What year did the U.S officially involved in the Vietnam War?

Question

Sources Plz

Answer 1

Holy Toledo. This is an easy one:

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was signed in August of 1964. THAT is when we were officially involved in the Vietnam War. The fact that we never officially declared WAR does NOT mean the same thing as not being officially INVOLVED.


Therefore, as any 5th grade history book would reveal, the answer is:

August of 1964

Answer 2

The US never officially declared "war" on Viet Nam. From beginning to end, we were there to "advise"....it was always called a "police action"....
"The United States has provided economic, technical, and military assistance to Viet-Nam since 1950. After the Geneva accords of 1954 the US Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) became the only outside source of military aid for the Vietnamese armed forces. This activity was within the frameworks of the accords."

When you take a look at this site, pay particular attention to question #8, and its answer....#10 and #12....#20

Answer 3

The U.S. was unofficially involved in Vietnam, its conflicts and diplomacy, ever since 1949/41 when Japan pressured the Vichy French admiinistrator for concessions and bases. In response, the U.S. and Britain tightened an embargo on war supplies to the Japanese — Japan, in turn, began to plan attacks on European colonies in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, while simultaneously negotiating for an easing of trade sanctions. After the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and elsewhere, Indo China (including Vietnam) became an arena for conflict. The American secret warfarre agency, the OSS, supported guerrillas in Indo China fighting against the Japanese; these included the communist-nationalist groups headed by Ho Chi Minh. After the war, the Viet Minh guerrillas tried to establish a republic, but the French returned and drove them out of Hanoi.
The U.S. indirectly supported the French till 1954. Eisenhower met with Congressional leaders to consider providing air support to the French, who were besieged in Dienbienphu, a fortress complex in the jungles of northern Vietnam. Ironically, it was Lyndon Johnson, the Democratic leader in the Senate who stated the oppositiion to giving such support, for fear of getting involved in a post-Korea war on the Asian mainland.

After the French were out, and Vietnam was partitioned, the U.S. supported the non-communist leaders in the south. Fairly soon, civil war re-emerged — not only the Communist north versus the south, but also various types of religious sects with armed militias. The U.S. became more and more involved, initially by providing training and supplies and CIA special forces to help the southern leadership. In the Kennedy Administration, the theory within which this was framed was the Rostow doctrine: economic development under western sponsorship was necessary to improve the conditions of the people and lay the basis for democracy under the leadership of western educated elites; armed support was necessary to protect this necessary economic development against disruption by communist guerrilla bands. During the Kennedy admiinistration, the American presence built up while relations soured betweeen the White House and the Diem regime in South Vietnam; Diem was killed in a military coup a very short time before President Kennedy was assasinated .

In the summer of 1964, U.S. naval vessels, patrolling off the coast of Vietnam were apparently attacked by boats that were identified, at the time, as North Vietnames vessels. (Subsequently it was revealed that PT boats had been attacking the north Vietnam coast before the commuist actions.) On the strength of the news of this atack, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, authorizing the President to take measures needed to defend U.S., forces there. Though this was not a declaration of war, it was essentially seen by all sides, at that time, as the equivalent to an authorization by Congress. The Vietnam War "officially" lasted till the south Vienamese capital, Saigon, fell to northern forces in 1975, with the bulk of American forces being withdrawn from active combat in 1972/73 and collateral incursions/invasions of Cambodia.

Answer 4

The US was NEVER officially involved in the Vietnam was. It was never declared a war, there was never an act of Congress approving of the actions.

Answer 5

In 1954, the French were losing in their arrempt to rerain control over Vietnam. This was a concern to the Roman Catholic Church, because it was pretty obvious that Ho Chi Minh was revered by his people as the hero of Vietnamese independence, who had successfully resisted attempts of the Chinese, Japanese and French to take over their country.

The Roman Catholic Church had a foothold in Saigon. Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York met with Joseph Kennedy, and since both were devoted Roman Catholics, he sought help from Joseph Kennedy.

Joseph Kennedy's son, Jack Kennedy, was in the US Senate. His father agreed to ask for his help. So JFK introduced a Bill in the Senate which. for the first time, brought the US into the conflict as an ally of the French in their effort to maintain their colonial rule in South East Asia.

In the long run, 56,000 Americans and three million Asians died in the futile and failed effort to prevent the Vietnamese from achieving sovereignty over their own country. Not a pretty story. And it all started in May 1954.

Answer 6

It never was official, no Declaration of War. Only a resolution from Congress after the "alleged attack in the Gulf of Tonkin".

Answer 7

The first US troops were deployed to South Vietnam in 1954, as "military advisors".

Regular US combat troops were first dispatched in 1965.

Answer 8

I don't know when we "officially" entered the war but the first US soldier was killed way back in 1956.