August 28, 2018

Fifty years ago this week, from Aug. 26 to 29, 1968, political leaders gathered for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to nominate that party’s candidate for president of the United States. The convention is normally a festive, hopeful, and inspiring event, but few things were “normal” in the United States of 1968. The ongoing Vietnam War was a point of bitter contention among the American public. The assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy had produced shock, grief, and anger in the country. Racial tensions were high, and social and political divides had never been sharper. Political protests turned violent during the convention, and America watched on television as police battled the people in the streets of Chicago.

Protesters confront National Guard troops on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 26, 1968. Credit: Library of Congress

Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, second only in power in the Democratic party to President Lyndon B. Johnson, was prepared for unrest. The city’s police were out in force for the convention, the National Guard had been mobilized, and steel barrier walls topped with barbed wire were ready to slide into place. A heatwave and taxi driver strike added to the kindling of political discord, and as protesters took advantage of the convention’s media spotlight to plead their cases, the ingredients were ready for confrontation.

Richard J. Daley, the mayor of Chicago from 1955 to 1976, was one of the most powerful Democratic politicians in the United States. Credit: AP Photo

People from across the country came to Chicago to participate in protests during the convention. People stridently called for racial equality, radical political change, an end to the war in Vietnam, and other causes. Protests took place around the city, and roaring chants and catcalls greeted political delegates as they emerged from cars to enter the International Amphitheatre on Chicago’s south side (the indoor arena was torn down in 1999). Inside the convention, there was yelling too. Delegates strongly disagreed on who should replace President Johnson—who had chosen not to run for a second full term—on the Democratic presidential ticket. The death of Robert Kennedy had opened a void in Democratic leadership, and the contenders to fill that void vastly differed on the country’s issues.

Democratic presidential candidate Hubert H. Humphrey addresses the crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 29, 1968. Credit: AP Photo

Many Chicago police officers, on edge and pushed to the limit of their tolerance, began beating protesters who would not respond to orders to withdraw, move aside, or quiet down. Protesters responded by hurling rocks and other projectiles at the police, and the commotion turned to riot. Police sprayed people with mace and fired tear gas into the crowds. Hundreds of people were arrested, often with great physical violence, and many protesters and police were injured. Many innocent bystanders were also hurt, including members of the media trying to cover the unrest.

Television news broadcast the mayhem around the country, and people connected the violence with the Democratic Party. The eventual Democratic presidential nominee, Johnson’s Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, did not please many Democratic voters. Humphrey lost to the Republican “law and order” candidate Richard M. Nixon in the election. Nixon lost favor with Americans, however. The president promised to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but he increased air raids and sent American troops into battle for five more years. In 1974, after his Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned while under criminal investigation, Nixon too resigned to prevent being impeached because of the Watergate scandal.

March 16, 2018

On March 16, 1968, 50 years ago today, the My Lai Massacre took place in the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai 4, commonly known as My Lai, in Sơn Mỹ village, Quảng Ngãi Province. At the height of the Vietnam War (1957-1975), United States Army troops entered the small community of My Lai 4 in search of enemy forces. In past weeks, there had been many U.S. casualties in the area. The troops found mostly women, children, and elderly men in My Lai. The soldiers rounded up and then shot and killed hundreds of civilians. The atrocity was one of the darker moments of U.S. history, and its revelation in 1969 helped turn U.S. public opinion strongly against the war.

This memorial to the victims of the My Lai Massacre was built on the site of the killings in 1978. Credit: © Dinosmichail/Shutterstock

In 1968, My Lai sat in South Vietnam near the border of North Vietnam (centrally located in today’s unified Vietnam). The area was a center of Viet Cong (South Vietnamese guerrillas fighting for the North) activity against U.S. and South Vietnamese troops. On March 15, Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division, was told that My Lai 4 was part of a Viet Cong stronghold. Charlie Company had arrived in Vietnam three months previously, and had seen off-and-on fighting during the Tet Offensive that began in late January. Daily losses hardened the soldiers and traumatized some. Many sought revenge for comrades killed or wounded in action.

Upon entering My Lai on the morning of March 16, two platoons of Charlie Company (about 80 men) engaged a few enemy soldiers, but most people they encountered were civilians. Caught up in a moment of collective violence, the soldiers began killing people, accusing them of being Viet Cong sympathizers. A third platoon from Charlie Company joined in the carnage and set fire to homes and buildings. From the air, helicopter pilot Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson witnessed the killing, and—trying to stop it—reported it to his superiors. He then landed his helicopter next to a group of civilians to protect them against further slaughter. Several other soldiers refused to take part in the massacre, but by the end of the day between 350 and 500 Vietnamese, almost all of them civilians, were dead.

Warrant Officer Thompson filed a complaint about the events at My Lai, but it was silenced by his superiors. A year later, helicopter gunner Ron Ridenhour (who was not present at the massacre, but collected eyewitness testimonies) wrote about the killings to prominent people in Washington, D.C., and an official investigation was begun. In November 1969, stories detailing the My Lai Massacre appeared in U.S. newspapers, and in December, brutal photographs taken during the killings were shown on television.

Twenty-five soldiers were charged with crimes, but only Lieutenant William L. Calley, leader of Charlie Company’s 1st Platoon, was found guilty of murder. In 1971, he was sentenced to life in prison. Some people felt that Calley was unfairly singled out. They argued that Vietnam combat was so stressful that cruelty was inevitable. Calley’s sentence was repeatedly reduced, and he was released in 1974. The My Lai action caused Americans’ support for the war effort to drop, at a time when support was already low. American combat troops left Vietnam in 1973.

January 30, 2018

Fifty years ago today, on Jan. 30, 1968, a massive battle known as the Tet Offensive began during the Vietnam War (1957-1975). In the offensive, Communist-led South Vietnamese guerrillas called Viet Cong, backed by forces from Communist North Vietnam, launched attacks against military bases and major cities in South Vietnam. United States and allied forces fought on the side of South Vietnam. The Tet Offensive was a costly military defeat for the Communist forces, but it proved to be a political victory because it turned U.S. public opinion—already sharply divided—strongly against the war. The Tet Offensive thus became the turning point in the Vietnam War.

South Vietnamese Army Rangers defend Saigon during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Credit: Department of Defence

The Tet Offensive was supposed to begin on January 31, during a truce to mark Tet, the Vietnamese New Year holiday. But some commanders mistakenly attacked on January 30 instead. Fighting erupted in numerous places around South Vietnam. It was especially fierce in South Vietnam’s capital, Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), and in northern Huế city. Viet Cong forces also lay siege to an isolated U.S. Marine unit at Khe Sanh in central Vietnam. This action was intended to divert attention away from the assault on the cities.

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The 1968 Tet Offensive was a yearlong assault on South Vietnamese targets during the Vietnam War. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

The Tet Offensive had a number of objectives. North Vietnam and the Viet Cong hoped to incite South Vietnamese citizens to revolt against their government. Another goal was to inflict a major defeat on U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. However, the offensive’s larger purpose was to undermine the American will to fight. North Vietnam believed it could demonstrate to American war leaders that they could not win in Vietnam by military means. American war leaders had been trying to convince the American public and news media that the enemy was almost defeated. The Tet Offensive was designed to prove this statement false, and convince the United States that it should negotiate an end to the war.

Despite much heavy fighting, the Communists failed to achieve success on the battlefield or to spark a popular uprising in their favor. But the Tet Offensive did convince most Americans that the war was likely to be long and costly, with no outright victory for either side. As a result, public support for the war dropped rapidly. The controversy over U.S. policy in Vietnam contributed to U.S. President Lyndon Johnson’s decision not to run for reelection in 1968. In addition, the Tet Offensive led to the opening of negotiations that ultimately brought the Vietnam War to an end. United States troops left Vietnam in 1973, and the war ended in 1975 with a Communist victory.

On Jan. 26, 2018, the Newseum in Washington, D.C., opened an exhibit called “The Marines and Tet: The Battle That Changed the Vietnam War.” The  exhibit features 20 large-format photographs from the Tet Offensive and 10 tactile versions of those photographs with touch-activated sensors that provide audio interviews. The tactile versions allow blind and low-vision visitors to experience the images through touch and sound—the first such major tactile exhibit for that purpose in the United States. The exhibit runs through July 8. The Newseum, just north of the National Mall, features interactive displays on journalism and its history. The museum’s mission is to increase public understanding of the importance of a free press and the First Amendment. 

August 18, 2016

Australian veterans of the Vietnam War (1957-1975) were frustrated this week when the Vietnamese government canceled a memorial event planned for August 18. The day marks Australia’s annual Vietnam Veterans Day, but this year’s holiday carries extra significance. August 18, 2016, marks the 50^th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, Australia’s first major conflict in the Vietnam War. In that battle, a small group of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand defeated a much larger enemy force. The war is a sensitive subject for the Vietnamese government, who canceled the event the day before it was due to take place. More than 1,000 Australians had already traveled to Vietnam for the ceremony.

Australian troops wait to board U.S. Army helicopters bound for the Australian Task Force Base at Nui Dat, near Long Tan, Vietnam. Credit: Mike Coleridge, Australian War Memorial

Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1962, when the country sent Army advisers to South Vietnam in support of its allies from the United States. The first drafted Australian soldiers arrived in Vietnam in 1966. That year, the Australians began to set up a base at Nui Dat, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of the village of Long Tan. The base was about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), the South Vietnamese capital.

On August 17, the Viet Cong (Communist-led South Vietnamese guerrillas) fired artillery at Nui Dat. The next day, a group of Australian soldiers searched for the Viet Cong at a rubber plantation near Long Tan. The group, led by Major Harry Smith, consisted of 105 Australians and 3 New Zealanders. They soon encountered a group of Viet Cong troops that experts estimate was about 2,000 strong.

Battle of Long Tan
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

In a monsoon rain, Smith’s force fought the Viet Cong. American and Australian forces supported Smith’s company with artillery fired from the base at Nui Dat. After about three hours of fighting, and after Smith’s group had fought off several waves of Viet Cong attacks, Australian reinforcements arrived. Nightfall and the arrival of the reinforcements ended the battle.

Seventeen Australian soldiers died in the battle. Twenty-four others were injured, and one of those died of his injuries several days later. The Australians buried 245 Viet Cong soldiers after the battle, though captured documents indicated that hundreds of others had been killed.

A memorial called the Long Tan Cross marks the site of the battle. This year, in addition to Vietnam Veterans Day celebrations across Australia, a group of Australian veterans was scheduled to hold a low-key service at the battle site itself before a “friendship dinner” with Vietnamese veterans and a memorial concert. On August 17, however, the Vietnamese government decided to allow only small groups to access to the battle site for a limited amount of time, and the dinner and concert were canceled.

One of those who traveled to Vietnam for the ceremony was retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith, who recently made a successful petition to the Australian government to have 10 of his men receive military honors for their actions during the battle, or to have existing honors upgraded.