How long did the Vietnam war last for?

Question

Sources to back up your answer would be great.

Answer 1

The Vietnam War was the longest war in which the United States took part. It began in 1957 and ended in 1975. It was a very difficult period for Americans to endure. Half of the Americans were opposed to it, the other half, supported it. I experienced the entire period, and I can truthfully say, it was unsettling and something one never forgets going through.

Answer 2

Hey LV,

It was going on before the US go there. The French were there before US. This policy shows our beginning involvement, and it just escalated after that. Until in the 1960s, Johnson made a full scale deployment of troops, equipment, etc.

DOCUMENT 1. Secretary of State Dean Acheson's Statement of U.S. Indochina Policy, May 22,1950.


. . . We have noted the fact that the problem of meeting the threat to the security of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos which now enjoy independence within the French Union is primarily the responsibility of France and the Governments and peoples of Indochina. The United States recognizes that the solution of the Indochina problem depends both upon the restoration of security and upon the development of genuine nationalism and that United States assistance can and should contribute to these major objectives.
The United States Government, convinced that neither national independence nor democratic evolution exists in any area dominated by Soviet imperialism, considers the situation to be such as to warrant its according economic aid and military equipment to the Associated States of Indochina and to France in order to assist them in restoring stability and permitting these states to pursue their peaceful and democratic development.


SOURCE: Department of State Bulletin. No. 22. May 22, 1950. p. 821.

Answer 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War

Well, depending on your outright view on the war, you could argue that it started as early as March 9th, 1945, you could even say that September 26, 1945 when US Lt. Col. A. Peter Dewey was killed.

But in the end, the US involvement in Vietnam ended April 30th, 1975.

But the Vietnam conflict, war or whatever other title you care to give it, was not an official declared war. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_war

Answer 4

1959 to 1975. However, it wasn't until about 1963 that any amount of US troops were there (any before that had been there as advisors) and again not until 1968 that the REAL fighting started.

Answer 5

1946-1954
Large numbers of American combat troops began to arrive in 1965
They left the country in 1973