End of the Tunnel 1973-75

April 29, 1975
2 years after a cease fire agreement promised peace in Vietnam

20 years after Geneva
30 years after communists began bid for independence

2 armies equipped by U.S. and Soviet Union stood against each other

POW homecoming celebrations on television

Watergate was undermining the Nixon presidency
Kissinger did not believe the ceasefire would hold

1973 Thieu called for 3 indochina communist war - determined to fight on - sure of America's support

U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin encouraged Thieu

Nixon resigns in 1974

Corruption in Saigon
High gas/fuel prices
Pilots demanded bribes

ARVN deaths in 1974 highest second only to 1972

Thieu counted on pledges from two U.S. presidents and ambassador Martin

Congress believed Ambassador Martin incapable of presenting accurate information on South Vietnam

Families lived in areas where ARVN forces were stationed

Official silence made public panic and stop believing in the government.  Thieu abandoned the highlands as a strategy.

Danang taken - 1965 U.S. troops had arrived there

Many Vietnamese families had members fighting on both sides.

Too rapid a U.S. withdrawal might have frustrated SV turn on Americans and kill them.  But had to evacuate soon enough to avoid capture by rapid NVA advance.

Thieu resigned and communists rejected the new president.  NVA moved towards the gates of Saigon.

April 29, 1975 official full evacuation begins

Some felt Congress had betrayed a trust that the U.S. had given South Vietnam

2 year campaign to capture Saigon took only 55 days.

1.5 million killed
3 million wounded

First U.S. defeat