The Vietnam War People
Who Made It Happen
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969) was a Vietnamese communist and revolutionary leader who, throughout much of the 20th century, sought to free his nation from colonial influence. He led Vietnamese insurgen...
Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap (1912–2013) was a Vietnamese military commander most revered for his role in liberating Vietnam from French colonial rule. Giap also led the armies of North Vietnam during the war...
Bao Dai
Bao Dai (1913–1997), born Nguyen Vinh Thuy, was the reigning emperor of Vietnam from 1926 to 1945.Japanese forces swept away French colonial rule in Indochina in March 1945. The conquerors reinst...
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem (1901–1963) was a staunchly anticommunist Vietnamese statesman who refused to ally with Ho Chi Minh after the Franco-Vietnamese War. With the support of the United States government...
Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyen Van Thieu (1923–2001) was a military general who served in the French-controlled Vietnamese Army during French colonial rule in Indochina, and later served as President of South Vietnam du...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), a Republican, was the popular 34th President of the United States, serving two terms from 1953 to 1961. Prior to his presidency, Eisenhower was a lifelong milita...
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) was the 35th President of the United States. Elected in 1960 at the age of 43, he became the youngest person ever to be voted into the White House. Kennedy served from...
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) was the 36th President of the United States, assuming the office after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Prior to serving as Kennedy's...
Richard M. Nixon
Richard M. Nixon (1913–1994) was a Republican senator from California and the 37th President of the United States. Prior to his presidency, he also served as Dwight Eisenhower's vice president...
Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara (1916–2009) was an American business executive, statesman, and diplomat. In 1960, he left his seat as president of the Ford Motor Company to accept an invitation from President Ke...
William Calley, Jr.
William Calley, Jr. (1943–) is the former lieutenant of the United States Army during the Vietnam War. In 1971, Calley was found guilty of murder for ordering the killings of hundreds of South Vi...
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) was the young pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama who rose to prominence during the Civil Rights Movement. He remains to this day a s...
William Westmoreland
General William Westmoreland (1914–2005) was an American general who commanded U.S. military operations in Vietnam during the height of the war, from 1964 to 1968. He later served as the Chief of...
Neil Sheehan
Neil Sheehan (1936–) is an American journalist who worked as a reporter for the New York Times during the Vietnam War. In 1966, he became the newspaper's Pentagon correspondent and also repo...