Vietnam War

Vietnam War. How did it start? In 1950, American advisors arrived in South Vietnam to prevent a takeover by communist North Vietnam, which was backed by China and Russia. Following an attack on US destroyers by North Vietnam gunboats in 1964, congress approved a resolution that allowed US combat involvement., What was it like? Soldiers had to learn new tactics as they faced obstacles such as dense jungles, malaria, heat, monsoon rain, enemy tunnels, and bobby traps. The enemy was the North Vietnamese Army (NVA)and the local Viet Cong (VC). There were no front lines, and the VC blended in with the villagers and fought a jungle guerrilla-type war., How did it end? By the late 1960s, public support of the war had eroded. The cost of the war in military lives was over 58,000 killed and 150,000 wounded, and an economic cost of $120 billion made the continuation of the war unsustainable. In January 1973, with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, withdrawal of US personnel began. Without US military support, the communist North Vietnamese captured Saigon, the South Vietamese capital, on April 30, 1975, bring an end to the war., Our teacher's Perspective: Although this was did not end the way we have envisioned, our involvement showed that America is committed to do all that we can to stop the spread of communism and to improve the lives of people all over the world., Jackson County had 19 killed and unknown hundreds wounded in this conflict.