• The National Liberation Front (NLF)--called the Viet Cong--is founded in South Vietnam in 1960.
• The U.S. military buildup in Vietnam begins with combat advisors in February 1961
• On November 1, 1963 South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated
• August 2 and 4 1964 - Gulf of Tonkin Incident. North Vietnam torpedo boats attack the US Destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 7, 1964 Congress approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which allows the president to take any necessary measures to repel further attacks and to provide military assistance to any South Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) member
• March 8-9 1965: First American combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
• April 6-8 1965: President Johnson authorizes the use of U.S. ground combat troops for offensive operations
• January 31, 1968: the TET Offensive
• December 1, 1969: Draft Lottery begins.
• April 30, 1970: The armies of the U.S. and South Vietnam invade Cambodia to roust North Vietnamese troops
• January 23, 1973: United States, South Vietnam, and North Vietnam sign Paris Peace Accords, ending American combat role in war. U.S. military draft ends. A cease-fire goes into effect 5 days later
• March 29, 1973: Last U.S. combat troops leave Vietnam
• April 29-30 1975: Saigon falls. U. S. Navy evacuates U.S. personnel and South Vietnamese refugees. The last American combat death in Vietnam occurs. South Vietnamese President Duong Van Minh surrenders
  
  
• Chronology of the War
• PBS Vietnam War Online an American Experience
• Vietnam Yesterday and Today
• The Wars for Vietnam (a History Channel & Vassar College sponsored website)
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
• National Park Service Vietnam Veterans Memorial Page
• Maps of Vietnam
• Vietnam Casualty Search Engine

Vietnam War Veterans

Register Your Veteran of the Vietnam War. If you have ancestors from Loudon County who fought in the Vietnam War and would like to have them listed above, please use the form below.