End of the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War is considered by many to be one of the biggest disasters in American History. It lasted for over a decade and was responsible for the death of over 50,000 Americans, not to mention the more than 150,000 that were wounded. The war came to a head in the early 70's.

At the end of 1972 many people were hopeful that the war was nearing an end. Peace talks were going on and for the first time the Communist side expressed it's acceptance of a peace plan that separated the military from the political settlement of the war. This hope was shattered, though, when, on December 16, 1972, the peace talks abruptly collapsed. The next day Nixon ordered bombing to resume and during the next few weeks what many people call the most severe aerial assault in history took place over North Korea. This sudden re-escalation of the war shocked the world and, more than ever, Americans screamed for peace.

Despite the U.S. bombing, both sides still seemed anxious for peace and willing to preserve the progress that was made in the previous negotiations. On December 29 the U.S. announced a halt to all bombing above the 20th parallel, and soon peace negotiations resumed in Paris. Sensing progress in the first few days of peace talks, Nixon ordered a halt to all bombing, mining, and artillery fire in North Vietnam. After six days of negotiations, on January 23, 1973, president Nixon announced on public television that an agreement for a formal cease-fire had been reached.

The peace treaty was signed on January 27 and took effect on January 28. It called for a complete end to hostilities, withdrawal of all U.S. troops within 60 days, and return of all prisoners of war within 60 days. By March, 1973, all U.S. forces had been withdrawn from Vietnam.

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