Vietnam Conflict: “Peace with Honor ?”

Vietnam Conflict Ends

Power point created by Robert Martinez Primary Content – History Alive ! Photographs as Cited.

1968 Election President Nixon entered the White House with a mandate to end America’s participation in the Vietnam Conflict.

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To that end, Nixon relied heavily on his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger. Both drew two basic conclusions about Vietnam. First, they agreed that the war was not winnable. Second, they decided that the U.S. could not just “cut and run.”

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An abrupt withdrawal from Vietnam would damage U.S. credibility by showing both friends and foes that the U.S. could not be trusted to stand by its allies. Instead, Nixon sought to achieve “peace with honor.” He wanted to end the war in a way that left the reputation of the U.S. intact.

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Nixon decided on a carrot-and-stick approach – a tactic that combines actions that reward (the carrot) with actions that punish (the stick). Using this approach, he hoped to persuade the North Vietnamese to accept a negotiated end to the war.

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In 1969, Nixon sent Kissinger to Paris to reopen talks with North Vietnamese diplomats. Kissinger proposed ending the bombing of the North (the carrot) – in exchange for an agreement on both sides to withdraw their troops from South Vietnam. In addition, he insisted that South Vietnam remain independent.

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The North Vietnamese rejected this offer, saying they were prepared to remain in Paris, “until the chairs rot.”

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When diplomacy failed, Nixon introduced “Vietnamization.” South Vietnam would gradually take over conduct of the war, while American GIs would steadily be withdrawn.

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The plan of Vietnamization had 3 main goals: establishing political reforms by increasing popular participation in government, rural development to bring economic opportunity to the countryside, and strengthening South Vietnam’s military forces.

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The “carrots” offered by the United States did not satisfy the North Vietnamese. Nixon considered several military options to pressure North Vietnam to negotiate, including increased bombings.

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Nixon called his military strategy, the “madman theory,” which would make North Vietnam, the Soviet Union, and China, believe that he would do anything to win the war. Nixon briefly put nuclear forces on alert as a bluff.

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Nixon had show a willingness to expand the war. In March 1969, he secretly ordered B-52s to begin bombing Cambodia, a neutral nation on Vietnam’s western border.

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By 1971, fewer than 175,000 U.S. combat soldiers were left in Vietnam. ARVN (South Vietnamese Army) had carried out the ground fighting in neighboring Laos, but a larger North Vietnamese Army (NVA) could easily defeat the ARVN. Vietnamization not yet a reality.

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The My Lai Massacre had taken place in March 1968, but had been covered up by the military. U.S. soldiers, believing My Lai to be a Viet Cong stronghold, had gone there on a search-and-destroy mission. To their surprise, they found no armed Viet Cong in the village, just women, children, and old men.

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My Lai Massacre Nevertheless, one morning the soldiers rounded up and executed about 500 of the civilians. Only a handful of villagers survived.

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News of the massacre shocked Americans, though many doubted that such and atrocity could occur. Others believed the soldiers were just following orders or that their actions were justified. Enough Americans expressed outrage, that Nixon decide to accelerate the withdrawal of troops in Vietnam.

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On October 15, 1969, peace activists staged the biggest antiwar demonstration in U.S. history: the nationwide Vietnam Moratorium Day. Organizers asked Americans to take the day off to reflect the war. More than 2 million people responded in a day of dramatic and widespread protest.

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Kent State Massacre The invasion of Cambodia in 1970, increased another surge in protests. Students held mass rallies and demonstrations, some of which turned violent. The Kent State shootings were the most shocking example.

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On May 4, students at Kent State University were holding a peace rally after several days of violent unrest, which included the burning of the ROTC building on campus. National Guard troops were called in by the governor.

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After some students began throwing rocks, the troops opened fire. Four students were killed and nine were wounded. Ten days later, a similar incident took place at Jackson State College. Protesters threw debris at police, and the officers responded with shotgun and machine-gun fire that left two students dead.

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In 1971, a top-secret study known as the Pentagon Papers were leaked to the New York Times. The study reviewed how previous administrations had deceived (lied) Congress and the public about Vietnam. Nixon fought to stop the publication of the study, however, the Supreme Court sided with the New York Times.

By the end of 1970, Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which had allowed the president to increase the military efforts in Vietnam. In February 1971, Congress passed legislation forbidding U.S. troops from operation outside the borders of South Vietnam.

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Two years later, when Congress learned that Nixon secretly bombed Cambodia, it passed the War Powers Resolution, placing limits on a president’s power to use the armed forces in hostilities without congressional authorization.

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On January 27, 1973, representatives of the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong signed the Paris Peace Accords. This treaty set the goal of “ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam.”

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The Paris Peace Accords called for a cease-fire and kept the dividing line between North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel. It also called for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and the release of U.S. prisoners of war.

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By March 29,1973, the United States had withdrawn all combat forces from Vietnam.

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Arriving home, may soldiers were dismayed to find themselves the victims of their country’s bitter debate over the war. Unlike soldiers returning from World War II, most Vietnam veterans were not treated like heroes.

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Many soldiers were haunted by their fears in battle and by the death and destruction they had witnessed. Of the 2.6 million Americans who served in Vietnam, nearly a half million suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms of this mental illness include anxiety, irritability, nightmares, and depression.

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More than 760 Americans were taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese. Of these prisoners, 110 died in captivity. POWs lived in miserable conditions, often in solitary confinement, and they faced regular interrogations and torture.

Returning POWS including a younger Senator John McCain (far right). http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Change-Viet4.html

North Vietnam released all POWs by April 1,1973. Another 2,600 Americans were missing in action (MIA). Some 1,800 MIAs are still unaccounted for today. Few, if any, are thought to be alive.

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The cease-fire did not hold for long. In 1975, the NVA launched an all-out offensive. South Vietnamese President Thieu pleaded with United States for help. President Gerald Ford urged Congress to boost military aid. But Ford did not demand that U.S. forces return to Vietnam.

South Vietnamese President Thieu http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/21/newsid_2935000/2935347.stm

“America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as America is concerned.”

- President Gerald Ford April 23, 1975 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6685816

On April 27, 1975, the NVA surrounded Saigon. U.S. embassy personnel worked frantically to evacuate more than a thousand Americans and several thousand frantic South Vietnamese. Helicopters airlifted most of them form the embassy rooftop to U.S. ships waiting offshore.

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On April 30, NVA tanks and troops entered Saigon unopposed. President Thieu had resigned and fled 9 days earlier. His replacement, Duong Van Minh, surrendered unconditionally. “I declare that the Saigon government, from central to local level, has been completely dissolved.”

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The Vietnam War left the United States in a state of shock. More than 58,000 soldiers died in the war and another 300,000 were wounded, many of them losing limbs.

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To some Americans, the soldier’s sacrifices seemed pointless. The United States had lost the war – a war that could have been avoided.

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For awhile, the country reduced its involvement in global conflicts. In addition, Americans no longer automatically trusted what their leaders told them (credibility gap.)

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The Vietnam Memorial erected in 1982 helped many Americans – especially Vietnam veterans – come to terms with the war. The Wall encouraged Americans to reflect on the conflict and thus heal some of the war’s wounds.

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