The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War lasted from 1959 to 1975. The war had the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front (NLF) fighting against the U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese army. Prior to this war, Vietnam had just gained independence from France and was divided into two parts: North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The Americans intitially came in to support the South Vietnamese, who were fighting against the communist North Vietnamese. Communism was also against America's ideals at the time, and so, it sought to establish a democratic republic. Eventually, Vietnam was reunified in '75 as a communist state and in '76, it officially became the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This war is the longest in U.S. history. It claims the lives of millions of Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodians. About 58,000 Americans were also killed. It was a great human loss.

"No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now." --Richard M. Nixon