Last US Troops Leave Vietnam: A War Finally Ends
The last 2,500 American combat troops boarded planes in Saigon, but Nixon had already quietly left behind 8,500 "advisors" and 10,000 civilian contractors who'd keep fighting. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird crafted this semantic sleight of hand, renaming soldiers so Nixon could declare the war "over" while casualties continued. The final official combat death was Lieutenant Colonel William Nolde, killed by artillery eleven hours before the ceasefire. Two years later, those advisors would scramble onto helicopters as Saigon fell. Turns out you can't end a war by simply changing what you call the people doing the shooting.
March 29, 1973
53 years ago
Key Figures & Places
South Vietnam
Wikipedia
Vietnam War
Wikipedia
Vietnam War
Wikipedia
South Vietnam
Wikipedia
Operation Barrel Roll
Wikipedia
Laos
Wikipedia
People's Army of Vietnam
Wikipedia
Vietnamese
Wikipedia
Paris Peace Accords
Wikipedia
United States
Wikipedia
My Lai massacre
Wikipedia
William Calley
Wikipedia
John Stith Pemberton
Wikipedia
Coca-Cola
Wikipedia
Atlanta
Wikipedia
What Else Happened on March 29
A barbarian king did what Rome couldn't: made conquerors and conquered equal under law. Gundobad's Lex Burgundionum at Lyon didn't just allow Gallo-Romans to ke…
Ottoman forces under Murad II seize Thessalonica, stripping the Byzantine Empire of its second-largest city and severing a vital economic lifeline that had sust…
Edward of York destroyed Queen Margaret's Lancastrian army at Towton in a snowstorm, with an estimated 28,000 killed on both sides in the bloodiest battle ever …
His father was the Pope, and that wasn't even the scandalous part. Rodrigo Borgia—Pope Alexander VI—handed his illegitimate son Cesare the highest military comm…
The Portuguese built Brazil's first capital on a cliff 279 feet above the harbor specifically so enslaved Africans would have to haul sugar up the escarpment. T…
The Treaty of Saint-Germain restored Quebec to French control after three years of English occupation, reaffirming France's colonial foothold in North America. …
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.