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Vietnam War

THE TET OFFENSIVE

If Americans could point to a single event that turned the country against the war in Vietnam it would, undoubtedly, be the coordinated attacked of the Tet Offensive. With television transmitting the sights and sounds of war into American living rooms, anyone who looked saw an escalating, damaging conflict. (The link takes you to an actual battle during Tet. You will need Real Audio.)

Worse, people saw pictures that enraged them - like the infamous execution of a Viet Cong prisoner in Saigon. They wanted to know: Is this what our boys are dying to protect? (Turns out the American public was not told key facts about the execution photo. The Viet Cong prisoner in the picture had just murdered the family of the South Vietnamese general who was about to pull the trigger of his Smith & Wesson .38 revolver.)

What really happened at Hue? According to a Vietnamese account, a massacre of South Vietnamese people by the North took place after both sides had agreed to a New Year's break in the bombing and fighting. But it wasn't just the citizens of Hue who died. It is estimated that 210 Americans were killed and 1,360 were wounded in the fierce battle to free the former imperial city.

  • A Marine carries an injured Vietnamese woman to the hospital during the battle for Hue.
  • Resting on his tank during the Battle for Hue, a Marine takes a break.
  • For Marines, "Home is where you dig it."
  • Hue city officials, responsible for identifying victims of the Tet Offensive, arrange coffins before the funeral services.
  • Churches sometimes providing safety for fighting Marines.
  • Not much was left of Cholon, a suburb of Saigon, when the fighting stopped.
  • "Would appreciate it if you could shoot it now!"
  • A Viet Cong base camp in flames.

Nothing was the same after Tet. As more U.S. men received draft notices, the voices of American protest grew louder. The President (who had once opposed American involvement in Vietnam but escalated the conflict during his administration) faced significant opposition within his own political party.

On the 31st of March, 1968, the President requested national broadcast time.  He was about to tell the world about his decision:  He would not run for another term of office. (Follow the link to see him tell Americans: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.")

Perhaps Tet had also defeated LBJ.