The next war resulting from the Cold War was the Vietnam War. In 1961, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pledges support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world. His statement greatly encourages Communists in North Vietnam to escalate their armed struggle to unify Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh.
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th U. S. President and declares "...we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to insure the survival and the success of liberty." President Kennedy sends 400 American Green Beret "Special Advisors" to South Vietnam to train South Vietnamese soldiers in methods of counter insurgency in the fight against Viet Cong guerrillas.
More and more advisors were sent to help the South Vietnamese fight against their Communist aggression. The first U. S. troops entered Vietnam in 1965. Until 1969, North Vietnam and the U. S. did most of the fighting. By 1969, the Vietnam War seemed endless, and the U. S. slowly began to withdraw troops. In January 1973, a cease fire was arranged. The last U. S. ground troops left Vietnam two months later. Despite the treaty, fighting between North and South Vietnam resumed soon afterward, but U. S. troops did not return. The war finally ended on April 30, 1975 when South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam.
American heroes who lost their lives in this war numbered 58,151. As previously stated, all the men and women who ever put on a uniform to preserve our freedom is a hero in my book. Thank you!
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