Vietnam War

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

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Illustration by Eduardo Ramón Trejo. Photos from Getty Images.

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A guide to the complex political and military issues involved in a war that would ultimately claim millions of lives.

The conflict in Vietnam took root during an independence movement against French colonial rule and evolved into a Cold War confrontation.

Gifted photographers and reporters captured images that conveyed the agony and violence of the Vietnam war, and the deep divisions it drove in American society.

The hippie counterculture reached its height during the escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and subsided as the conflict drew to a close.

My Lai Massacre

My Lai Massacre

In 1968, Ron Ridenhour, an infantryman in Vietnam, wrote a letter to President Nixon detailing the murder of 500 civillians by the U.S. Army in what would come to be known as the My Lai Massacre.

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Vietnam War
Vietnam War

Vietnam Dogfight at Midway

Vietnam Dogfight at Midway.

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Bold Breakout from Vietnam POW Camp

A German American pilot, Dieter Dengler, uses survival skills honed as a child to escape a secret prison in Laos in the early years of the Vietnam war.

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The Chicago Seven (originally eight) were political radicals accused of conspiring to incite the riots that occurred at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. During the five-month trial, the prosecution stressed the defendants’ provocative...

The Vietnam War was a divisive conflict that pitted North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.

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It took 20 months for the war crime to come to light.

The Flying Ace symbolized hope and, ultimately, exasperation.

U.S. Army Women in Vietnam The great majority of the military women who served in Vietnam were nurses. All were volunteers, and they ranged from recent college graduates in their early 20s to seasoned career women in their 40s. Members of the Army Nurse...

Vietnam War

Women in the Vietnam War

Psychiatric nurse Elizabeth Allen volunteered for the Army and requested frontline duty in Vietnam.

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Vietnam War

Vietnamization

Search and Destroy missions were a crucial part of the American war strategy in Vietnam.

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Vietnam War

Tet Offensive

This massive North Vietnamese surprise attack during the 1968 Tet holiday was a crucial turning point in the war.

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Vietnam War

Helicopters in Vietnam

Helicopters played a vital role in America's air mobility strategy.

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Vietnam War

Famous American Vietnam Vets

For many soldiers, coming home was the happiest part of the war. But some were surprised by the response they received when they returned.

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Vietnam War

Deconstructing History: Vietnam

Discover facts, figures and history about Vietnam.

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Vietnam War

Deconstructing History: Huey Helicopters in Vietnam

The UH-1 "Huey" helicopter became a symbol of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam.

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Vietnam War

Arriving in Vietnam

What awaited soldiers when they were sent to fight there.

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Vietnam War

A Soldier's Story: Fighting in Cambodia

Late in the war, the U.S. controversially expanded their attacks into Cambodia.

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