The Dominican Republic and Vietnam

The doctrines of President Truman and President Eisenhower were designed to stop communism from spreading.

• True

• False

President Eisenhower applied the Domino Theory to his policy. He argued that if one country in Southeast Asia were taken over by the communists, others would fall like dominoes until Australia itself was threatened. It was because of the Domino Theory that the U.S. intervened in Vietnam.

• True

• False

To safeguard American citizens against the new government overthrow, an evacuation of U.S. and other foreign nationals began on April 27. U.S. Ambassador W. Tapley Bennett, Jr., asked for Marines to assist in the evacuation.  

• True

• False

Fearing a Communist take over, the U.S. used its power to support a military faction opposed to the democratically elected government. The U.S. was accused of _____________________________.

• Treason

• Imperialism

• Correctness

The involvement of the United States in Vietnam goes back to World War II. In an effort to fight the Japanese, _______________________ provided support for the U.S. He helped rescue downed American pilots and provided information about the movements of the Japanese military.

• Jerry Springer

• Ho Chi Minh

• Thomas Edison

In February 1965, shortly after the celebration of Tet  (a major religious festival), the Viet Cong attacked two military installations. A large number of Americans were killed. President Johnson then ordered bombing of military targets in North Vietnam. By March, it was clear that the weakening government of South Vietnam would require U.S. combat forces to intervene as well.

• True

• False

An offensive operation by the United States was launched on August 18, 1965, under the name Operation Starlite.

• True

• False

In mid-1966, reports indicated that the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) had crossed the 17th parallel and were heading into South Vietnam. The Marines sent in 8,000 troops to keep the NVA from crossing through the Demilitarized Zone. Air Force B-52s bombed the NVA. The Marines continued to defend the DMZ as the North Vietnamese repeatedly tried to cross into the South.

• True

• False

Because Hue was populated with thousands of people and because of its ancient history, using bombers to push out the Communists was not an option. The Marines were forced to engage in house–to-house combat. After 26 days of fighting, the enemy losses reached 5,000 dead.

• True

• False

The longest war in U.S. history ended when the peace talks finally provided a ceasefire in January of 1973. Between 1965 and 1973 about 448,000 Marines served in Vietnam.

• True

• False