VIETNAM TIMELINE

1957 The Viet Cong, communist guerrillas in South Vietnam, begin to rebel against the government headed by President Ngo Dinh Diem. The U. S. sends its first military advisers to help South Vietnam. 1963 ( Nov. 1) The South Vietnamese military overthrows Diem’s government in a CIAbacked coup. Diem and his brother are killed the next day. By the end of the year, 15,000 U. S. advisers are in Vietnam. 1964 ( Aug. 7) After two U. S. destroyers are attacked off North Vietnam, U. S. Congress approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Lyndon Johnson to take “all necessary measures ... to prevent further aggression.” 1965 ( March 6) President Johnson sends Marines, the first U. S. ground troops in the war, to Da Nang. U. S. troop strength reaches nearly 200,000. 1968 ( Jan. 30) Tet Offensive: The North Vietnamese army and Viet Cong launch assaults against South Vietnamese cities. Public approval of President Johnson’s handling of war drops from 40 percent to 26 percent. 1969 ( June 8) President Richard Nixon announces the beginning of U. S. troop withdrawal from Vietnam after troop strength reaches 540,000. 1970 Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s national security adviser, and Hanoi government officials start peace talks in Paris. 1973 ( Jan. 27) A cease- fire agreement is signed by the U. S, North and South Vietnam and the Viet Cong. In March, U. S. ground troops leave Vietnam. 1975 ( April 30) After violating cease- fire, North Vietnamese troops capture Saigon and take control of South Vietnam. President Duong Van Minh surrenders as the last of U. S. military personnel flee the country.