Lyndon Johnson
Johnson served as Kennedy's vice president, when he assumed presidency, he inherited the crisis in Vietnam. Declared war on Northern Vietnam after they bombed the U.S. Navy. Johnson had hoped to resolve the conflict quickly, but by the end of his term, his hopes of bringing an end had quickly dissolved. Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection.
Richard Nixon
NIxon adapted "vietnamization", in which Nixon hoped to begin slowly removing troops out of Vietnam. In 1973, Nixon's final year in office, all U.S. combat troops had been removed from Vietnam, however a few military officers and Marines remained. Nixon ended his presidency in disgrace, resigning after the Watergate scandal broke.
Ngo Dinh Diem
An anticommunist who refused to ally with Ho Chi Minh after the Franco-Vietnamese war. In 1954, Ngo Dinh Diem was named the president of Southern Vietnam. His main goal was to expel htose who opposed him. In 1956, Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold countrywideelection in fear of losing to Ho Chi Minh. While he was a very unpopular leader, he led Southern Vietnam until he was assassinated in 1963.
Ho Chi Minh
A Vietnamese Communist whose goal was to expel U.S. forces and defeat the South Vienamese government and unify the country. In 1966 he was asked if he would fight until a final victory. He then responded saying that he would fight until the Americans left Vietnam. However, in 1969, Ho Chi Minh passed away, six years before the North declared victory.
Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyen Van Thieu was a military general during the French colonial rule. Nguyen Van Theiu was a powerful government figure in Southern Vietnam under President Nguyen Cao Ky. In 1967 he replaced Cao Ky and remained the president of Southern Vietnam until the final days of the war.
Henry Kissinger and the Paris Peace Treaty
In 1969, President Nixon appointed Kissing national security advisor. Kissinger believed that foreign policy should serve the nations best interest. In 1968 negotiations on the Paris Peace Accords began. These accords intended to establish peace and end the war in Vietnam also ending the U.S. military involvement. On October 8th, 1972, while in a meeting with Tho, Tho altered his bargaining line, allowing the Saigon government to stay in power. Kissinger made the revisions without any notice to Thieu. This later angered Theiu when he found out about the alterations. In January 15th, 1973, Kissinger and Tho signed off the draft, the leaders signed off on it on January 27th of the same year.
Vo Nguyen Giap
Giap was the commander of the North Vietnam army against America during the Vietnam War. Giap was once pegged to being the one who was responsbile for the Tet Offensive, however this has since been proved to be inaccurate. This was proved by that fact that Giap disapproved of the plan overall. Giap was considered to be the most prominent military leader during the Vietnam war.