The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The conflict was exacerbated by the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, as each side sought to spread its ideology to other countries.
In 1962, Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the Vietnam War, took place. The operation involved the deployment of a small number of American advisers and support personnel to assist South Vietnam in its fight against communist forces in the region. The operation was a precursor to the larger-scale deployment of American troops that would follow in the coming years.
As the war escalated, the United States began sending increasing numbers of troops to Vietnam in an effort to prevent the spread of communism. However, the war was extremely controversial, and many Americans opposed the United States’ involvement in Vietnam. Protests and civil unrest erupted across the country, and the conflict became one of the most divisive in American history.
Despite the efforts of the United States and its allies, communist forces were eventually able to prevail, and the Vietnam War ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 58,000 American soldiers and an estimated that more than 2 million Vietnamese civilians. It also had a lasting impact on the United States, shaping foreign policy and political debates for decades to come.
References:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26304086#metadata_info_tab_contents
https://history.army.mil/html/reference/army_flag/vn.html
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/south-vietnam-surrenders
