There’s been a lot of talk lately of the "compare & contrast" variety concerning Iraq & Vietnam Wars. As a contribution to that discussion, I’ve prepared an illustrated timeline of the Vietnam war. First, here’s the main ways I see the Iraq misadventure as different from the one in Vietnam:
- US military draft in Vietnam era; none now
- Vietnam was a country partitioned by external authorities; Iraq was cobbled together by external authorities
- Iraq has major reserves of major strategic commodity; Vietnam did (does) not
- Information disseminates far differently today than in the 1960s-70s
Caveat: Some of the pix are not for the faint-of-heart. But the small story at the end of the diary, like the hope that came last from Pandora's box, is heartwarming.
Here’s the timeline. Hopefully, someone will find it useful. It is not, of course, complete, and others might want to add other items. In particular, I’ve not gone into specific military operations in any detail. There’s numerous websites where such information can be found. That just isn’t where this was intended to go.
1961
- US troop buildup begins under JFK as combat advisors starting at 900 in number
- Rules of engagement allow them to return fire, and they do
1962
- Military advisors up to 15,000
1963
- Buddhist monk Thich Quang torches himself in Saigon in midst of widespread Buddhist protests
- President Diem assassinated (CIA involvement presumed)
- March on Washington for Civil Rights (Martin Luther King, Jr. leads)
- JFK assassinated
1964
- Gulf of Tonkin incident (recent disclosure that translation of critical intelligence was "inaccurate")
- Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
- US imposes trade embargo of North Vietnam
1965
- First US combat troops deployed to Vietnam
- SDS sponsors first national antiwar rally in Washington DC
- 184,000 troops deployed by end of the year
- Bombing missions begin over North Vietnam
- Malcolm X assassinated
1966
- Bombing of DMZ begins
- US troops increase to 400,000 and so also numbers of draftees and war dead increase
1967
1967
- Antiwar demo in Washington DC of 100,000 (October) demonstrators stick flowers in barrels of guns raised against them
- US Troops increase to 500,000
1968
- Tet Offensive (January)
- My Lai Massacre (March)
- LBJ declines to run for re-election
- Paris peace talks begin (May)
- Martin Luther King assassinated (he'd started orating against the war)
- Robert Kennedy assassinated
- Democratic National Convention in Chicago, with demonstrations and "police riots" in the streets
- Bombing near Cambodian border (near?)
- Student occupation at Columbia University
- Troop levels increase to 536,000
- Graduate student draft deferments eliminated
- Nixon elected
1968
1969
- Secret bombing of Cambodia
- Gigantic march on Washington (250K)
- Moon landing
- Woodstock rock festival
- Draft lottery begins
- Ho Chi Minh dies
- My Lai massacre made public
- Nixon announces first troop withdrawals as the start of Vietnamization
- GIs against the war march in NYC
- Troops decreased to 475,00
1970
- My Lai Court Martial
- Invasion of Cambodia
- Demonstrations nationwide, including many college campuses, over 100 of which are closed (demands include eliminating military recruiting on campus)
- Student demonstrators killed at Kent State University, Jackson State University
- US Senate repeals Gulf of Tonkin resolution
- Congress bans military operations in Cambodia
- Troops down to 335,000
1971
- Invasion of Laos
- Pentagon Papers released
Photograph of U.S. napalm attack on the village of Trang Bang in 1972
1972
- North Vietnam ports mined
- Bombing of Hanoi
1973
- Paris Peace accord signed
- US Combat troops leave Vietnam (Vietnamization fulfilled)
- US Military draft ends
MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE PRESENT DAY
There's different emblematic pictures for Iraq: The statue coming down, Abu Ghraib, and so on. But also the picture below, which can speak to both wars - or any other. The Trimarco family in Pagosa Springs, Colorado who put this up were threatened with fines from their Homeowner's Association - some deranged neighbor called it "satanic".
In a small bit of good news, the New York Times reports:
The fines have been dropped, and the three-member board of the association has resigned, according to an e-mail message sent to residents on Monday.
Two board members have disconnected their telephones, apparently to escape the waves of callers asking what the board could have been thinking, residents said. The third board member, with a working phone, did not return a call for comment.
And the people of Pagosa Springs, where this controversy arose, have made their own feelings clear about this, too. Pagosa, maybe 3 hours drive from where I live, is a nice little town, built up around a lovely hot spring. Don't miss a chance to stop in there someday if you have the opportunity. Three cheers for these small town locals:
Mr. Trimarco said he put up the wreath as a general symbol of peace on earth, not as a commentary on the Iraq war or another political statement. In any case, there are now more peace symbols in Pagosa Springs, a town of 1,700 people 200 miles southwest of Denver, than probably ever in its history. On Tuesday morning, 20 people marched through the center carrying peace signs and then stomped a giant peace sign in the snow perhaps 300 feet across on a soccer field, where it could be easily seen.
"There’s quite a few now in our subdivision in a show of support," Mr. Trimarco said.
And town itself has put up a large municipal peace sign on a bell tower in the middle of town. One small victory for the First Amendment, for peace, and for the good guys generally.
A few years back, it was hard to find Christmas cards with a Peace on Earth message. Maybe the selection will be better this year. We've got our first snow with any accumulation for the season going on now. So, if nothing else, there's the peace that comes with the quiet of snowfall.