Vietnam Timeline
K.H.First millennium BCE
Viet people, a fusion of peoples from China and indigenous people from Vietnam, form in Red River Valley
208 BCE
Trieu Da, a Chinese general conquers Au Lac in northern mountains of Vietnam. He builds a capital and makes himself emperor of what he calls Nam Viet
101 BCE
Chinese conquest of Viet people
39 CE
Trung Sisters Rebellion - First revolt against Chinese
981
Chinese overthrown, nation now known as Dai Viet (Great Viet)under Emperor Dinh Bo Linh
982
Expansion to the South
1471
Champa culture defeated
1500
Dai Viet conquers Anghor
1600
Dai Viet reaches Mekong Delta
1613
Civil War between Northern and Southern Dai Viet
1627
Alexandre de Rhodes, a French missionary, adapts Vietnamese language to Roman alphabet
1802
Nguyen Dynasty established, capital moved to Hue, country now known as Vietnam
1820
Captain John White of Massachusetts, is the first American to set foot in Vietnam
1859
France captures Saigon, extends control to Laos and Cambodia, forming French Indochina
1880
France divides up Vietnam into three regions: Tonkin, Annam, Cochinchina
1890
Ho Chi Minh born (Nguyen Tat Thanh)
1900
Resistance by Modernization Society led by Phan Boi Chau
1911
Chi Minh leaves Vietnam for thirty year period of exile
1919
Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) emerges in Paris at the end of World War I and tries to petition President Woodrow Wilson for self-determination of Vietnam
1920
VNQDD (non-communist nationalists) attempts armed uprising against the French
1920
Ho Chi Minh is one of the founding members of French Communist Party
1924
Ho Chi Minh leaves Paris and moves to Moscow where he becomes a full time communist agent
1930
Indochinese Communist Party founded by Ho Chi Minh
1932
Bao Dai returns to Vietnam from France and ascends to throne
1940
Japan invades Vietnam
1941
Viet Minh organized by Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap
1944
Vo Nguyen Giap forms Viet Minh army
1945 August
Japanese surrender
1945 September
Ho Chi Minh declares independence for Vietnam
LTC Peter Dewey of the OSS is first American to die in Vietnam
1946 March
Ho Chi Minh allows French troops in to Vietnam in order to oust China
1946 June
French violate March agreement and set up a separate government in Cochinchina
1946 December
Beginning of French-Viet Minh War
1949 October
China turns to communism
1950 January
China and the Soviet Union recognize Ho Chi Minh led Vietnam
1950 February
United States and Great Britain recognize Bao Dai led Vietnam
1950 May
United States begins its military aid to France in the war in Vietnam
1950 June
Beginning of the Korean War
1953
United States paying 80 percent of French war effort in Vietnam
1953 July
Armistice signed in Korea
1954 March
Battle of Dien Bien Phu begins
1954 April
United States decides not to intervene in Dien Bien Phu
1954 May
Vietnamese forces occupy the French command post at Dien Bien Phu and the French commander orders his troops to cease fire. The battle had lasted 55 days. Three thousand French troops were killed, 8,000 wounded. The Viet Minh suffered much worse, with 8,000 dead and 12,000 wounded, but the Vietnamese victory shattered France's resolve to carry on the war.
1954 June
Ngo Dinh Diem returns from exile in America, becomes Prime Minister of Vietnam
1954 July
Geneva Agreements reached, Vietnam divided 17th parallel, elections in two years
1954 September
SEATO formed
1955 January
United States begins direct assistance to the government of Vietnam
1955 February
US military advisors start training South Vietnamese military
1955 July
The Chinese and the Soviets sign aid agreements with North Vietnam
1955 August
Diem refuses to discuss reunification elections
1955 October
Diem defeats Bao Dai, founds Republic of Vietnam, Diem is President
1956
Rise of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Montgomery Bus Boycott
1956 July
Reunification elections do not take place as called out in Geneva agreements
1957 May
Diem tours the United States, gains Eisenhower's reaffirmation of U.S. support
1958 July
US backed anti-communist group in Laos forces resignation of leader
1959 May
A specialized North Vietnamese Army unit, Group 559, is formed to create a supply route from North Vietnam to Vietcong forces in South Vietnam. With the approval of Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia, Group 559 develops a primitive route along the Vietnamese/Cambodian border, with offshoots into Vietnam along its entire length. This eventually becomes known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
1960
Beginning of the National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong (VC)
1960 January
VC uprising in Mekong Delta
1960 August
Civil war in Laos between communists and US backed anti-communists
1960 November
John F. Kennedy defeats Richard M. Nixon in close U.S. election
1960 December
Increasing crisis in Laos, 900 U.S. military advisors in Vietnam
1961 January
Eisenhower warns of Military Industrial Complex in his farewell speech
1961 May
Vice President Johnson visits Vietnam, urges more U.S. aid, Laotian crisis ends
1961 October
President John F. Kennedy orders more help for the South Vietnamese government in its war against the Vietcong guerrillas. U.S. backing includes new equipment and more than 3,000 military advisors and support personnel.
1961 December
JFK increased number of US military advisors in Vietnam to 3200
1962
In Operation Chopper, helicopters flown by U.S. Army pilots ferry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep a NLF stronghold near Saigon. It marks America's first combat missions against the Vietcong.
1962 February
US Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MACV) established
1962 October
Cuban Missile Crisis
1962 December
Nearly 12,000 U.S. military advisors in Vietnam
1963 January
At the hamlet of Ap Bac, the Vietcong 514th Battalion and local guerrilla forces ambush the South Vietnamese Army's 7th division. For the first time, the Vietcong stand their ground against American machinery and South Vietnamese soldiers. Almost 400 South Vietnamese are killed or wounded. Three American advisors are slain.
1963 May
Beginning of Buddhist uprisings in South Vietnam
1963 August
ARVN attack Buddhist temples
1963 October
US supports military coup plot against Diem and his brother
1963 November
Diem assassinated, Generals take over Vietnam
1963 November
JFK assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) becomes President
1963 December
16,000 U.S. advisors in Vietnam, VC step up their attacks
1964 January
General Nguyen Khanh seizes power in Saigon
1964 April
American air power in Southeast Asia is massively reinforced. Two aircraft carriers arrive off the Vietnamese coast prompted by a North Vietnamese offensive in Laos.
1964 July
On this night, South Vietnamese commandos attack two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. The U.S. destroyer Maddox, an electronic spy ship, is 123 miles south with orders to electronically simulate an air attack to draw North Vietnamese boats away from the commandos.
1964 August
Gulf of Tonkin Crisis: North Vietnamese patrol boat attacks U.S. destroyer
1964 August
The U.S. congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend southeast Asia.
1964 September
Free Speech movement begins in Berkeley
1964 October
Martin Luther King wins Nobel Peace Prize
1964 November
Two days before the U.S. presidential election, Vietcong mortars shell Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. Four Americans are killed, 76 wounded. Five B-57 bombers are destroyed, and 15 are damaged.
1964 December
VC bomb Brinks Hotel in Saigon, U.S. military advisors number 23,200 in Vietnam
1965 January
Vietcong forces mount a series of attacks across South Vietnam. They briefly seize control of Binh Gia, a village only 40 miles from Saigon. Two hundred South Vietnamese troops are killed near Binh Gia, along with five American advisors.
1965 February
A U.S. helicopter base and advisory compound in the central highlands of South Vietnam is attacked by NLF commandos. Nine Americans are killed and more than 70 are wounded. President Johnson immediately orders U.S. Navy fighter-bombers to attack military targets just inside North Vietnam.
1965 March
First U.S. combat troops arrive in South Vietnam, Operation Rolling Thunder begins
1965 April
The U.S. offers North Vietnam economic aid in exchange for peace, but the offer is summarily rejected. Two weeks later, President Johnson raises America's combat strength in Vietnam to more than 60,000 troops. Allied forces from Korea and Australia are added as a sign of international support.
1965 May
Two and a half thousand Vietcong troops attack Song Be, a South Vietnamese provincial capital. After two days of fierce battles in and around the town, the Vietcong withdraw.
1965 June
General William Westmoreland launches the first purely offensive operation by American ground forces in Vietnam, sweeping into NLF territory just northwest of Saigon.
1965 August
After a deserter from the 1st Vietcong regiment reveals that an attack is imminent against the U.S. Marine base at Chu Lai, the American army launches Operation Starlite. In this, the first major battle of the Vietnam War, the United States scores a resounding victory. Ground forces, artillery from Chu Lai, ships and air support combine to kill nearly 700 Vietcong soldiers. U.S. forces sustain 45 dead and more than 200 wounded.
1965 September
After the North Vietnamese Army attacks a Special Forces camp at Plei Mei, the U.S. 1st Air Cavalry is deployed against enemy regiments that identified in the vicinity of the camp. The result is the battle of the Ia Drang. For 35 days, the division pursues and fights the 32d, 33d, and 66th North Vietnamese Regiments until the enemy, suffering heavy casualties, returns to bases in Cambodia.
1965 November
Elements of the 66th North Vietnamese Regiment moving east toward Plei Mei encounter and ambush an American battalion. Neither reinforcements nor effective firepower can be brought in. When fighting ends that night, 60 percent of the Americans were casualties, and almost one of every three soldiers in the battalion had been killed.
1965 December
Bombing stops for Christmas, U.S. troop strength at 200,000
1966 January
U.S. forces launch Operation Crimp. Deploying nearly 8,000 troops, it is the largest American operation of the war. The goal of the campaign is to capture the Vietcong's headquarters for the Saigon area, which is believed to be located in the district of Chu Chi. Though the area in Chu Chi is razed and repeatedly patrolled, American forces fail to locate any significant Vietcong base.
1966 February
Hoping for head-on clashes with the enemy, U.S. forces launch four search and destroy missions in the month of February. Although there are two minor clashes with Vietcong regiments, there are no major conflicts.
1966 March
The 272nd Regiment of the Vietcong 9th Division attack a battalion of the American 3rd Brigade at Lo Ke. U.S. air support succeeds in bombing the attackers into retreat. Two days later, the American 1st Brigade and a battalion of the 173rd Airborne are attacked by a Vietcong regiment, which is driven away by artillery fire.
1966 April
In Operation Birmingham, more than 5,000 U.S. troops, backed by huge numbers of helicopters and armored vehicles, sweep the area around north of Saigon. There are small scale actions between both armies, but over a three week period, only 100 Vietcong are killed. Most battles are dictated by the Vietcong, who prove elusive.
1966 May
In late May 1966, the North Vietnamese 324B Division crosses the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and encounters a Marine battalion. The NVA holds their ground and the largest battle of the war to date breaks out near Dong Ha. Most of the 3rd Marine Division, some 5,000 men in five battalions, heads north. In Operation Hastings, the Marines backed by South Vietnamese Army troops, the heavy guns of U.S. warships and their artillery and air power drive the NVA back over the DMZ in three weeks.
1966 June
On Route 13, which links Vietnam to the Cambodian border, American forces are brutally assaulted by the Vietcong. Only American air and artillery support prevents a complete disaster.
1966 July
Heavy fighting near Con Thien kills nearly 1,300 North Vietnamese troops.
1966 September
In a new mission code-named Operation Attleboro, the U.S. 196th Brigade and 22,000 South Vietnamese troops begin aggressive search and destroy sweeps through Tay Ninh Province. Almost immediately, huge caches of supplies belonging to the NLF 9th Division are discovered, but again, there is no head-to-head conflict. The mission ends after six weeks, with more than 1,000 Vietcong and 150 Americans killed.
1966 October
The Vietcong's 9th Division, having recovered from battles from the previous July, prepares for a new offensive. Losses in men and equipment have been replaced by supplies and reinforcements sent down the Ho Chi Minh trail from North Vietnam.
1966 December
U.S. troop strength at 400,000
1967 January
America forces begin Operation Cedar Falls, which is intended to drive Vietcong forces from the Iron Triangle, a 60 square mile area lying between the Saigon River and Route 13. Nearly 16,000 American troops and 14,000 soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army move into the Iron Triangle, but they encounter no major resistance. Huge quantities of enemy supplies are captured. Over 19 days, 72 Americans are killed, victims mostly of snipers emerging from concealed tunnels and booby traps. Seven hundred and twenty Vietcong are killed.
1967 February
In one of the largest air-mobile assaults ever, 240 helicopters sweep over Tay Ninh province, beginning Operation Junction City. The goal of Junction City is to destroy Vietcong bases and the Vietcong military headquarters for South Vietnam, all of which are located in War Zone C, north of Saigon. Some 30,000 U.S. troops take part in the mission, joined by 5,000 men of the South Vietnamese Army. After 72 days, Junction City ends. American forces succeed in capturing large quantities of stores, equipment and weapons, but there are no large, decisive battles.
1967 March
LBJ meets Ky and General Nguyen Van Thieu in Guam
1967 April
American attacks on North Vietnam's airfields begin. The attacks inflict heavy damage on runways and installations. By the end of the year, all but one of the North's Mig bases has been hit.
1967 May
In the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, Americans intercept North Vietnamese Army units moving in from Cambodia. Nine days of continuous battles leave hundreds of North Vietnamese soldiers dead.
1967 September
South Vietnamese elect Thieu as President, Ky as Vice-President
1967 October
Anti-war demonstrators march on the Pentagon
1967 December
U.S. troop strength nearly 500,000
1968 January
On the Tet holiday, Vietcong units surge into action over the length and breadth of South Vietnam. In more than 100 cities and towns, shock attacks by Vietcong sapper-commandos are followed by wave after wave of supporting troops. By the end of the city battles, 37,000 Vietcong troops deployed for Tet have been killed. Many more had been wounded or captured, and the fighting had created more than a half million civilian refugees. Casualties included most of the Vietcong's best fighters, political officers and secret organizers; for the guerillas, Tet is nothing less than a catastrophe. But for the Americans, who lost 2,500 men, it is a serious blow to public support.
1968 February
Famous U.S. newsman Walter Cronkite admits that it does not look like we are winning in Vietnam
1968 February
Over 1,300 artillery rounds hit the Marine base at Khe Sanh and its outposts, more than on any previous day of attacks. To withstand the constant assaults, bunkers at Khe Sanh are rebuilt to withstand 82mm mortar rounds.
1968 March
Without warning, a massive North Vietnamese barrage slams into Khe Sanh. More than 1,000 rounds hit the base, at a rate of a hundred every hour. At the same time, electronic sensors around Khe Sanh indicate NVA troop movements. American forces reply with heavy bombing.
1968 April
U.S. forces in Operation Pegasus finally retake Route 9, ending the siege of Khe Sanh. A 77 day battle, Khe Sanh had been the biggest single battle of the Vietnam War to that point. The official assessment of the North Vietnamese Army dead is just over 1,600 killed, with two divisions all but annihilated. But thousands more were probably killed by American bombing
1968 June
With strong, highly mobile American forces now in the area, and the base no longer needed for defense, General Westmoreland approves the abandonment and demolition of Khe Sanh.
1968 October
Johnson ends all bombing in the North
1968 November
After three-and-a-half years, Operation Rolling Thunder comes to an end. In total, the campaign had cost more than 900 American aircraft. Eight hundred and eighteen pilots are dead or missing, and hundreds are in captivity. Nearly 120 Vietnamese planes have been destroyed in air combat or accidents, or by friendly fire. According to U.S. estimates, 182,000 North Vietnamese civilians have been killed. Twenty thousand Chinese support personnel also have been casualties of the bombing.
1968 December
US troop strength at 535,000
1969 January
President Richard M. Nixon takes office as the new President of the United States. With regard to Vietnam, he promises to achieve "Peace With Honor." His aim is to negotiate a settlement that will allow the half million U.S. troops in Vietnam to be withdrawn, while still allowing South Vietnam to survive.
1969 February
In a major offensive, assault teams and artillery attack American bases all over South Vietnam, killing 1,140 Americans. At the same time, South Vietnamese towns and cities are also hit. The heaviest fighting is around Saigon, but fights rage all over South Vietnam. Eventually, American artillery and airpower overwhelm the Vietcong offensive.
1969 March
U.S. begins secret bombing of Cambodia
1969 June
President Nixon meets with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu on Midway Island in the Pacific, and announces that 25,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn immediately.
1969 September
Ho Chi Minh dies at age seventy-nine
1969 October
Vietnam moratorium, nationwide peace demonstrations
1969 November
Nixon appeals to Silent Majority for approval, My Lai Massacre revealed
1969 December
U.S. troop strength down to 475,000
1970 February
Henry Kissinger and Le Duch Tho begin secret talks in Paris
1970 April
South Vietnamese troops attack into Cambodia, pushing toward Vietcong bases. Two days later, a U.S. force of 30,000 -- including three U.S. divisions -- mount a second attack. Operations in Cambodia last for 60 days, and uncover vast North Vietnamese jungle supply depots. They capture 28,500 weapons, as well as over 16 million rounds of small arms ammunition, and 14 million pounds of rice. Although most Vietcong manage to escape across the Mekong, there are over 10,000 casualties.
1970 May
Four students killed at Kent State University, Demonstrations in Washington, DC
1970 May
Kent State protests against Cambodian invasion leads to killing of four students
1970 December
U.S. troop strength at 334,000
1971 February
In Operation Lam Son 719, three South Vietnamese divisions drive into Laos to attack two major enemy bases. Unknowingly, they are walking into a North Vietnamese trap. Over the next month, more than 9,000 South Vietnamese troops are killed or wounded. More than two thirds of the South Vietnamese Army's armored vehicles are destroyed, along with hundreds of U.S. helicopters and planes.
1971 March
Lt. William Calley convicted of murder in My Lai Massacre incident
1971 April
500,000 people protest in Washington, DC
1971 June
NY Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers
1971 June
NY Times begins publishing classified government documents, the Pentagon Papers
1971 December
U.S. troop strength at 140,000
1972 January
Only 133,000 U.S. servicemen remain in South Vietnam. Two thirds of America's troops have gone in two years. The ground war is now almost exclusively the responsibility of South Vietnam, which has over 1,000,000 men enlisted in its armed forces.
1972 February
Nixon visits China
1972 March
Massed North Vietnamese Army artillery open a shattering barrage, targeting South Vietnamese positions across the DMZ. Upwards of 20,000 NVA troops cross the DMZ, forcing the South Vietnamese units into a retreat. The Southern defense is thrown into complete chaos. Intelligence reports had predicted a Northern attack, but no one had expected it to come on the DMZ.
1972 April
In an assault spearheaded by tanks, NVA troops manage to seize control of the northern part of the city. But the 4,000 South Vietnamese men defending the city, reinforced by elite airborne units, hold their positions and launch furious counterattacks. American B-52 bombers also help with the defense. A month later, Vietcong forces withdraw.
1972 May
Nixon orders mining of Hai Phong harbor, intensifies bombing of the North
1972 June
Break-in at Democratic National Headquarters - Watergate Hotel
1972 July
With U.S. air support, the South Vietnamese Army begins a drive to recapture Binh Dinh province and its cities. The battles last until September 15, by which time Quong Tri has been reduced to rubble. Nevertheless, the NVA retains control of the northern part of the province.
1972 November
Nixon defeats George McGovern in election
1972 December
In Paris, peace talks between the North Vietnamese and the Americans breakdown.
1973 January
Peace Accords reached, U.S. out of the war
1973 January
End of U.S. war in Vietnam, Kissinger and Le Duc Tho conclude negotiations and share the Nobel Peace Prize
1973 March
The last American combat soldiers leave South Vietnam, though military advisors and Marines, who are protecting U.S. installations, remain. For the United States, the war is officially over. Of the more than 3 million Americans who have served in the war, almost 58,000 are dead, and over 1,000 are missing in action. Some 150,000 Americans were seriously wounded.
1973 May
Congressional hearings on Watergate begin
1974 January
Though they are still too weak to launch a full-scale offensive, the North Vietnamese have rebuilt their divisions in the South, and have captured key areas
1974 August
Nixon resigns, Gerald Ford becomes President
1975 January
In a disastrous loss for the South Vietnamese, the NVA take Phuoc Long city and the surrounding province. The attack, a blatant violation of the Paris peace agreement, produces no retaliation from the United States.
1975 March
Another NVA offensive sends 100,000 soldiers against the major cities of Quang Tri, Hue and Da Nang. Backed by powerful armored forces and eight full regiments of artillery, they quickly succeed in capturing Quang Tri province.
1975 April
U.S. Marines and Air Force helicopters, flying from carriers off-shore, begin a massive airlift. In 18 hours, over 1,000 American civilians and almost 7,000 South Vietnamese refugees are flown out of Saigon.
1978 December
Vietnam invades Cambodia and topples Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge government, ending its reign of terror.
1982 February
Vietnam agrees to talks on American MIAs.
1982 November
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, "The Wall," is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
1988 September
United States and Vietnam conduct first joint field investigations on MIAs.
1989 September
Vietnam completes Cambodia withdrawal.
1991 April
United States and Vietnam agree to establish U.S. office in Hanoi to help determine MIAs' fate. Washington presentes Hanoi with a roadmap for phased normalization of relations and the lifting of the embargo.
1991 October
Vietnam supports U.N. peace plan for Cambodia. Secretary of State James Baker says Washington is ready to take steps towards normalizing relations with Hanoi. Washington presents Hanoi with ''roadmap'' plan for phased normalization of relations and lifting of U.S. embargo.
1991 December
Washington lifts ban on organized U.S. travel to Vietnam.
1992 April
Washington eases trade embargo by allowing commercial sales to Vietnam that meet basic human needs, lifts restrictions on projects by American non-governmental and non-profit groups, and allows establishment of telecommunications links with Vietnam.
1992 October
Retired General John Vessey, U.S. presidential envoy on MIA issue, makes sixth trip to Hanoi, obtains Vietnamese agreement on wider MIA cooperation, which Washington describes as a breakthrough.
1992 December
President George Bush grants permission for U.S. companies open offices, sign contracts and do feasibility studies in Vietnam.
1993 July
President Bill Clinton ends U.S. opposition to settlement of Vietnam's $140 million arrears to the International Monetary Fund, clearing the way for the resumption of international lending to Vietnam.
1993 September
President Clinton eases economic sanctions against Vietnam to allow American firms to bid on development projects financed by international banks, another step toward normalization.
1994 January
Admiral Charles Larson, head of U.S. Pacific Command visits Vietnam, the highest-ranking active-duty U.S. military officer to do so since the war's end. He concludes that lifting the trade embargo would help efforts to account for Americans missing from the war.
1994 February
President Clinton announces the lifting of the trade embargo.
1994 April
House passes bill saying MIA accounting should remain central to U.S. policy in Vietnam and the main function of a U.S. liaison office in Vietnam.
1995 January
U.S. and Vietnam sign agreements settling old property claims and establishing liaison offices in each other's capitals.
1995 April
Vietnam celebrates the 20th anniversary of the end of the war.
1995 May
Vietnam gives U.S. presidential delegation batch of documents on missing Americans, later hailed by Pentagon as most detailed and informative of their kind.
1995 June
Senators Kerry and McCain say they plan to offer a Senate resolution approving normalized relations with Vietnam.
1995 July
President Clinton announces normalization of relations with Vietnam, saying the time has come to move forward and bind up the wounds from the war.
1995 August
Secretary of State Warren Christopher opens U.S. embassy in Hanoi.
1995 September
Former President George Bush visits Vietnam.
1995 November
Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara visits Vietnam.
1996 July
U.S. National Security Adviser Anthony Lake visits Hanoi to mark the first anniversary of normalization of relations.
1997 April
Former POW Douglas "Pete" Peterson is confirmed by the Senate as the first ambassador to Vietnam since the end of the war and the first ever to be posted to Hanoi. Vietnam's Le Van Bang is confirmed as Vietnam's ambassador to the United States.
1997 May
Ambassador Peterson arrives in Hanoi to take up his new post. Ambassador Le Van Bang arrived in Washington on May 7.
1997 June
Secretary of State Madeline Albright arrives in Vietnam on an official visit.
1998 March
President Clinton waives the The Jackson-Vanik Amendment for Vietnam, allowing American investors in Vietnam to compete more effectively in Vietnam and to receive financial help from U.S. government agencies such as the Export-Import Bank.
1998 April
Pol Pot dies
2000 July
The United States Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and Vietnam's Trade Minister Vu Khoan sign a major trade agreement intended to provide Vietnam with access to the U.S.market on the same terms granted to most other nations. Vietnam agrees to lower tariffs and other trade barriers on American products and services. The trade agreement is the last step in normalizing relations between the U.S. and Vietnam.
2000 November
President Bill Clinton and his family, Hillary Clinton and their daughter Chelsea, arrived in Hanoi for a historic visit. Clinton was the first President to visit Vietnam since President Nixon's visit in 1969. The purpose of Clinton's trip was to discuss relations between the two countries. Clinton said, "I think it is time to write a new chapter here." See President Clinton's Visit to Vietnam.
2001 July
Secretary of State Colin Powell pays a three-day visit to Vietnam where he attended the ASEAN Regional Forum in Hanoi. It was Powell's first visit to Vietnam since he served in the war in 1969.
2001 October
The United States Senate approves an agreement normalizing trade between the United States and Vietnam.
2001 November
Vietnam's National Assembly ratifies the trade agreement with the United States but warned that any U.S. interference in Vietnam's internal affairs could jeopardize implementation of the agreement. The Vietnamese government voiced strong concerns over the U.S. House of Representatives' passage of a Vietnam Human Rights Act which ties future U.S. non-humanitarian aid to improvements in Vietnam's human rights record.
2003 November
U.S. S ecretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with Vietnam's Defense Minister Pham Van Tra. This was the first time a senior Vietnamese military official has visited Washington.
2004 January
Nguyen Cao Ky, who served as premier of South Vietnam until 1967 and then as vice president from 1967 to 1971, paid a visit to relatives in Vietnam for the Tet holiday. Permission for the visit was given by the Vietnamese government. The visit caused controversy among overseas Vietnamese who felt it would legitimize the current government in Vietnam. Ky fled to the United States prior to the fall of Saigon in 1975.
2005 March
The USS Gary arrived in the port of Saigon, marking the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam. The first U.S. naval ship visited Vietnam in November, 2003 and the second in July, 2004. The visits are expected to become annual.
Timeline sources: © Dr. Bruce Solheim, Citrus College, Glendora, California
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