March+8,+1965

March 8, 1965

March 8,1965 marked the official American landing of combat troops, 3,500 marines to be specific, on Vietnamese soil. This was another major escalation of the war. The United States sending in our troops showed that we were committed to South Vietnam.

This probably scared the North Vietnamese a little because they were only fighting South Vietnamese troops but now the U.S. was sending their own troops to actually fight. This showed that the U.S. was serious about supporting South Vietnam and was fully committed to them but it only could show the U.S.'s commitment increase so much because the U.S. had been in Vietnam for awhile now, just not actual troops. There wasn't too many positives North Vietnam could take from this. However, the North could now ask for help from other communist nations because the U.S. was now sending troops into Vietnam. This could add to the North Vietnamese morale in that they would also be receiving more aid.



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Citations

Swogger, Michael. Mr. Swogger's History Page. 2010. School World, Web. 11/22/10.