Vietnam War

Vietnam's early history, its people, dynastic struggles and invasions. The French, the Japanese in WWII and the rise of communism in 1941. The emergence of Ho Chi Minh, nationalism into communism. The effect of the domino theory, JFK's assassination and the Gulf of Tonkin incident. The US were drawn into bloody conflict.

After early domination through Operation Thunder, three years of B52 raids, napalm and Agent Orange drops. In 1968 the Vietcong Tet Offensive turned the tide, the TV war began in full, anti-war demos, the Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinations and My Lai massacre the war was now being shown on the nightly news for the first time. Over half a million US troops are deployed.

In 1972 Nixon ordered the majority of US troops back home In 1974 after Watergate he resigned The US embassy was evacuated on April 30 1975 In Vietnam the South faced a backlash from the North and US veterans faced dishonor and neglect back home Today Vietnam is the worlds secondlargest coffee producer still ruled by a communist government and moving at the pace of China