South Vietnamese Army personnel were called ARVNs and South Viet civilians were called "Viet Nationals" (short for South Vietnamese citizens).
The South Vietnamese referred to Communists LIVING in "South Vietnam" as the Viet Cong. Not to be confused with enemy soldiers entering South Vietnam FROM North Vietnam, the NVA (North Viet Army).
The anti-communist countries fighting the communists in the war, were: The US, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, and South Vietnam.
US Servicemen had been fighting communists in South Vietnam since 1955.
Communist NORTH Vietnam wanted to re-unite with it's SOUTHERN half; SOUTH Vietnam. The US backed South Vietnam desired to remain a non-communist Republic of South Vietnam. Because the "Communists" were involved, and this was the cold war era; the US had to stop & contain communism. The North attacked the South, the South resisted...Vietnam War.
The North were the communists. The South was the free republic (of South Vietnam).
They gained the Republic of South Vietnam.
The policy of Soviet (Communist) containment meant that the communists would not be allowed to take over South Vietnam. We would destroy the communists in South Vietnam and contain them to NORTH Vietnam.
South Vietnamese Army personnel were called ARVNs and South Viet civilians were called "Viet Nationals" (short for South Vietnamese citizens).
The North Vietnamese Army was a regular army; just the like the US Army. The South Vietnamese communists living in South Vietnam were called the Viet Cong (VC); they were the guerrillas.
Russia (Bolshevik Revolution-Communists won); China (Communist Revolution-Communists won); South Korea (Communists stopped); South Vietnam (Communists won).
Communists would take over South Vietnam
North was the communists the souyh capitalists.
The capital of South Vietnam , Saigon , fell to the communists April 30th 1975 .
Ford was President when South Vietnam fell to the communists (North Vietnam).
The VC lived in the South; the NVA came from the north. Viet Cong & North Vietnamese Army
Kennedy feared that Communists would take over South Vietnam.