Operation Popeye occurred in Northern Vietnam. The event occurred March 20, 1967 –
July 5, 1972. Operation popeye was an event that changed the weather with silver and iodide products. The initial operation area was over parts of Laos and North Vietnam. It was then extended to include parts of South Vietnam and Cambodia. In total, the Pentagon admitted that
US C-130 aircraft operating from Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base flew 2,602 missions and expended 47,409 cloud seeding units.
... of South Vietnam that resulted in the fall of Saigon on 30 April. In the previous month a RAAF detachment of 8 Hercules transports flew humanitarian missions to aid civilian refugees displaced by the fighting, and carried out the evacuation of Vietnamese orphans before finally taking out embassy staff on 25 April (Dudley 179).
On the contrary it can be argued that the Americans had lost the war for not being able to win the hearts and minds of their own people and thus already losing support of their country additionally their inability to cope with the rigorous environment of the Vietnamese landscape and the Vietcongs use of guerrilla tactics proved devastating to their war effort.
McNamara graduated Harvard with a master’s degree in business, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and was President of the Ford Motor Company. Given his background in analytics, President Kennedy asked McNamara to be his Secretary of Defense in 1960. The American military support of Southern Vietnamese forces gradually increased during Kennedy’s presidency. Early public opinion of the Vietnam wasn’t necessarily bad. The widespread American notion of the war was seen as a fight against communism. This paired with the preconceived idea of Northern Vietnam’s inferiority as a military power seemed like favorable odds for and easy American win given it’s reputation as a global hegemony. Because of this, Kennedy, with the advisement of McNamara, approached the conflict under the principles of limited war. However, the Kennedy administration did not anticipate was the unexpected tactic of guerrilla warfare paired with the unwavering dedication to the war effort. After President Kennedy’s assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson took over the role of President. Before Kennedy’s death, there had been talks between him and McNamara about withdrawing troops from the war. This strategy was not shared by Johnson. His primary strategy was to escalade and “Americanize” the war.[2] FACTS ABOUT VIETNAM BOOK. McNamara’s actions match this accordingly as Johnson’s Secretary of Defense until McNamara’s resignation in 1978. However, by evaluating
...h Americans used planes and helicopters to deploy sustained heavy bombardment over Vietnam. During this one operation there were more bombs dropped than in the entire WW2 – 864,000 tonnes in total.
Assigned 815 Troop Carrier Squadron, flying C-130s from Ashiya AFB, Japan in support of 315 Air Division 1958. Assigned as Operational Plans Officer, 315 Air Division 1959.
A momentous decision would soon follow. On July 1965 175,000 U.S combat troops were to be sent by the end of the year to defend South Vietnam, and again, by the years end in 1966 another 200, 000 to be sent, understanding the likelihood of the wars coming to an end was slim to none, however, the fundamental logic expressed throughout was that Laos is the present Key to the entire area of South East Asia.
"Overview of the Vietnam War." Digital History. Digital History, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
From the early 1950’s to early 1970’s during U.S. military involvement in Laos, Indochina, opium and heroin were flown by “Air America” into many countries, including Vietnam. As a result of CIA’s drug smuggling, Southeast Asia became the source of 70% of the world’s opium and heroin. South Vietnam was completely corrupted by a heroin trade that came from Laos, thanks to the CIA. The Hmong culture in Laos provided 30,000 men for the CIA's secret Laotian army. But in the process, opium production took over Hmong culture. To support the Hmong economy, the CIA's “Air America” transported raw opium out of the Laotian hills to the labs. By mid-1971, Army medical officers estimated that fifteen percent of American GIs were addicted (Stich 142).
It is understandable that some Americans strongly opposed the United States getting involved in the Vietnam War. It had not been a long time since the end of World War II and simply put, most Americans were tired of fighting. Mark Atwood Lawrence is one of the people who opposed our involvement in the Vietnam War. In his essay, “Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance”, Lawrence argues that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and that it went against our democratic policies, but that there were a lot of things that influenced our involvement.
Starting in September of 1940 the Japanese seized control of Vietnam from the Vichy French and remained in control of Vietnam until just before the end of the war, along with all the other European colonies in the region (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013). Following their shameful surrender to the Germans, allies of the Japanese, the Vichy French offered to administer Vietnam on behalf of the Japanese, which they did until the end of the war when the Japanese, mistrusting the French, kicked them out. Vietnam was a key staging area for Japanese operations on the Asian continent throughout the war. During this time, Ho Chi Minh and others were working with the Allies to provide information to them about the troop movements of the Japanese. Here was an early opportunity for the U.S. to establish a working relationship with the Vietnamese people for the post WW2 war era that was not taken advantage of. Clearly the United Stat...
In 1961 John F. Kennedy secretly sent in 400 Special Operations Force trained soldiers – known as Green Berets -- taught South Vietnamese how to fight against the communist Guerillas in South Vietnam. On September 2, 1963, in an interview Kennedy said, “We need to send our men as advisors, but they have to win it, the people of Vietnam against the Communist, we’re prepared to continue to assist them.” After Kennedy’s assassination, Lyndon Johns...
In the early 1960s the U.S. began sending military advisors to South Vietnam beginning the Vietnam War, arguably the most controversial war in United States history. This incident followed Vietnam gaining its independence from the French Empire’s Indochina in 1954. The nation soon split, creating a communist North Vietnam, and a noncommunist South Vietnam. In fear of communism spreading the U.S. supported South Vietnam and sent troops. As the incident dragged on it caused a huge anti-war movement and a lot of political turmoil.The troops were withdrawn in 1973, the whole country fell to communism, and the U.S. failed. How did a superpower such as the U.S. take defeat from a small country like Vietnam? Many have wondered and continue to wonder
In 1968, the United States Army activated the 123rd Aviation Battalion, creating a remarkable unit that was comprised of several Army assets. The design of the battalion revolutionized how assets could be combined to complete many missions by mixing infantry, signal, aviation, and support units. The 123rd’s mission ranged from was to collect intelligence, deliver supplies, insert and extract infantrymen, and provide air support. In addition to their primary mission they also participated in medical evacuation, an invaluable asset on the battlefields of Vietnam.
The Vietnam War, also known as The Second Indochina War, officially began November 1, 1955 and officially ended April 30, 1975. It was the second official war that between North Vietnam and the South Vietnam Government. The war took place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The North Vietnamese war efforts were supported by the Soviet Union, China and other supporters of Communism at the time. The South Vietnamese were supported by the United States, Australia,
On the ground, the United States squared up with the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. The Viet Cong were mostly a Southern rebel group, comprised mainly of teenagers and younger adults from villages in South Vietnam. Since they lived among civilians, it was often impossible to distinguish between VC and civilian. Although many were motivated by idealism, they were also pressured and threatened into joining the ranks. They did however harbor serious doubts about their abilities to combat the Americans, heavily armed and well trained. Contrary to popular belief, the Viet Cong did not find combat often in comparison to the North Vietnamese Army. The People’s Army of Vietnam, commonly known as the North Vietnamese Army or NVA were the regular armed forces of North Vietnam. They had massive support from communist superpowers the USSR and China, receiving training, weapons and supplies. Lastly, the NVA were logistically superior to the United States. According to John M. Van Dyke’s Northern Vietnam’s Strategy for Survival, the NVA were often armed with black market weapons, and even captured U.S. weapons like the Thompson submac...