The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict, took place from uncertain dates in the late 1950's until August 1975. The war had its roots in an earlier war (the First Indochina War), in which the US had provided advisors and troops, that resulted in the division of the country of Vietnam at the 17th Parallel, with North Vietnam being under the control of a communist government and South Vietnam being under the control of a nominally democratic government.
The government of South Vietnam was not stable, and insurgencies began to crop up. In 1959, North Vietnam authorized force to assist the pro-communist insurgents in South Vietnam, with the purpose of reuniting Vietnam under communist leadership, and began sending troops into the South. In 1961, The US promised more aid, and increased its troop levels. In 1963, the South Vietnamese government was taken over in a coup, beginning a long period of political instability.
In August 1964, a series of attacks against American ships caused Congress to authorize military operations in Vietnam. Congress did not, however, declare an official war. In what was termed a "police action", American troops assisted the South Vietnamese government in fighting a war of attrition. By 1968, the South Vietnamese government had stabilized, and negotiations began to end the war.
In 1969, the United States had a new President, and the policy on the war shifted to handing the reins of the war over to the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN). American troops began withdrawing from the conflict, while continuing to assist the ARVN. In January 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, officially ending US involvement in the war. Of all of the provisions of the accords, the only one that was carried out was the complete withdrawal of American troops by the end of March 1973.
After their withdrawal, the Soviet Union began to support the continuation of the war. In April 1975, the Republic of South Vietnam fell, and a massive evacuation of 7,000 people was undertaken by U. S. Marines. Later that day, the President of South Vietnam surrendered. Certain areas of Southeast Asia remained unstable for several years, and war persisted in the region.
The Vietnam War cost the lives of over 914,000 soldiers on all sides of the war, and killed between 3,000,000 and 6,000,000 civilians. This number does not include deaths from the instabilities in the region after the war, which claimed over 2,000,000 additional victims. The United States lost 58,209, with 1,948 persons still listed as "missing".
There are 42 names on the memorial from the Vietnam War.
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