The Vietnam War

After a century of French occupation, Vietnam emerges independent but divided into North and South.

As a communist insurgency gains strength, JFK wrestles with American involvement in South Vietnam.

With South Vietnam near collapse, LBJ begins bombing the North and sends US troops to the South.

US soldiers discover Vietnam is unlike their fathers’ war, while the antiwar movement grows.

President Johnson escalates the war while promising the public that victory is in sight.

Shaken by the Tet Offensive, assassinations and unrest, America seems to be coming apart.

After chaos roils the Democratic Convention, Nixon, promising peace, narrowly wins the presidency.

Nixon withdraws troops but when he sends forces into Cambodia the antiwar movement reignites.

South Vietnam fights on its own as Nixon and Kissinger find a way out for America. The POWs return.

Saigon falls and the war ends. Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for reconciliation.