Vietnam War Vocab

13 terms for US History class. Main People and Concepts associated with the Vietnam War.

13 flashcards · History · by andrei-akopian

1. Domino Theory

   Communism movements will spread from the USSR and all (Asian) countries will become communist.

2. Vietnamization

   President Nixon: Retraction of US Troops from Vietnam, and replacing them with South Vietnamese soldiers. Americans shouldn't die on foreign land.

3. Henry Kissinger

   Secretly negotiated and armistice with North Vietnam in Paris. Paris Peace Accords in 1974

4. William Westmoreland

   Commander of US Forces during the Vietnam War

5. (Battle Of) Dien Bien Phu

   1954 French lost to North Vietnam at city Dien Bien Phu. Causing negotiations and 17th parallel division.

6. Ho Chi Minh Trail

   North Vietnam supply lines ran through Cambodia and Laos. They were single trails in the jungle and hard to find & target.

7. Ho Chi Minh

   Communist Leader of North Vietnam. Eventually won the war and took control of South Vietnam.

8. Ngo Dinh Diem

   Prime minister and later president of South Vietnam from 1955. Killed by CIA in 1963

9. Nguyen Van Thieu

   Corrupt prime minister of the South after 1967 (Vietnamization is 1968). South falls due lack of leadership; he flees to Taipai.

10. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    Congress approved President Johnson after Gulf of Tonkin Incident to escalate the war. (leads to bombing etc.)

11. William Calley

    Person who did the My Lai massacre of South Vietnamese civilians. Caused (partially) Vietnamization

12. Vietminh

    Vietnamese communist movement (independence from France)

13. Viet Cong

    (a branch of) North Vietnamese Army who used guerrilla warfare.