VIETNAM The Vietnam War started 20 years before the United States actually sent in troops. From the 1880's until WWII (1939-1945), Vietnam was governed by France as a part of Idochina. Vietnam was under nominal control of an Emperor, Bao Dai. In 1940 Japanese troops invaded and occuied French Indochina. The Vietnamese saw this as an opportunity for their independence. They began the League for the Independence of Vietnam, or viet minh. The viet minh saw the …showed first 75 words of 809 total…

…showed last 75 words of 809 total…run for reelection in 1968. Republican Richard Nixon ran for presidency declairing that he would bring "peace with honor" if elected. In 1965 the United States sent in troops to prevent the South Vietnamese government from collapsing. Ultimately, the U.S. failed to achieve victory, and in 1975 Vietnam was reunified under communist control. During the war, 3-4 million Vietnamese were killed and 85,000 Americans died, along with 1.5-2 million Lao and Cambodians who were drawn into the war.