March 29, 1975, Marked End of Vietnam War

The Vietnam War ended March 25, 1975, however, it lingers in so many peoples' minds as a bitter lonely experience and with little for support and respect for our soldiers upon returning back to U. S. soils.

The Gulf of Tonkin, a much debated item with varying stories, was also known as the USS Maddox incident and is said to have marked the formal entry of the U.S. into the Vietnam War.

One billion dollars was spent on the war by the U.S. alone. In 1982, the awesome Vietnam Memorial Wall was constructed in our nation's capital. It is chilling to see, which everyone should visit. (There is a travelling wall that goes around the U.S.) To begin with, at the dedication of the wall on Memorial Day 2017, just less than 58,000 names were placed on the wall with more added to bring the number to over the 58,000 mark.

President Kennedy wanted to remove the troops from the war but didn't know how. He and Robert McNamara wanted to keep the promise of a free South using financial and technical support. Chronicles of discussions among the two bear witness to the fact if techniques could be used that bombing key areas and restricting assaults to ground fighting, thereby eliminating open fighting the promise would be kept.

The U.S. didn't lose the War on-ground, but did not win every single battle. The Northern Vietnamese Army was defeated by the U. S. Army in 1970 at the Support Fire Base Ripcord.

The U.S. troops preferred to use the AK-47s over the government issued M-16's as they didn't jam or misfire. The AK-47's were the enemy's ammunition and some stories claim the rifles were found by fallen Vietnamese soldiers' bodies.

The War wasn't just between the U.S. and Vietnam, as Australia and New Zealand had joined the effort with the largest contingent coming from South Korea.

The majority of the soldiers were not drafted, they were volunteers, In fact three-quarters of the soldiers were volunteers in the war. ARVN, (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) suffered almost 1,400,000 casualties in Vietnam from 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in 1975.

President Nixon was credited of ending the Vietnamese War. But first he invaded Cambodia to the outrage of the U.S. Nixon authorized the infringement into Cambodia and bombings in the country area hoping to keep the pressure on the North.

Perhaps the Vietnam War saw some of the most unconventional devices such as superglue (one wonders how they obtained it) was used to control bleeding. Duct tape repaired damaged helicopter blades; Slinkys became radio antennas. These were slung over branches to extend their range. How did a Slinky find its way to the war torn area.

The release of the Pentagon Papers, a set of documents, by Department of Defense were released by a DoD employee set off another outrage among Americans. It dated back to a military coup in 1963, that the Kennedy administration assisted with in coordinating and the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem and some bombing in North Vietnam.

The chemical Agent Orange used by the U.S. to defoliate the forest proved to be devastating then and continues to be now. Soldiers returned home healthy only to be 'struck' down by after-effects of the herbicide.

The Paris Peace Accords of January 1973, saw all U.S. forces withdrawn from Vietnam. The Case-Church Amendment, passed by U.S. Congress on August 15, 1973, officially ended direct U.S. military involvement. The Peace Accord was broken almost immediately and the fighting went on for two more years.

This war, also known as the Second Indochina War, was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 11, 1955 to April 30, 1975. It was officially fought between the North and South Vietnamese.

The Vietnam War, just like every other war has had a lot of information kept under wraps.

It was not my intention to stir up bad/sad memories or write something people will disagree with. That is a given as the soldiers were on the ground, in the air, and some cases aboard ships. The fighting soldiers deserve recognition for waging a battle many said was unwinnable. In fact, that is why the gentleman decided to leak the Pentagon Papers as that was his firm belief.