jan 31, 1968 - Tet Offensive
Description:
Tet is the Vietnamese celebration of the Lunar New Year. It is the most important holiday in Vietnamese culture. In the previous years of the wars, troops on both sides typically called a cease-fire/truce throughout the celebration. However, on January 31, 1968, Vietcong (VC) and North Vietnamese troops attacked over 100 cities in South Vietnam during the Tet holiday.
The Tet Offensive marked the symbolic loss of the Vietnam War for the United States. It showed that the VC and North Vietnamese were capable of reaching even the most developed and protected areas of South Vietnam—namely, the U.S. Embassy. After the Offesive Lyndon B. Johnson's popularity plummeted to 35% of the U.S. voting population. Additionally, the Offensive marked the fact that more money was being spent on a lost war than on American citizens. By 1968, $3000 dollars was the price spent on fighting one North Vietnamese person, whereas $53 was the amount allocated per person in American poverty programs.
America also witnessed the public execution depicted in the photo below on live television during the events.
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1968 A Year In Review Final Timeline
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