When did the first Vietnam War start?

Answer 1

There are a few different answers for this but I have come up with 5 dates:

• 1955
• 1955
• 1959
• 1961
• 1962

Answer 2

The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War 1 was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN), allied with the Communist World, namely the Soviet Union and Red China against the United States military in support of the Southern puppet government, especially setup for the purpose of dividing the country, with US combat troops involved from 1965 until the official withdrawal in 1973.

Start of Vietnam War

This is a difficult question, because there was no official declaration of war. But here are some helpful dates. When the war "started" often depends on which event people are referring to:

POSSIBLE START DATES FOR THE WAR:

1. Sept. 27, 1950 -- U.S. establishes the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina (MAAG) in Saigon to aid the French military (the French had been fighting communist rebels in Vietnam, their pre-WWII colony, since 1945).

2. November 1, 1955 -- The U.S. redesignates MAAG, Indochina, as MAAG, Vietnam to specify its new direct combat advisory role with the South Vietnamese Army. The U.S. essentially took over the advisory role from the French, who were leaving Vietnam after their defeat at Diem Bien Phu in 1954. The Department of Defense views this date as the earliest qualifying date for inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

3. March 1959 -- Ho Chi Minh declares a People's War to unite all of Vietnam under his leadership. His Politburo orders a changeover to an all-out military struggle. From the comnmunist perspective, the "Vietnam War" against the U.S. has now officially started.

4. December 11, 1961 -- U.S. aircraft carrier "Core" arrives in Saigon with 33 helicopters and 400 air and ground crewmen assigned to operate them for the South Vietnamese Army. Also, U.S. pilots start to train & fly support missions with the South Vietnamese Air Force. This reall marks the first larger scale participation of U.S. military "advisors".

5. August 7, 1964 -- In response to the incidents involving U.S> naval vessels U.S.S. Maddox and the U.S.S. Turner Joy, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passes the "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution," allowing the President "to take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force" to prevent further attacks against U.S. forces. Many people view this as the "official" start of the war, although there was never a declaration of war.

6. March 8, 1965 -- The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam, as 3500 Marines land at China Beach to defend the American air base at Da Nang. They join 23,000 American military advisors already in Vietnam. The arrival of combat troops is considered by some the start of the war, although American military advisors have been in Vietnam for over 10 years.

Here is more input and answers from others:

For the US, the start date would have to be around July of 1961. My battalion was on patrol in the South China sea when President Kennedy ordered us to Laos. We were to be issued live ammo and to wait for further instructions. We floated in the South China sea for several months before we were ordered back to our home base of Okinawa. I was with 2nd bat. 9th Marines on the USS Paul Revere when all of this happened.

The US military typically views the beginning of its official military deployment in 1961, when we sent 400 helicopters (as well as the crews to fly & maintain them) to South Vietnam. Others point to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the subsequent massive build-up of US forces in 1964 as the real beginning of the "war." Of course, American military "advisors" had been in South Vietnam since the late 1950's.

That is a difficult question, because there was no official declaration of war. The start could be 1950, 1954, or 1955. For the US, the start date is generally considered 1961. It ended 1975 when the last Marines departed Saigon.

After the French defeat in 1954 the communists agreed to a partitioned country. The U.S. sent advisors to Viet Nam in late 1959 and early 1960 under President Kennedy. It escalated from this point on until the U.S. withdrew in 1973. Viet- Nam was at war from 1945 until 1973.

Or:

1959-30th April 1975, although since the end of WW2 independence had been sought from the colonial French.

Answer 3

1961

The Campaign Medal for the Vietnam War has a Green & White striped ribbon with a scroll banner that has the dates of the war embossed on it: 1961-1975. Most veterans received their Medal before the war ended so many still have one that only has the start date and the end date is void.

Answer 4

Answer

The Vietnam war started in 1959 and ended fifteen years later. Now there aren't any conflicts is Vietnam now.
1965-1973
First US troops arrived on 11 February 1955.

Answer 5

Technically, for the US, 7 August 1964, when Congress, thru the Tonkin Resolution", authorized President Johnson to start military action
The war started in 1959, the U.S. became involved in the 60's and sent in troops in 1965. The war ended in April 1975

Answer 6

Began under the Eisenhower administration in 1955 and ended under the Ford administration in 1975.

Answer 7

The Vietnam war started in 1961, and ended in 1975.

Answer 8

Most historians use the date of 1961.