1932
Bao Dai returns from France to reign as emperor of Vietnam under the French.

September, 1940
Japanese troops occupy Indochina, but allow the French to continue their colonial adminstration of the area. Japan's move into southern part of Vietnam in July 1941 sparks an oil boycott by the U.S. and Great Britain. The resulting oil shortage strengthens Japan's desire to risk war against the U.S. and Britain.

1945
An OSS (Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA) team parachutes into Ho Chi Minh's jungle camp in northern Vietnam and saves Ho Chi Minh who is ill with malaria and other tropical diseases.

August, 1945
Japan surrenders. Ho Chi Minh establishes the Viet Minh, a guerilla army. Bao Dai abdicates after a general uprising led by the Viet Minh.

September, 1945
Seven OSS officers, led by Lieutenant Colonel A. Peter Dewey, land in Saigon to liberate Allied war prisoners, search for missing Americans, and gather intelligence.

September 2, 1945
Ho Chi Minh reads Vietnam's Declaration of Independence and establishes the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi. Vietnam is divided.

September 26, 1945
OSS Lieutenant Dewey killed in Saigon, the first American to be killed in Vietnam. French and Vietminh spokesmen blame each other for his death.

1946
Ho Chi Minh attempts to negotiate the end of colonial rule with the French without success. The French army shells Haiphong harbor in November, killing over 6,000 Vietnamese civilians, and, by December, open war between France and the Viet Minh begins.
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1950
The U.S., recognizing Boa Dai's regime as legitimate, begins to subsidize the French in Vietnam; the Chinese Communists, having won their civil war in 1949, begin to supply weapons to the Viet Minh.

August 3, 1950
A U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) of 35 men arrives in Saigon. By the end of the year, the U.S. is bearing half of the cost of France's war effort in Vietnam.

May 7, 1954
The French are defeated at Dien Bien Phu. General Vo Nguyen Giap commands the Vietnamese forces. See also:

Dien Bien Phu: A Vietnamese Perspective
Dien Bien Phu: A Website of the Battle

June, 1954
The CIA establishes a military mission in Saigon. Bao Dai selects Ngo Dinh Diem as prime minster of his government.

July 20, 1954
The Geneva Conference on Indochina declares a demilitarized zone at the 17th parallel.

October 24, 1954
President Eisenhower pledges support to Diem's government and military forces.

1955
The U.S.-backed Ngo Dinh Diem organizes the Republic of Vietnam as an independent nation; declares himself president.

July 8, 1959
The first American combat deaths in Vietnam occur when Viet Cong attack Bien Hoa billets; two servicemen are killed.

1960
The National Liberation Front (NLF)--called the Viet Cong--is founded in South Vietnam.

1961
The U.S. military buildup in Vietnam begins with combat advisors.

June 16, 1963
A Buddhist monk immolates himself in Saigon. Buddhist demonstrations occurred from May through August.

November 1, 1963
South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated.

May 4, 1964
Trade embargo imposed on North Vietnam in response to attacks from the North on South Vietnam.

August 2 and 4, 1964
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident. North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the U.S. destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. A second attack allegedly occurs on August 4.

August 5, 1964
President Lyndon Johnson asks Congress for a resolution against North Vietnam following the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Congress debates.

August 7, 1964
Congress approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which allows the president to take any necessary measures to repel further attacks and to provide military assistance to any South Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) member. Senators Wayne L. Morse of Oregon and Ernest Gruening of Alaska cast the only dissenting votes. President Johnson orders the bombing of North Vietnam. For additional information, see New Light on Gulf of Tonkin, McNamara Asks Giap, "What Happened at Tonkin Gulf?", and 30-Year Anniversary: Tonkin Gulf Lie Launched the Vietnam War.

March 8-9, 1965
The first American combat troops arrive in Vietnam.

April 6-8, 1965
President Johnson authorizes the use of U.S. ground combat troops for offensive operations. The next day he offers North Vietnam aid in exchange for peace. North Vietnam rejects the offer.

April 17, 1965
Students for a Democratic Society sponsor the first major anti-war rally in Washington, D.C.

June, 1965
Generals Ky and Thieu seize the South Vietnamese government.

October 15-16, 1965
Anti-war protests are held in aobut 40 American cities.

November 14-16, 1965
The first major military engagement occurs between U.S. and North Vietnamese forces.

September, 1967
Thieu is elected president of South Vietnam.

Oct. 21-23, 1967
50,000 people demonstrate against the war in Washington, D.C.

January 21, 1968
The battle of Khe Sanh begins, ending six months later.

January 31, 1968
The Tet Offensive. Communist forces launch attacks on Hue and other major South Vietnamese towns, and military bases. One assault team gets inside the walls of the U.S. embassy in Saigon but is driven back.

American Perspective
Vietnamese Perspective
In Memory of Tet 1968 by Phu Si

March 16, 1968
150 unarmed Vietnamese civilians are killed by members of U.S. Army Lt. William L. Calley Jr.'s platoon at My Lai.

May 10, 1968
The Paris peace talks begin between U. S. and Vietnamese officials.

May 10-20, 1969
The battle for Hamburger Hill

June 8, 1969
President Richard Nixon announces the first troop withdrawals from South Vietnam

September 3, 1969
Ho Chi Minh dies.

November 15, 1969
250,000 people demonstrate against the war in Washington, D.C.

1970
The draft lottery begins.

April 30, 1970
The armies of the U.S. and South Vietnam invade Cambodia.

May 4, 1970
Four students are killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio.

May 6, 1970
More than 100 colleges are closed due to student riots over Kent State.

February, 1971
South Vietnam and the U.S. invade Laos in an attempt to sever the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

December, 1972
Christmas bombing of Hanoi

January 27, 1973
United States, South Vietnam, and North Vietnam sign Paris Peace Accords, ending American combat role in war. U.S. military draft ends.

March 29, 1973
Last U.S. combat troops leave Vietnam.

February 12-27, 1973
POWs begin to come home as part of Operation Homecoming

April 1, 1973
Hanoi releases last 591 acknowledged American POWs.

September 16, 1974
President Gerald Ford offers clemency to draft evaders and military deserters.

April 21, 1975
South Vietnamese President Thieu resigns.

April 29-30, 1975
Saigon falls. U. S. Navy evacuates U.S. personnel and South Vietnamese refugees. The last American combat death in Vietnam occurs. South Vietnamese President Duong Van Minh surrenders.

American Perspective
Vietnamese Perspective

April 30, 1975
North Vietnamese forces take over Saigon, South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam, ending the war and reunifying the country under communist control. Washington extends embargo to all of Vietnam.

May 12, 1975
The U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez is seized by the Khmer Rouge in international waters in the Gulf of Siam. The ship, owned by Sea-Land Corporation, was en route to Sattahip, Thailand, from Hong-Kong, carrying a non-arms cargo for military bases in Thailand.

December, 1978
Vietnam invades Cambodia and topples Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge government, ending its reign of terror.

1979
Western European countries and non-communist Asian nations support U.S.-led embargo against Vietnam, in protest against invasion of Cambodia.

February, 1982
Vietnam agrees to talks on American MIAs.

November 11, 1982
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, "The Wall," is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

1988
Vietnam begins cooperation with United States to resolve fate of American servicemen missing in action (MIA).

September/October, 1988
United States and Vietnam conduct first joint field investigations on MIAs.

September 1989
Vietnam completes Cambodia withdrawal.

April 21, 1991
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.

October, 1991
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.

December, 1991
Washington lifts ban on organized U.S. travel to Vietnam.

1992
Vietnam's Constitution adopted.

April 29, 1992
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.

October, 1992
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.

December 14, 1992
President George Bush grants permission for U.S. companies open offices, sign contracts and do feasibility studies in Vietnam.

July 2, 1993
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.

September 13, 1993
President Clinton eases economic sanctions against Vietnam to allow American firms to bid on development projects financed by international banks, another step toward normalization.

January 16, 1994
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.

January 27, 1994
Backed by broad bipartisan support, the Senate approves non-binding resolution urging President Clinton to lift embargo, a move they felt would help get a full account of Americans still listed as missing in the Vietnam War.

February 3, 1994
President Clinton announces the lifting of the trade embargo.

October 5, 1994
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.

January 27, 1995
U.S. and Vietnam sign agreements settling old property claims and establishing liaison offices in each other's capitals.

April 30, 1995
Vietnam celebrates the 20th anniversary of the end of the war.

May 15, 1995
Vietnam gives U.S. presidential delegation batch of documents on missing Americans, later hailed by Pentagon as most detailed and informative of their kind.

May 23, 1995
Senators John Kerry (D, Mass) and John McCain (R,-Ariz.), both Vietnam veterans, urge Clinton to normalize relations.

May 31, 1995
Vietnam turns over 100 pages of maps and reports about U.S. servicemen killed or captured during the war. An American veteran's map helps locate a mass grave of communist soldiers killed during the war.

June 1995
Senators Kerry and McCain say they plan to offer a Senate resolution approving normalized relations with Vietnam.

Secretary of State Warren Christopher recommends to President Clinton that the United States establish formal diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

State Department praises Hanoi authorities for increasing counter-narcotics cooperation with the United States.

Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh announces he will visit the United States in October for a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.

July 11, 1995
President Clinton announces normalization of relations with Vietnam, saying the time has come to move forward and bind up the wounds from the war. See also, Ending the Vietnam War

July 28, 1995
Vietnam becomes a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

August 5, 1995
Secretary of State Warren Christopher opens U.S. embassy in Hanoi.

September 4, 1995
Former President George Bush visits Vietnam.

November 7-10, 1995
Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara visits Vietnam.

July 12, 1996
U.S. National Security Adviser Anthony Lake visits Hanoi to mark the first anniversary of normalization of relations.

April 10, 1997
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.

April 16, 1997
U.S. and Vietnam reach copyright protection agreement, a step toward Most Favored Nation status.

May 9, 1997
Ambassador Peterson arrives in Hanoi to take up his new post. Ambassador Le Van Bang arrived in Washington on May 7.

June 24, 1997
Secretary of State Madeline Albright arrives in Vietnam on an official visit.

March 10, 1998
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.

July 13, 2000
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.

November 16, 2000
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."

July 24-26, 2001
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.

October 3, 2001
The United States Senate approves an agreement normalizing trade between the United States and Vietnam.

November 28, 2001
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.

©Sandra M. Wittman

thanks Sandra!