By: History.com Editors
1970
Published: November 16, 2009
Last Updated: January 31, 2025
The Communist delegation in Paris rejects President Richard Nixon’s October 7 proposal as “a maneuver to deceive world opinion.”
Nixon had announced five-point proposal to end the war, based on a “standstill” cease-fire in place in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. He proposed eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces, unconditional release of prisoners of war, and political solutions reflecting the will of the South Vietnamese people.
North Vietnam's surprise attack on the South during the holiday of Tet altered the entire course of the Vietnam War. Morale among U.S. and South Vietnamese troops was crushed, and Americans back home increasingly wondered why their soldiers were there in the first place.
The U.S. Senate had adopted a resolution expressing support for President Nixon’s initiative, calling the proposals “fair and equitable,” and there was hope that the Communists would respond accordingly. However, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong negotiators refused to even consider Nixon’s proposal, reiterating their previous and long-standing demand for an unconditional and total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Indochina and the overthrow of the “puppet” leaders in Saigon.
U.S. officials publicly urged the Soviet Union to use its “considerable influence” with the Communists to persuade them to accept President Nixon’s new proposals, but the North Vietnamese stood their ground.
Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on October 8th
Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon all deepened U.S. involvement in the decades-long conflict.
After 10 days of bruising battle, U.S. forces took the hill, only to abandon it days later. Sniper fire was so intense, one soldier called it 'a human meat grinder.'
Nearly 12,000 helicopters saw action in the Vietnam War and were critical for combat, scouting, rescue missions and more.
A weekend of escalating tensions exploded into 13 seconds of gunfire—and four dead in Ohio.
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