Sunday marks 50 years since U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam

ABC7 Chicago ^ | 03/08/2015

[E. Pluribus Unum]

DA NANG, Vietnam (WLS) -- Sunday marks 50 years since United States combat troops arrived in Vietnam when two battalions made up of hundreds of Marines landed in Da Nang on March 8, 1965.

They originally went to help the South Vietnam government defeat communist forces.

The U.S. sent in more troops over the next few years, peaking at 543,000 in April, 1969.

More than 58,000 U.S. troops lost their lives in the war. The last U.S. troops left the country in March 1973.

[laconic]

Thank you, Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara.

[ASA Vet]

Not me! I successfully dodged the draft.

[PROCON]

Wow, 50 years.

I honor my brothers-in-arms who didn't make it back home.

Welcome Home to those who did.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The war had been won.

Then the Democrats walked away.

[PROCON]

I successfully dodged the draft.

And you're proud of that?

[centurion316]

A significant event, but of course, U.S. troops had already been in Vietnam for years, as Advisors, helicopter crews, signal, engineer and MP units and many other functions. The marine battalions marked the introduction of the first infantry formations, followed shortly thereafter by the arrival of the 173d Airborne Brigade and the 1st Air Cavalry Division.

[ChildOfThe60s]

My father (USMC) was there in late 63 & early 64 as an “adviser”. Damn near got killed.

Came home in 64 and said we were going to get into it *full scale* and throw a lot of lives away for *nothing*. And he predicted it would all be on the heads of politicians (specifically LBJ at the time).

But as we all know, politicians don’t listen to experienced combat officers. They know everything, why should they?

[PROCON]

The war had been won.

Then the Democrats walked away.

Don't get me started :-)

[centurion316]

Nixon was a Democrat? Who knew?

[DonaldC]

What a waste of resources that was.

[xrmusn]

And you’re proud of that?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = =

I have a feeling the person who wrote he ‘successfully etc’ did it the same way I did.

I enlisted at 17, so in effect, I dodged the draft.

Clinton had referred to us that VOLUNTARILY ENLISTED as ‘draft dodgers’ ...

Depends on what is is.

[PROCON]

I enlisted at 17, so in effect, I dodged the draft.

Well, I did too, but I never thought of it that way, LOL, but I guess it's true!

I was a draft dodger!

[tet68]

Went over in May of 66, stayed till May of 68.
Kind of glad I was there early, it was a different
war then.

Tet68 USMC VMA-223 MAG 12 Chu Lai RVN.
Ooooorah!

[ASA Vet]

I successfully dodged that draft for my entire 28 years.

[headstamp 2]

The Democrats in Congress walked away.

[PROCON]

I confessed to being a draft dodger too in post #13 :-)

[21twelve]

No - after Nixon, and after the Paris Peace treaty. Once Nixon was out the North tested the waters - with no aid (as promised) coming from Democratic Congress to help out the south. And like a two-year old seeing that mom isn't going to stop him from stealing a cookie, he swipes the whole jar.

Numerous parallels can be be made today.

Was just helping my daughter with her history (Revisionist crap). One of the essay questions was compare and contrast the Vietcong victory in Vietnam with the Iraq war?

I had to explain to her that after Tet, the VC weren't really a factor. And after the NVA took over the south, the VC was dissolved (most of them were northernors by this time anyway), and southern communists were taken out of power on the chance that they had been tainted by living in the south for so long.

[21twelve]

Thank you for your service!

[laplata]

And Welcome Home to you, too.