Rena Adler- Vietnam War, 1968

1968

The year 1968 was considered a turning point for the Vietnam War. On January 30, on the lunar New Year called Tet, Vietcong fought against South Vietnam. Although the Vietcong suffered 37,000 casualties, 2,500 American soldiers were killed which caused a tremendous loss of public support. On February 23, the American Marine base at Khe Sanh was hit with more artillery attacks than ever before, resulting in rebuilding so as to withstand future attacks. On March 16, the U.S. Charlie Company killed close to two hundred civilians in My Lai. Although only one soldier was convicted of war crimes, the attack resulted in further loss of public support and questions as per demeanor during the war. Then, on March 22, North Vietnam attacked Khe Sanh with enormous force; American troops responded to the attack through bombing. Finally, on April 8, the siege around Khe Sanh ended through Operation Pegasus. The Battle of Khe Sanh lasted 77 days and, until that point, was the largest solitary battle fought during the Vietnam War. The base was later abandoned in June after the arrival of mobile American troops. Additionally, on November 1, President Johnson put a stop to Operation Rolling Thunder. This meant an end to bombing and was viewed as a way to restart peace talks.

http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/timeline/index2.html