Vietnam: The End of the War?

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How did the US get out of Vietnam? In this episode, we are diving into how 'peace' was agreed in Paris, and what it really meant for Vietnam.

Don is joined by Pierre Asselin, professor at San Diego State University and author of, among others, ‘A Bitter Peace: Washington, Hanoi, and the Making of the Paris Agreement’ and ‘Hanoi’s Road to the Vietnam War, 1954-1965’.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	January 27, 1973, the Hotel Majestic.
0:08.5	Avenue Claiborne, Paris's 16th Arodissimón.
0:13.0	A palace, one of Paris's most luxurious grand hotels,
0:17.0	government office for the Ministry of Defense, the head office of UNESCO. This many-storied
0:23.3	building has lived many lives. Today, it gains another string for its bow. Inside, delegates from
0:30.9	the United States, South Vietnam, the Viet Cong, and North Vietnam formally sign an agreement,
0:37.4	ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam.
0:40.9	Tomorrow, on the 28th of January at 8 a.m., there will finally be a ceasefire.
0:46.7	The U.S. will get to work withdrawing their troops and dismantling their bases,
0:50.3	and the North Vietnamese will release their prisoners of war.
0:54.0	Peace at last.
0:55.9	Or so they think.
1:14.2	Hello, listeners, glad you're with us.
1:16.8	I'm Don Wildman, and this is American History Hit.
1:21.4	It's 2025, the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon,
1:24.6	when North Vietnamese forces took the capital of the South,
1:28.1	effectively ending America's involvement in that country's civil war. The events of the war have been examined so many times in scholarship and media, yet one
1:34.6	aspect of this period often escapes notice, our exit plan for withdrawal. I'm not talking about
1:41.0	Huey's on the embassy roof, all that's in a previous episode of ours.
1:44.7	Today, we explore the more official pursuit to achieve Nixon's peace with honor.
1:50.0	What deal did we mean to strike?
1:52.4	What were the objectives?
	...

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