| Presiden Nixon Library, Vietnam War Album |
| Nixon expresses the Silent Majority supports fighting the communist in Vietnam. Stacks of letters illustrate support. |
| In 1969 Nixon in inaugurated into office and starts working to resolve the Vietnam War. |
| In 1971 Nixon reduces the US troops in Vietnam by 50%. |
| President Kennedy started with aid for Vietnam as the communist North Vietnam was trying to take over South Vietnam with war in 1961. The Soviet Union and Red China esculated it with huge shipments of arms. President Johnson responded with troops and arms. President Nixon ran on stopping the war honorably in 1968. |
| Elvis visited Nixon and asked if there was anything he could do to help. |
| President Nixon comes into office to learn the terrible cost of the war. |
| President Nixon inherits a war with the press and the people turning against it. From almost the very beginning he is negotiating with North Vietnam using Henry Kissinger as his negotiator. |
| In 1970 Nixon tries to cut the supply lines from North Vietnam through Cambodia. |
| In 1972 Nixon reduces the US troops in Vietnam to 133,000. |
| By March of 1973 the last of American combat troops leaves Vietnam. |
| The Timetable to Peace in Vietnam |
| Finally peace is announced and the POW's are released. |
| The very happy homecoming started on February 12, 1973. It took through March to get all back. There were 591 POW's. |
The Vietnam war was presented by the media as a civil war. It was in a sense as the
Communist North Vietnam was trying to take over South Vietnam. But they were
being supplied and encouraged by the Soviets and Red Chinese. It was just a
continuation of doing like they did in Korea--the communist portion of Korea, North
Korea, trying to take over South Korea with other communist countries help.
President Nixon used many avenues to win and thus end the war. He started using
B-52's to blanket bomb the enemy. He mined and bombed the Haiphong harbor
which was the main supply port of North Vietnam. They got their supplies through
this port from the Soviet Union and Red China. He went into Cambodia to cut off the
supply routes through that country. All these actions were not done under previous
administrations. He also had continuous negotiations going on with North Vietnam.
When the war was proceeding the narrative of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
was that we just can't stand by and let the communist take one country after
another. They predicted if we pulled out there would be a bloodbath of catastrophic
proportions and the communist would just continue on to take Thailand, Laos and
Cambodia and the rest of Southeast Asia. As it was when we pulled out of Vietnam in
1974, in Cambodia nearly 2 million people were killed by the Communists regime of
Pol Pot. The killing continued until Pol Pot was removed from power in 1979. I read
in the newspapers that in Vietnam there were bodies floating down the Mekong
River from Cambodia. And in South Vietnam, the South Vietnamese were interned by
the tens of thousands in "Re-education Camps". I talked to many immigrants from
South Vietnam that told me of the horrible torture they endured and actually showed
me the scars. In visiting Vietnam in 2016 I learned they were starving in the early
90's when the Soviet Union cut off their aid. They then adopted the Chinese model
of capitalism and let farmers own their land and keep their profits. They then
became the worlds 2nd largest exporter of rice. Using free enterprise they have
flourished. Cambodia was still communist without utilizing the free enterprise
system in 2016 and very, very poor. See this website section on Cambodia:
http://www.craigfagerness.com/Cambodia.html
Communist North Vietnam was trying to take over South Vietnam. But they were
being supplied and encouraged by the Soviets and Red Chinese. It was just a
continuation of doing like they did in Korea--the communist portion of Korea, North
Korea, trying to take over South Korea with other communist countries help.
President Nixon used many avenues to win and thus end the war. He started using
B-52's to blanket bomb the enemy. He mined and bombed the Haiphong harbor
which was the main supply port of North Vietnam. They got their supplies through
this port from the Soviet Union and Red China. He went into Cambodia to cut off the
supply routes through that country. All these actions were not done under previous
administrations. He also had continuous negotiations going on with North Vietnam.
When the war was proceeding the narrative of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
was that we just can't stand by and let the communist take one country after
another. They predicted if we pulled out there would be a bloodbath of catastrophic
proportions and the communist would just continue on to take Thailand, Laos and
Cambodia and the rest of Southeast Asia. As it was when we pulled out of Vietnam in
1974, in Cambodia nearly 2 million people were killed by the Communists regime of
Pol Pot. The killing continued until Pol Pot was removed from power in 1979. I read
in the newspapers that in Vietnam there were bodies floating down the Mekong
River from Cambodia. And in South Vietnam, the South Vietnamese were interned by
the tens of thousands in "Re-education Camps". I talked to many immigrants from
South Vietnam that told me of the horrible torture they endured and actually showed
me the scars. In visiting Vietnam in 2016 I learned they were starving in the early
90's when the Soviet Union cut off their aid. They then adopted the Chinese model
of capitalism and let farmers own their land and keep their profits. They then
became the worlds 2nd largest exporter of rice. Using free enterprise they have
flourished. Cambodia was still communist without utilizing the free enterprise
system in 2016 and very, very poor. See this website section on Cambodia:
http://www.craigfagerness.com/Cambodia.html