Vietnam War

The Vietnam War (1955–1975) was a Cold War conflict in which North Vietnam (Communist, backed by China and USSR) fought South Vietnam (backed by the United States) for control of the country. The US escalated its involvement from advisors (early 1960s) to 543,000 troops at peak (1969) before withdrawing following the Paris Peace Accords (1973). Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces on April 30, 1975. The war killed an estimated 58,220 Americans, 250,000+ South Vietnamese soldiers, 1 million+ North Vietnamese soldiers, and 2 million+ Vietnamese civilians. Agent Orange defoliant caused long-term health consequences for both American veterans and Vietnamese. The war divided American society — the anti-war movement, the draft, the Pentagon Papers, and Watergate all trace to it. The fall of Saigon remains one of America's most traumatic images.