Skip to Main Content

1969-1971: Vietnamization

The 26th Marines come ashore on the Batangan Peninsula in Quang Ngai Province, initiating Bold Marin

Operation BOLD MARINER Begins

January 13, 1969

1969-01-14_EnterpriseFire_NationalMuseumNavalAviation_1996.4

Fire aboard the USS Enterprise

January 14, 1969

1969-01-22_OpDeweyCanyon_USMC_A192689

Operation DEWEY CANYON Begins

January 22, 1969

ATTACK ON LONG BINH POST. Members of the 1st Squadron 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, surround their

Mini-Tet 1969 Begins

February 23, 1969

Aerial bombing of Cambodia: Operation MENU

Operation MENU Begins

1969-04_Nixon_with_Melvin_Laird_NARA_194527

Nixon’s Vietnamization Plan

Like Hell's Angeles, the Rat Patrol, and the Wild Ones all rolled into one, the Reconnaissance Patro

Peak U.S. Troop Levels

1969-05_MACV_Strat_Objective_Plan_650258_Rogers___Abrams_000

MACV Strategic Objectives Plan Reemphasizes Pacification

1969-05-10_USMC_HambergerHill_84-818-20

Operation APACHE SNOW and Hamburger Hill

1969-06-03_USS_Frank_E._Evans_(DD-754)_post_collision

USS Frank E. Evans Collides with HMAS Melbourne

President Richard Nixon and South Vietnam's President Nguyen Van Thieu Making a Joint Statement at M

Nixon Announces First Major Troop Withdrawals

1969-06_AirNationalGuard2011

Air National Guard Units Return to the United States

June 1, 1969 - June 30, 1969

1969-08_HumanGoalsCharter

Human Goals Charter

1969-08-04_Henry_Kissinger

Secret Peace Negotiations Begin

The mausoleum of President Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh Dies

September 2, 1969

President Richard Nixon, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, and Deputy Secretary of Defense David Pa

Nixon Orders Additional Troop Withdrawals

September 16, 1969

1969-10-15_Moratorium_06480u

Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam

October 15, 1969

1969-11-03-Nixon-Silent-Majority-Speech

Nixon’s “Silent Majority” Speech

November 3, 1969

Vietnam War Second Moratorium (Dr. Dennis Bogdan) in Washington, D.C. (November 15, 1969) - near Was

Second “Moratorium” Day Protests

November 15, 1969

1969-12-01_Draft_Lottery_01312u

First Military Draft Lottery

December 1, 1969

Notebook used by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces to detail allied troop locations, frequencies fo

Discovery of North Vietnamese Intelligence Operation

December 20, 1969

Fire on the deck of SS BADGER STATE on December 26, 1969. The bomb pallets broke loose during a stor

Explosion aboard the SS Badger State

December 26, 1969

1970-02-15_PhilippineCAG_Box47_0001-B

Philippine Civic Action Group Leaves Vietnam

February 15, 1970

Sihanouk in 1967

Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk Overthrown

1970-04-17_Defoliation_071002-F-1234P-023

Department of Defense Greatly Restricts Defoliation Operations

Launch by R.G. Smith

Additional U.S. Air Strikes in Cambodia

Nixon’s speech from the White House announcing redeployment of 150,000 Troops, April 20, 1970

Nixon Announces Redeployment of 150,000 Troops

1970-04-28_ARVN_in_Cambodia

Nixon Authorizes the Cambodian Incursion

1970-05-01_NixononCambodia

Renewed Air Strikes Against North Vietnam

1970-05-04_Kent-State-shootings-04

Shootings at Kent State University

1970-05-09_RiverineIncursion_L53-35WarsandEvents046

Riverine Incursion into Cambodia

Philip Gibbs and James Earl Green, killed at Jackson State College, May 15, 1970

Shootings at Jackson State College

1970-05-28_POW-MIA-flag

National League of POW/MIA Families Incorporates

1970-07-01_FSB-Ripcord_511845120_9sat5-XL

Last Major Confrontation between U.S. and North Vietnamese Ground Forces at FSB Ripcord

Prisoners eat a meal in their cell at Con Son Prison, which would later become the sight of the infa

U.S. Delegation Uncovers Abuse of Prisoners on Con Son Island

Senators Mark Hatfield (R-OR) and George McGovern (D-SD)

McGovern-Hatfield Amendment Fails in the Senate

September 1, 1970

1970-11-21_SonTayPrisonCamp

Raid on Son Tay Prison

November 21, 1970

1970-12_NavalBaseTransfer_DSC_0017(2)

Transfer of Naval Bases to South Vietnamese

December 1, 1970

Senators Frank Church (D-ID) and John Cooper (R-KY)

Cooper-Church Amendment Goes into Effect

January 5, 1971

Repeal of Tonkin Gulf Resolution; Public Law 88-408, 88th Congress, August 7, 1964

Congress Repeals the Tonkin Gulf Resolution

January 12, 1971

1971-02-08_LamSon719_111_C_Box146_0001-B

Operation LAM SON 719

February 8, 1971

Bomb Explodes in U.S. Capitol Building

Calley salutes the president of the six-officer jury after the guilty verdict was announced, 29 Marc

William Calley Convicted

Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia, April 7, 1971

Nixon Announces Withdrawal of 100,000 Troops

1971-04-15_ShieldsPOWTaskForce_Jan-1973

Department of Defense Establishes POW/MIA Task Group

Vietnam Veterans Against the War button

Vietnam Veterans Against the War Conduct Week of Protests

Cover page of Time Magazine about the Pentagon Papers, published on June 28, 1971

Release of the Pentagon Papers

1971-09-21_Dropping_Loran_Bombs_1973

First Use of LORAN Technology for Airstrikes

September 21, 1971

President of South Vietnam, addresses the 514 men graduating class during dedication ceremonies at t

South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu Re-Elected

October 3, 1971

United States President Richard Nixon announcing major troop reductions in South Vietnam, 12 Nov 197

Nixon Announces Withdrawal of Additional 45,000 Troops

November 12, 1971