Prince Boun Oum organizes a pro-Western government in
Laos; North Vietnam and the USSR send aid to the Communist insurgents.
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pledges support for "wars
of national liberation" throughout the world, encouraging North Vietnamese
Communists to escalate their armed struggle to unify Vietnam.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th U.S.
President. He declares "...we shall pay any price, bear any burden,
meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to insure the survival
and the success of liberty." He is advised in private by outgoing
President Eisenhower that troops may be needed in Southeast Asia.
The Kennedy administration sets up a limited war to force
a political settlement against an enemy dedicated to total military victory.
President Diem is re-elected as President of South Vietnam.
US Ambassador Frederick Nolting reveals that Diem, "did not want combat
troops in Vietnam".
First defoliation test mission is flown in Vietnam
President Kennedy at a press conference declares that
if necessary the use of US forces would be considered "to help South Vietnam
resist communist pressures".
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visits President Diem
in South Vietnam.
A 14 nation conference in Geneva affirms Laos neutrality.
President Kennedy sends 400 Green Berets as 'Special Advisors' to South Vietnam to train South Vietnamese soldiers in methods of 'counter-insurgency' in the fight against Viet Cong guerrillas. The role of the Green Berets soon expands to establish Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDG) made up of Montagnards in a series of fortified camps in the mountains along North Vietnamese infiltration routes.
Britain announces that they will seek to join the EEC
(European Economic Community, making Australia and New Zealand feel somewhat
isolated.
26,000 Viet Cong launch several successful attacks on
South Vietnamese troops. Diem then requests more military aid from the
Kennedy administration.
Viet Cong forces carry out a series of attacks in Kontum
Province, South Vietnam.
A Viet Cong battalion seizes the provincial capital of
Phuoc Vinh, some 55 miles (89km) from Saigon.
The Lao factions agree to form a neutral coalition headed
by Souvanna Phouma, but fail to agree on the apportionment of cabinet
posts.
Kennedy announces his aides Maxwell Taylor and Walt Rostow will visit Vietnam to examine the deteriorating situation. "If Vietnam goes, it will be exceedingly difficult to hold Southeast Asia," Taylor reports to the President. He advises Kennedy to expand the number of U.S. military advisors and to send 8,000 combat soldiers (a brigade). Defense Secretary McNamara and the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommend sending six divisions (200,000 men) to Vietnam. However, the President decides against sending any combat troops.
On the sixth anniversary of the Republic of South Vietnam,
President Kennedy sends a letter to President Diem and pledges "the
United States is determined to help Vietnam preserve its independence..."
President Kennedy sends additional military advisors along with American
helicopter units to transport and direct South Vietnamese troops in battle,
thus involving Americans in combat operations. Kennedy justifies the expanding
U.S. military role as a means "...to prevent a Communist takeover
of Vietnam which is in accordance with a policy our government has followed
since 1954." The number of military advisors sent by Kennedy will
eventually surpass 16,000.
As a result of Taylor's mission, President Kennedy decides
to increase military aid to South Vietnam, without committing US combat
troops.
Indonesia proclaims that they would reclaim Dutch New
Guinea by the end of 1962.
Viet Cong guerrillas control much of the countryside in
South Vietnam and frequently ambush South Vietnamese troops. The cost
to America of maintaining the 200,000 man ARVN army and managing the overall
conflict in Vietnam rises to a million dollars per day.
US military personnel in Vietnam total 3,200.
Viet Cong Ambush, Kill American
J.F.K., Clay Agree on Berlin Policy
West Irian Ultimatum - Leave or We’ll Invade,
Sukarno Tells Dutch
Reserves Not Ready, Arends Says
Nehru Loses Temper at Rally
President Kennedy's State of the Union says, "Few
generations in all of history have been granted the role of being the
great defender of freedom in its maximum hour of danger. This is our good
fortune..."
During a press conference, President Kennedy is asked if any Americans in Vietnam are engaged in the fighting. "No," the President responds without further comment.
Dutch Navy Sinks Indonesia Invaders
U.S. Must Take Risks in S.E. Asia: Kennedy
Space Balloon Fizzles
Indonesians, Dutch Clash in Jungles
MACV, the U.S. Military Assistance Command for Vietnam,
is formed. It replaces MAAG-Vietnam, the Military Assistance Advisory
Group which had been established in 1950.
Pick U.S. Viet Chief - Full General to Head
Units
British OK Christmas Isle A-Test
Paris Police Battle Red Mobs; 8 Killed
No Combat in Vietnam: Harkins
Bar Red Squeeze on Air Corridor
Kennedy’s End Visit to Japan
Paris Workers Stage Strike in Protest of
Police 'Brutality'
German Mine Toll Increases to 287
Seize $1.5 Million in Fake Bills
U.S. to Return Fire If Fired on: Kennedy
French Troops Battle Moslem Mobs in Oran
R. Kennedy Parries Quiz in Indonesia
Water Breaks Dike, Sweeps Idaho Town
U.S. Set For Any Threat: McNamara
Officials Doubt Viet War to Flare Into 2d
'Korea'
SAS Man in Patrol
Two renegade South Vietnamese pilots flying American-made
World War II era fighter planes bomb the presidential palace in Saigon,
killing 3 and wounding 20. President Diem and his brother Nhu escape unharmed.
French rush reserves to
Algiers.
Army Approves 5-Year
Tours
Discoverer Lofted
Into Polar Orbit
Operation Sunrise begins the Strategic Hamlet resettlement program whereby scattered rural populations in South Vietnam are resettled into fortified villages defended by local militias.
Viet Cong infiltrate over 50 of the hamlets who kill or intimidate village leaders. As a result, Diem orders bombing of suspected Viet Cong-controlled hamlets. The air strikes by the South Vietnamese Air Force are supported by U.S. pilots, who fly of the missions. Civilian causalities erode popular support for Diem and result in growing peasant hostility toward America, which is largely blamed for the unpopular resettlement program as well as the bombings.
Join in Missions
- Report U.S. Pilots Train Viets on Combat Flights
Plan 'Ready' Units
10 Terrorists Slain
in Oran Gun Battle
Fisher Denies Split
With Liz
Viet Cong organize themselves into battalion-sized units
operating in central Vietnam.
Defense Secretary McNamara visits South Vietnam and reports
"we are winning the war."
The Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos signed in Geneva
by the U.S. and 13 other nations, prohibits U.S. invasion of portions
of the Ho Chi Minh trail inside eastern Laos.
President Kennedy signs the Foreign Assistance Act of
1962 which provides "...military assistance to countries which are
on the rim of the Communist world and under direct attack."
A U.S. Special Forces camp is set up at Khe Sanh to monitor
North Vietnamese Army (NVA) infiltration down the Ho Chi Minh trail.
350 Viet Cong fighters defeat a large force of American-equipped
South Vietnamese troops attempting to seize a radio transmitter in the
Battle of Ap Bac. Three American helicopter crew are killed.
Buddhists riot in South Vietnam after they are denied
the right to display religious flags during their celebration of Buddha's
birthday. In Hue, South Vietnamese police and army troops shoot at Buddhist
demonstrators, resulting in the deaths of one woman and eight children.
Political pressure mounts on the Kennedy administration to disassociate
itself from Diem's family-run government.
Buddhist demonstrations spread. Several Buddhist monks
publicly burn themselves to death as an act of protest. Diem imposes martial
law. South Vietnamese special forces under control of Diem's younger brother
Nhu wage violent crackdowns against Buddhist sanctuaries in Saigon, Hue
and other cities, sparking wiidespread anti-Diem demonstrations. Madame
nNhu refers to "barbeques" on TV.
South Vietnamese General Tran Van Don, a Buddhist, contacts
the CIA in Saigon about the possibility of staging a coup against Diem.
New U.S. ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge arrives in South
Vietnam.
Ambassador Lodge interprets a U.S. State Department message
to indicate he should encourage a military coup against President Diem.
Ambassador Lodge meets President Diem for the first time.
Under instructions from President Kennedy, Lodge tells Diem to fire his
brother, the much-hated Nhu, and to reform his government. But Diem arrogantly
refuses even to discuss such matters with Lodge.
President Kennedy and top aides begin three days of heated
discussions over whether the U.S. should in fact support the military
coup against Diem.
A Lodge message to Washington states "...there is
no possibility, in my view, that the war can be won under a Diem administration."
Kennedy then gives Lodge a free hand to manage the unfolding events in
Saigon. However, the coup against Diem fizzles due to mistrust and suspicion
within the ranks of the military conspirators.
President Kennedy describes Diem in an interview with
Walter Cronkite as "out of touch with the people" and adds that
South Vietnam's government might regain popular support "with changes
in policy and perhaps in personnel." He also comments, "If we
withdrew from Vietnam, the Communists would control Vietnam. Pretty soon,
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaya, would go..."
President Kennedy sends Ambassador Lodge a mixed messaged
that "no initiative should now be taken to give any encouragement
to a coup" but that Lodge should "identify and build contacts
with possible leadership as and when it appears".
Lodge informs President Kennedy that the coup against Diem appears to be on again.
Rebel generals under Duong Van "Big" Minh ask
for assurances that U.S. aid to South Vietnam will continue after Diem's
removal and that the U.S. will not interfere with the actual coup. President
Kennedy concurs and the CIA in Saigon then signals the conspirators that
the United States will not interfere with the overthrow of President Diem.
Prompted by concerns over public relations fallout if
the coup fails, a worried White House seeks reassurances from Ambassador
Lodge that the coup will succeed.
Ambassador Lodge reports a coup is "imminent."
An increasingly nervous White House now instructs Lodge
to postpone the coup. Lodge responds it can only be stopped by betraying
the conspirators to Diem.
10 a.m.
Ambassador Lodge meets with President Diem from 10 a.m.
until noon at the presidential palace, then departs.
1:30 p.m.
The coup begins. Mutinous troops surround the presidential palace and seize police headquarters. Diem and his brother Nhu inside the palace reject appeals to surrender. Diem telephones the rebel generals and unsuccessfully attempts to talk them out of the coup.
4:30 p.m.
Diem calls Lodge and asks about the attitude of the United
States. Lodge responds "...it is four thirty a.m. in Washington,
and the U.S. government cannot possibly have a view." He expresses
concern for Diem's safety, to which Diem responds "I am trying to
restore order."
8 p.m.
Diem and Nhu escape from the palace unnoticed and go to
a safe house in the suburbs owned by a wealthy Chinese merchant.
3 a.m.
A Diem aide betrays his location to the generals. The
hunt for Diem and Nhu now begins.
6 a.m.
Diem telephones the generals. Realizing the situation is hopeless, Diem and Nhu offer to surrender from inside a Catholic church. Diem and Nhu are then taken into custody by rebel officers and placed in the back of an armored personnel carrier. While traveling to Saigon, the vehicle stops and Diem and Nhu are assassinated.
6 a.m.
A White House meeting is interrupted with the news of
Diem's death. According to witnesses, Kennedy turns pale and leaves the
room.
7 a.m.
Saigon celebrates the downfall of Diem's regime. But the
coup results in a power vacuum and teh country becomes totally dependent
on the United States for its existence.
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas.
Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as the 36th U.S. President.
He makes a key mistake by retaining many of the same policy advisors who
served Kennedy, and who were loyal to JFK but not LBJ.
President Johnson tells Ambassador Lodge in Washington that he will not "lose Vietnam".
South Vietnam has 16,300 American military advisors and
received $500 million in U.S. aid during 1963.
General Minh is ousted from power in a bloodless coup
led by General Nguyen Khanh who becomes the new leader.
U.S.-backed mercenaries flying WWII American fighter planes
start bombing the Ho Chi Minh trail inside Laos.
Defense Secretary McNamara visits Vietnam and states that
Gen. Khanh has U.S. support, adding, "We'll stay for as long as it
takes."
McNamara advises President Johnson to increase military
aid to the ARVN. U.S. policy makers focus on preventing a Communist victory,
believing it would damage the U.S. credibility.
The US cost of the war in Vietnam rises to two million
dollars per day.
The U.S. National Security Council recommends the bombing
of North Vietnam. President Johnson approves planning by the Pentagon.
Work begins on a Congressional resolution supporting the
President's Vietnam policy. The work is postposed because of lack of support
in the Senate, but later surfaces as the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.
56,000 Viet Cong spread guerrilla war throughout South
Vietnam, reinforced by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars pouring in
via the Ho Chi Minh trail. Responding to this escalation, President Johnson
approves Operation Plan 34A, CIA-run covert operations using South Vietnamese
commandos in speed boats to harass radar sites along the coastline of
North Vietnam. The raids are supported by U.S. Navy warships in the Gulf
of Tonkin including the destroyer U.S.S. Maddox which conducts electronic
surveillance to pinpoint the radar locations.
Johnson appoints General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as new U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam. During his one year tenure, Taylor deals with five different governments.
President Johnson appoints Lt. Gen William C. Westmoreland
as the new U.S. military commander in Vietnam.
In the Gulf of Tonkin under Operation Plan 34A, South
Vietnamese commandos in unmarked speed boats raid two North Vietnamese
military bases located on islands just off the coast. In the vicinity
is the destroyer U.S.S. Maddox.
Three North Vietnamese patrol boats attack the American
destroyer U.S.S. Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin ten miles off the coast
of North Vietnam. They fire three torpedoes and machine-guns. A single
machine-gun round hits the Maddox. There are no casualities.
U.S. Navy fighters from the carrier Ticonderoga, led by
Commander James Stockdale, attack the patrol boats, sinking one and damaging
the other two.
President Johnson reacts cautiously, sending a diplomatic
message to Hanoi warning of "grave consequences" from further
"unprovoked" attacks and ordering the Maddox to resume operations
in the Gulf of Tonkin. U.S. forces worldwide go on alert.
USS Turner Joy and USS Maddox zigzag through the Gulf
of Tonkin to within eight miles of North Vietnam's coast, while South
Vietnamese commandos in speed boats harass North Vietnamese defenses along
the coastline. During nightime thunderstorms, electronic instruments on
the destroyers give readings that are interpreted as another North Vietnamese
torpedo attack, and both destroyers open fire on apparent targets without
any actual enemy sightings.
Despite lack of information and possible doubts about
the second attack, the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommend a retaliatory bombing
raid against North Vietnam.
American press reports embellish the second attack with
spectacular eyewitness accounts although no journalists had been present.
President Johnson orders retaliatory bombing of North
Vietnamese oil facilities and naval targets. 64 U.S. Navy planes make
the raid.
Lt. Everett Alvarez pilots one of two Navy jets shot down
during the bombing raids and becomes the first American prisoner of war,
and the first inhabitant of the infamous POW camp called "Hanoi Hilton".
In a midnight television appearance, President Johnson
tells Americans,"We Americans know, although others appear to forget,
the risk of spreading conflict. We still seek no wider war."
With opinion polls showing 85% public support, Johnson's
aides lobby Congress to pass a White House resolution giving the President
a free hand in Vietnam.
Senator Wayne Morse, tipped off by someone in the Pentagon
that the Maddox had been involved in the South Vietnamese commando raids
against North Vietnam and thus was not the victim of an "unprovoked"
attack, queried McNamara in a meeting. McNamara replies that the U.S.
Navy "...played absolutely no part in, was not associated with, was
not aware of, any South Vietnamese actions, if there were any..."
U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passes the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution that allows the President "to take all necessary steps,
including the use of armed force" to prevent further attacks against
U.S. forces. The Resolution, passed unanimously in the House and 98-2
(Senators Morse and Gruening against) in the Senate, grants enormous power
to President Johnson to wage an undeclared war in Vietnam from the White
House.
After escalating student and militant Buddhist protests
in Saigon against the Khanh regime, Khanh resigns as sole leader in favor
of a triumvirate of himself, Gen. Minh and Gen. Khiem. Saigon disintegrates
into chaos and mob violence amid the government's instability.
President Johnson is nominated at the Democratic National
Convention, stating, "We are not about to send American boys nine
or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be
doing for themselves."
Two South Vietnamese generals stage an unsuccessful coup.
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev is ousted from power,
replaced by Leonid Brezhnev as leader of the U.S.S.R.
China tests its first Atomic Bomb. China also massee troops
along its border with Vietnam as a message to the U.S.
A pre-dawn mortar assault kills five Americans, two South
Vietnamese, and wounds nearly a hundred others at Bien Hoa Air Base 12
miles north of Saigon.
Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson is re-elected as President
of the United States in a land-slide victory with 61 percent of the popular
vote (the biggest to date in U.S. history), defeating Republican Barry
Goldwater by 16 million votes. Democrats also achieve big majorities in
both the U.S. House and Senate.
10,000 NVA soldiers arrive in the Central Highlands, carrying
modern Chinese and Soviet weapons. They shore up Viet Cong battalions
with the weapons and also provide experienced soldiers as leaders.
President Johnson's top aides, including Secretary of
State Dean Rusk, National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy, and Defense
Secretary McNamara, recommend a policy of gradual escalation of U.S. military
involvement in Vietnam.
Gen. Khanh and young officers, led by Nguyen Cao Ky and
Nguyen Van Thieu, oust older generals including Gen. Minh from the government
and seize control.
An angry Ambassador Taylor summons the young officers
to the U.S. embassy then scolds them like schoolboys over the continuing
instability and endless intrigues plaguing South Vietnam's government.
Americans, he had already warned them, are "tired of coups."
Taylor's behavior greatly offends the young officers. Gen. Khanh retaliates
by lashing out in the press against Taylor and the U.S., stating that
America is reverting to "colonialism" in its treatment of South
Vietnam.
A Viet Cong car bomb set off during happy hour at the Brinks Hotel, an American officers' residence in downtown Saigon, kills two Americans and wounds 58.
American military advisor troop strength in South Vietnam is 23,000. An estimated 170,000 Viet Cong/NVA fighters have begun coordinated battalion-sized attacks against ARVN troops around Saigon.