U.S. Marines in Operation Allen Brook (Vietnam War)
Vietnam War summary: Summary of the Vietnam War: The Vietnam War is the commonly used name for the Second Indochina War, 1954–1973. Usually, it refers to the period when the United States and other members of the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) joined the forces of the Republic of South Vietnam in contesting communist forces comprised of South Vietnamese guerrillas and regular-force units, generally known as Viet Cong (VC), and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The U.S. had the largest foreign military presence and basically directed the war from 1965 to 1968. For this reason, in Vietnam today it is known as the American War. It was a direct result of the First Indochina War (1946–1954) between France, which claimed Vietnam as a colony, and the communist forces then known as Viet Minh. In 1973 a "third" Vietnam war began—a continuation, actually—between North and South Vietnam but without significant U.S. involvement. It ended with communist victory in April 1975.
The Vietnam War was the longest in U.S. history, until the war in Afghanistan that began in 2002 and continues at this writing (2013). It was extremely divisive in the U.S., Europe, Australia and elsewhere. Because the U.S. failed to achieve a military victory and the Republic of South Vietnam was ultimately taken over by North Vietnam. It remains a very controversial topic that continues to affect political and military decisions today.
U.S. paratroopers carrying a wounded soldier to an ambulance helicopter during the Vietnam War, 1965.
In this 1965 photo, paratroopers cross a river in the rain near Ben Cat, in the south.
Hovering U.S. Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into a tree line to cover the advance of South Vietnamese ground troops in March 1965. The troops were moving to attack a Viet Cong camp northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border.
Comedian and actor Bob Hope entertains U.S. troops in front of the Hotel Hispanola, which was used as officers' quarters in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, during the Vietnam War in 1965. Hope did regular tours abroad as a salute to American troops from 1964 through 1972, a tradition he had established during World War II.
U.S. Army helicopters providing support for ground troops fly into a staging area 50 miles northeast of Saigon in South Vietnam in 1966.
American infantrymen crowd into a mud-filled bomb crater and look up at tall jungle trees seeking out Viet Cong snipers firing at them during a battle in Phuoc Vinh, north-northeast of Saigon on June 15, 1967.
In his first year in office, President Richard Nixon speaks with U.S. soldiers during a surprise visit to South Vietnam on July 30, 1969. After coming to office that January, Nixon escalated the war. But he later negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam that led to the American withdrawal.
SSGT Russell C. Fordham, D Trp., 1st Sqdn., 9th Cav., Vietnam
Leslie H. Sabo – Ellwood City, Vietnam – U.S. Army – Medal Of Honor