Who’s Who in the Vietnam War

U.S. PresidentsEISENHOWER J.F.K

President 1953-1961 Sent advisors “Tea and Tungsten”

President 1961-1963 Assassinated Increased advisors to

16,000 before his death

L.B.J•V.P J.F.K•President 1963-1969•Gulf of Tonkin Resolution•Escalated War

Nixon•President 1969-1974•Resigned after Watergate•Vietnamization-return war to S.V. and decrease U.S. troops

Secretary of DefenseROBERT MCNAMARA CLARK CLIFFORD

1961-1968 under JFK & LBJ

Increased troops Believed in Domino

Theory Lost hope in winning the

war Resigned in 1968

1968-1969 under LBJ Did not agree with

increase in troops Ended up losing hope in

war & felt it should be handed over to South Vietnam

•Advises President on

military operations

Secretary of DefenseMELVIN LAIRD JAMES SCHLESINGER

1969-1973 under Nixon Invented term

Vietnamization Wanted an end to the

draft & stopped it 5 mths early

1973-1975 under Nixon & Ford

Did not want to give amnesty for draft dodgers & believed in increasing

Increased defense budget nuclear weapons

Dismissed by Ford

Secretary of StateHENRY KISSINGER

1973-1977 under Nixon & Ford

Helped with Vietnamization

Also supported secret bombing of Cambodia

Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for Paris Peace Accords ending U/S. involvement in Vietnam

•Deals with foreign policy •and affairs overseas•Immigration & foreign Travel

U.S. Military LeadersGEN. WILLIAM WESTMORELAND GEN. CREIGHTON ABRAMS

Commander of U.S. Military operations in Vietnam from 1964 to 1968

Commander of U.S. military operations in Vietnam 1968-1972

U.S. Military LeadersGEN. FREDERICK WEYAND

Led 25th Division 1964-1967

Did not agree with Westmoreland

Helped with Paris Peace Talks

Took over for Abrams from 1972-1973

Supervised last troops out of Vietnam

Leaders of South VietnamNGO DINH DIEM(NO)

NGO DINH NHU(NO DINH NEW)

President South Vietnam 1955-1963

Assassinated 1963 Anti-Buddhist

Diem’s brother and right hand man

Assassinated with Diem Wife Madame Nhu 1st

Lady

Dragon Lady

South VietnamNGUYEN VAN THIEU(NEW EN)

NGO QUANG TRUONG(NO)

Was general in ARVN President South Vietnam

1965-1975 Elected through fraud &

was authoritative in rule Resigned a few days

before the fall of South Vietnam

General ARVN 1972-1975 Fall of Saigon immigrated

to U.S. Lives in Virginia as U.S.

Citizen

North VietnamHO CHI MINH

PHAM VAN DONG(FAM)

Freedom fighter Prime Minister 1945-

1955 President North Vietnam

1955-1969 Died 1969 of heart

failure at 79; body embalmed

Communist

Prime Minister North Vietnam 1955-1987

North VietnamLE DOC THO(LEE DOC TOE)

Politician North Vietnam Negotiated Paris Peace

Accords Refused the Noble Peace

Prize

North Vietnam Military LedaersVO NGUYEN GIAP(VO NEW)

LE TRONG TAN(LEE TRONG TAAN)

General during first Indochina war and Vietnam war

At Dien Bien Phu & Tet Major military leader

Part of Viet Minh against French

Deputy Commander VietCong

Secretary Defense in Vietnam until 1986

CambodiaPOL POT

KHIEU SAMPHAN(Q SAM PAN)

Chinese Revolutionary leader

Leader of the Khmer Rouge

Became leader Cambodia around 1975 until Cambodia-Vietnam War began in 1979

21% people died under his rule

President of Cambodia 1976-1979

Key leader Khmer Rouge Still denies genocide

ChinaMAO ZEDONG

Chinese revolutionary Leader 1949-1976

Had “The Great Leap Forward”

Communist Died 1976 of heart

attack