The Vietnam War Primary Sources

Historical documents. What clues can you gather about the time, place, players, and culture?

President Eisenhower's letter to South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem promising aid against the Communist North, October 1954.

Statement of goals of the National Liberation Front (NLF).

A tense phone conversation between the ambassador to South Vietnam, Henry Cabot Lodge, and South Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem, 1 November 1963.

Text of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution approved by the U.S. Congress, 7 August 1964.

A letter from Ron Ridenhour, a former G.I., describing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up, March 1969.

President Nixon explains his "Vietnamization" plan to the American public, 3 November 1969.

William Wilson's account of his investigation of the My Lai murders.

A statement from American actress and political activist Jane Fonda in Hanoi, August 1972.

Memories of the Vietnam War, "from the other side."