1975

Waving to the city populace, joyous Viet Minh troops enjoy a parade of victory through the streets of Hanoi on October 9, 1954.

August 15, 1963

The USS High Point was a PCH-1 (Patrol Craft Hydrofoil) ship in service with the United States Navy. The ship was commissioned on August 15, 1963. The USS High Point was named after High Point. The ship was assigned to the Puget Sound and was mainly used for testing. The testing done would lead to development and testing of several other ships through the U.S. Coast Guard and commercially.

August 5, 1964

After North Vietnamese torpedo boats alledgedly attacked the U.S.S. Maddox and U.S.S. Turner Joy in the Gulf of Tonkin, President Johnson ordered the retaliatory bombing of military targets in North Vietnam. Congress soon passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson broad war-making powers.

March 2, 1965- October 31, 1968

Operation Rolling Thunder was a bombing campaign begun on March 2, 1965, partly in response to a Viet Cong attack on a U.S. air base at Pleiku. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration believed that heavy and sustained bombing might encourage North Vietnamese leaders to accept the non-Communist government in South Vietnam, and they wanted to reduce North Vietnam’s ability to produce and transport supplies to aid the Viet Cong insurgency.

Arrival of U.S. ground troops

April 1, 1965

Shortly after Operation Rolling Thunder began in 1965, President Johnson committed the first U.S. ground troops to the Vietnam War. Although their initial mission was to defend air bases in South Vietnam that were being used in the bombing campaign, the troops’ roles soon expanded to include engaging the Viet Cong in active combat.

The Tet Offensive

January 30- March 28, 1968

The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to incite rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. Though U.S. and South Vietnamese forces managed to hold off the attacks, news coverage of the massive offensive shocked the American public and eroded support for the war effort. Despite heavy casualties, North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive, as the attacks marked a turning point in the Vietnam War and the beginning of the slow, painful American withdrawal from the region.

My Lai Massacre

March 16, 1968

A company of American soldiers brutally killed more than 500 women, children, and elderly men, in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. U.S. Army officers covered up the carnage for a year before it was reported in the American press, sparking a firestorm of international outrage. The brutality of the My Lai killings and the official cover-up fueled anti-war sentiment and further divided the United States over the Vietnam War.

Ronald Craven

July 1968-July 1969

Sergeant Major Ronald Craven was drafted in 1958 and served in the Army for 28 years. During his service, Sergeant Major Craven served two tours in Vietnam (July 1968-July 1969 and July 1971-July 1972). He received fifteen Good Conduct Medals, two Vietnam Service Medals, two National Defense Service Medals, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, among other awards.

Jerry Thomas

1969

Thomas enlisted in the Marines before he had even graduated high school. Thomas went to Vietnam in 1969 and served a 12-month tour in the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines. Thomas conducted patrols and ambushes and was in the rifle squad. After Vietnam he returned to the states and served in South Carolina at Goose Creek Naval Weapons Station performing security functions. Once out of the military Thomas joined the High Point Fire Department where he worked for 31 years before retiring in 2003.

Donald Belton

1969-1971

High Point native Donald Belton served in the U.S. Army after being drafted in 1969. He was a Conscientious Objector, meaning he did not want to have to shoot anyone. This gave him the option of several non-combat roles such as being a cook or becoming a medic. He was assigned to be a medic and served in Germany for a year before going to Vietnam. He was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his service. After his service in the military, he returned to High Point and had a long career in the medical field.

Operation Menu

March 18, 1969- May 26, 1970

Operation Menu was the codename of a covert United States Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombing campaign conducted in eastern Cambodia. The bombing began on the night of March 18th 1969 with a raid by 60 B-52 Stratofortress bombers. Although the aircrews were briefed that their mission was to take place in South Vietnam, 48 of the bombers were diverted across the Cambodian border and dropped 2,400 tons of bombs. In all, SAC flew 3,800 B-52 sorties and dropped 108,823 tons of ordnance during Operation Menu.

Willis Earl Moss

1970-1971

Moss spent fourteen months in Vietnam serving with the 39th Engineering Division in the U.S. Army. Moss was a cook who had trained at Fort Knox, KY.

Paris Peace Accords

January 27, 1973

The United States, South Vietnam, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam formally signed “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” in Paris. The settlement included a cease-fire throughout Vietnam. In addition, the United States agreed to the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and advisors (totaling about 23,700 personnel) and the dismantling of all U.S. bases within 60 days. In return, the North Vietnamese agreed to release all prisoners of war, including U.S. POWs. Both sides agreed to the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Laos and Cambodia and the prohibition of bases in and troop movements through these countries. It was agreed that the DMZ (demilitarized zone) at the 17th Parallel would remain a provisional dividing line, with eventual reunification of the country through peaceful means.

Last U.S. troop units leave

March 29, 1973

Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam as Hanoi freed the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America’s direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end. In Saigon, some 7,000 U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees remained behind to aid South Vietnam in conducting what looked to be a fierce and ongoing war with Communist North Vietnam.

Operation Frequent Wind

April 29 – 30 1975

Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and “at-risk” Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam prior to the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese Army in the Fall of Saigon. It was carried out on April 29-30,1975. More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter.